Salesian missionary shares news of Notre Dame de Clairvaux Center students

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries are providing education and support for poor youth at the Notre Dame de Clairvaux Center in Ivato, Madagascar.  At the end of June, students took state exams to obtain the Certificate of Professional Qualification. The exams were followed by a reception where students received certificates. The next step is for them to begin their final internship in various companies for hands-on training.

Father Erminio de Santis has worked at the Notre Dame de Clairvaux Center for 20 years. In a letter, he spoke about two young students who were impacted by the school. He wrote, “A young man who graduated last year, Rivo, attended the school with his twin Rija. Rivo attended the electrician course and Rija attended the car mechanic course. Rivo told me that his brother works as a mechanic, while he and all his classmates, who had an internship in a large electrical company, now work there on a regular contract. He said that the  company, which is looking for other workers, has already booked those coming from this year’s course.”

Rivo and Rija had been forced to leave home when they were young because of their father, who was violent and abused alcohol. Their mother, who is sick, was unable to support the family. They live with their grandmother in a small house. Today, because of the Salesian school, they are able to support their family.

Salesian missionaries have 11 centers and work in several locations in the country, including the Don Bosco House in Ivato in the outskirts of the capital of Antananarivo.

Madagascar, an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa, is one of the poorest countries in the world. Seventy percent of Madagascar’s almost 19 million people live in poverty with 5.7 million of those youth between the ages of 10-24, according to UNICEF. This number is expected to double by 2025.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

ANS – Madagascar – The letter of Fr de Santis and the testimony of Rivo and Rija: stories that encourage and give hope for the Salesian educational mission

Salesian Missions – Madagascar

UNICEF – Madagascar