Salesians to provide job training, psychological assistance and basic services

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Mexico are developing the Youth Residences Project in Salesian communities in Tijuana and San Luis Potosí to provide support to youth who are in the process of migrating. The three-year project, launched in November 2023, was developed with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Don Bosco Mondo, and the Salesian organizations that host the project.

Both Salesian communities will provide job training, psychological assistance, housing, food and other basic services in order to support people who are facing challenging circumstances. Each site will also offer training. In Tijuana, courses will be offered for hairdressing and cosmetics, cooking, construction trades, and educational assistance. In San Luis Potosí, courses will cover electricity, machinery and tools, welding, and customer service.

A Salesian noted, “This is a wide-ranging and well-structured initiative, and the Mexico-Guadalajara Province is very grateful for the contribution and trust, both financial and structural, that the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has provided. We also give recognition to the great work and the profound social impact of Don Bosco Mondo’s development proposals.”

The Blessed Philip Rinaldi Salesian community in Tijuana has been serving caravans of migrants on their way to the United States for over 30 years. Salesians offer the Padre Chava Refectory and Hostel and the Don Bosco Women’s Shelter. They will now offer services directly to youth who are migrating.

In the Salesian San José community in San Luis Potosí, Salesians will work with those who have been internally displaced and who migrate in smaller numbers in search of new educational and work opportunities, especially those who are victims of organized crime, structural violence and other situations of vulnerability.

Salesians are currently working to remodel, equip and staff the two communities in order to serve those who will access the project services.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Mexico – “Namuncurá” Youth Residences: for comprehensive support for young migrants

Salesian Missions – Mexico

UNICEF – Mexico