Don Bosco Institute has trained close to 600 tailoring and 310 beautician students

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Institute, located in Thecho, Nepal, recently held graduation for women in the tailoring and beautician training programs. Tailoring graduates received sewing machines at a discounted rate so that they can start work immediately after graduation. To date, Don Bosco Institute has trained close to 600 students in tailoring and 310 students in beautician skills.

Mayor of Mahalaxmi Hari Gobinda Shrestha addressed the students at graduation. He encouraged them to make use of their training and skills. He also expressed his happiness that the institute provides training programs at an affordable cost for local women.

“The educational opportunities provided by Salesian programs can be truly life-changing for young women,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Through educational programs, both girls and young women have an opportunity to develop the skills to become self-sufficient and support their families.”

Salesian missionaries arrived in Nepal in the 1890s and started a secondary school in Siddhipur, a village in the Lalitpur district. Today there are 20 secondary schools and nine Salesian centers in the central-eastern and far western regions of the country. Salesians provide education and social development programs to aid poor youth and their families.

Nepal is among the least developed countries in the world, with about one-quarter of its population living below the poverty line. Salesian missionaries are still hard at work with long-term reconstruction efforts after a devastating 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, with a second striking on May 12, 2015.

More than 8,000 people died and close to 20,000 were injured as a result of the earthquakes and their aftermath. Forty of Nepal’s 75 districts were affected, 16 of them severely, with homes, schools, buildings, cattle, fields ready for harvest and other property destroyed. More than 500,000 people were displaced and in need of shelter and other assistance. The United Nations reported that more than 1,300 schools were destroyed during the earthquakes.

The construction of schools that can withstand earthquakes and provide access to education for the youngest and most vulnerable children is the daily commitment of Salesian missionaries in the country. The goal is to help equip youth to have the education and skills necessary to change their lives and become agents of development.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Nepal – Ushering local women to livelihood ambitions through Dress Making and Beautician training

Salesian Missions – Nepal