(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Technical and Vocational Training School in Rango, Rwanda, is constructing a new building to host culinary arts and hairdressing courses. The construction was made possible by the Don Bosco Tech Africa initiative with funds from Don Bosco Mondo. Recently, Ange Sebutege, mayor of the Huye District, visited the construction site.

In a telephone interview, Sebutege said, “This visit was an opportunity to thank the development partners for their contribution to the district’s development. Having Don Bosco Rango in our district is a contribution to the technical education programs available for youth since many need technical skills to enable them to make a living.”

He commended the contribution of the Salesians in the technical and vocational training sector. He added, “Every year more than 60 students graduate from Don Bosco Rango and they are able to create their own jobs. This construction project has also employed people, which aids in the development of the area.”

Don Bosco Tech Africa, which started six years ago and is committed to helping improve the quality of vocational and technical training in Africa, selected Don Bosco Technical School among the centers that will benefit from aid for modernization. The site’s construction company is providing work to 32 local people, five of whom are young students training at the Don Bosco Technical School.

Don Bosco Technical School was initially established to accommodate young Salesians preparing to become priests, who lived there and attended classes. Now it serves as the site for technical and vocational education for young people, a large number of them coming from poor families. Salesian missionaries have been living and working in the Great Lakes region of Rwanda for more than 50 years providing education and social programs to give youth hope for a brighter future.

After bravely overcoming the trauma of the 1994 genocide, Rwandans looking to transform their country have made remarkable progress. Still, much remains to be done. Close to 39 percent of Rwandans live in poverty, according to the World Bank. Rwanda is a rural, agrarian country with about 35 percent of the population engaged in subsistence agriculture and with some mineral and agro-processing. Many of the country’s orphaned children are the tragic result of a violent civil war. Half of all children drop out of primary school and 2.2 million people—22 percent of the population—face critical food shortages.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Rwanda – Huye District Mayor commends Salesians’ role In TVET Education

Salesian Missions – Rwanda

UNICEF – Rwanda