SENEGAL: Youth gain opportunity through chicken sales project
Salesians support initiatives for economic development
SENEGAL
(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Tambacounda, Senegal, have opened the Beteya Guinar Boutique to sell chickens. The boutique is the result of a collaborative project promoted by the Don Bosco 2000 Association and co-funded by the Don Bosco Works in the World Foundations in Lugano and Milan, Italy.
The boutique is the culmination of work to create a supply chain for the production and sale of locally raised chickens in the projects facilitated by the Don Bosco 2000 Association. Part of the strategy to combat irregular migration, the boutique provided three Senegalese youth at-risk of emigration with an opportunity for training in Italy and a stable job upon their return to Senegal.
During the opening of the boutique, Father Giovanni D’Andrea, provincial of the Salesians in Sicily, stressed the importance of projects like this one for sustainable development of local communities. Agostino Sella, president of the Don Bosco 2000 Association, highlighted the success achieved in making the project economically self-sufficient. Through the model, the youth participating in the project are able to independently manage the sale of chickens, guaranteeing a stable future for themselves and their families.
A Salesian explained, “The Beteya Guinar Boutique offers high-quality products. In addition, the initiative has introduced innovative forms of sales such as spit chicken, which has already met with great success among local consumers. Don Bosco 2000 Association will continue supporting similar projects in other regions of Senegal, contributing to the economic and social development of the country.”
Located on the west coast of Africa, Senegal has nearly half its population living in poverty. Crop failures due to extreme weather have impacted the economy, and 1.3 million people faced acute food insecurity during the lean season in 2023. Salesian provide education and social programs for poor and at-risk youth and their families in the county to help them break the cycle of poverty and become self-sufficient.
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Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
Salesian Missions – Senegal
World Bank – Senegal
