SOUTH AFRICA: 15,000 youth gaining green skills through Salesian project
Environmental initiative also targets families and communities
(MissionNewswire) The Salesian provincial office in Johannesburg, South Africa, has initiated an environmental project, Eco-Ubuntu, aimed at 15,000 youth from Salesian schools. The project will also target their families and broader community. Salesians have come together with lay partners, Salesian sisters from Mary Help of Christians, Don Bosco Past Pupils and Salesian cooperators.
The initial planning for the project took place in 2022-2023 and then launched with a workshop in January 2024 to bring together 40 delegates from eSwatini, Lesotho and South Africa. Workshop participants were school leaders, teachers and experts representing the five green pillars of the project: renewable energy (solar technology), water access, waste management, hydroponics and sustainable cultivation. The goal of the project is to increase green skills training, interventions and capacity building.
Six months after the launch, more than 4,800 youth from seven communities have been equipped with green life skills and have shown tangible behavior change toward a more sustainable lifestyle. The project has developed a comprehensive curriculum for primary and secondary school education on the environment based on the Green Life Skills Guide. University professors coached the delegates from Salesian schools, parishes, and technical and vocational training centers, and social programs who in turn are leading youth in this transformation.
Climate change information was also disseminated through the Eco-Sports Day, Green Youth Day, Eco-School debates and gardening competitions. Eco Ubuntu Youth Day-Youth Synod was also held in Johannesburg on August 30.
In addition, solar technology workshops and 6- to 12-month courses have started or are in the developing phase, beginning at Manzini Youth Care in eSwatini, Salesian Institute of Youth Projects in Cape Town and Declan Skills Center in Ennerdale, South Africa.
Sustainable farming practices, hydroponics and waste management initiatives were also launched in several Salesian schools in eSwatini and Lesotho. Further, two borehole projects have already been completed in water-challenged areas in rural schools in eSwatini and Bosco Youth Agricultural Center on the outskirts of Manzini.
In an article he wrote about the project, Father Klement Vaclav, superior of the Southern Africa Vice-Province, noted, “The local wider society has been impacted, especially in primary schools in Delft and Cape Town, with a particular engagement of the community around the Salesian schools in Lesotho, both in Maseru and Maputsoe. Salesian missionaries believe that through education we can transform our society, by means of a consistent process, day by day, and little by little, especially in the care of our common home, so close to the hearts of our young generation.”
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Photo courtesy of Salesian Eco-Ubuntu Program
Don Bosco Green Alliance – 15,000 Youths and Their Mentors Show Enthusiasm For The Eco- Ubuntu Project
Salesian Missions – South Africa