Last year, the Salesian-run Don Bosco University in San Salvador, El Salvador, made significant strides in its aircraft maintenance program. For the first time in the company’s history, FedEx donated a Boeing 727 aircraft to the university. The donation of the plane was coordinated with help from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

The donated plane will serve as a hands-on training tool for hundreds of aviation students at Don Bosco University. Students will have the opportunity to take skills learned in the classroom and apply them while learning about the mechanical aspects of large aircraft.

More recently, Don Bosco University has entered into a cooperative agreement with Broward College in Davie, Florida that will further the aviation program at the university. The agreement brings two professors at Broward College, Emilio Lizarraga and Tomás Garrido, both international experts in avionics, to Don Bosco University to aid in the setting up of both theoretical and practical lesson plans to help in program development for the maintenance, servicing and storage of the Boeing 727. In addition, the professors are training 12 individuals, including teachers at the university and staff of the AEROMAN Company and of the El Salvador Air Force, to assist them in familiarizing themselves with the aircraft.

“We want to train the teachers and staff on the ground and to adjust the equipment and everything that is needed for the aircraft to be used for teaching”, said Edgardo Cruz Zeledon, director of the aeronautics department at Don Bosco University.

This initial training is part of a five year agreement which will help broaden the scope and expertise of both higher learning institutions. It is anticipated that Salesian staff will also visit Broward College and there is the potential for an ongoing international student exchange program. Professor Lizarraga noted the benefits for both, adding that one of the biggest challenges for the aeronautics sector is that it requires significant financial backing to cover the expense of spare parts, tools and the support needed to run the programs. The cooperation between the schools allows for the program to be more financially feasible.

Once fully operational, Don Bosco University’s airplane school will benefit more than 300 poor youth enrolled in the course for aircraft maintenance, as well as students in mechanical engineering, mechanical electronics and automation.

Since 2005, Don Bosco University has been recognized by the Civil Aviation Authority in El Salvador as a Center for Aeronautical Maintenance. The university offers expert educational programs and has been at the forefront in training for aircraft maintenance. The university has been known for technological innovation in these programs and hands-on training in highly specialized laboratories. Courses are also offered in propulsion, avionics, instrumentation and physics.

By teaching skills such as aircraft maintenance, mechanics, electronics and engineering, Don Bosco University offers advanced educational and employment opportunities for vulnerable youth, which in turn prepares students for participation in their country’s continued economic development. The newly donated FedEx plane and cooperative agreement with Broward College will further support the university’s goals.

“Sooner or later, in the course of vocational education, students need to stop studying and get their hands dirty,” says Adam Rudin, manager of the Salesian Lay Missioners program at Salesian Missions. Rudin had traveled to El Salvador to represent Salesian Missions when the plane was delivered last June. “Thanks to FedEx and Broward College, hundreds of students at Don Bosco University now have the opportunity to practice what they have been taught.”

See related article:

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Sources:

ANS – El Salvador – Visit of Aviation Experts from Broward College

Salesian Missions – EL SALVADOR: FedEx Donates 727 to Salesian University Where At-Risk Youth Learn Aviation Mechanics

World Bank – El Salvador

The post EL SALVADOR: New Partnershp with Broward College Help Provide Training to Salesian Aeronautics Teaching Staff first appeared on MissionNewswire.

For the first time in the company’s history, FedEx has donated a Boeing 727 aircraft to a university in Central America. The Salesian-run Don Bosco University in San Salvador, El Salvador, was selected as the recipient and the donation of the plane was coordinated with help from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The Salesians are widely considered the world’s largest private provider of vocational training, including training in highly skilled trades such as aviation mechanics.

The plane will serve as a hands-on training tool for hundreds of aviation students in El Salvador. Students have the opportunity to take skills learned in the classroom and apply them while learning about the mechanical aspects of large aircraft.

“FedEx 727 freighters, once the backbone of FedEx’s domestic fleet, have been retired and replaced with Boeing 757s,” says David Sutton of FedEx Express Aircraft Acquisitions and Sales. “Donating these retired aircraft provides the critical hands-on training on large aircraft that is important to the skill set of the next generation of aircraft technicians.”

FedEx has donated 74 727s to aviation schools, colleges and local community airports and fire departments for training purposes. The donation to Don Bosco University is the company’s first in Central America and one of several donated internationally.

Sutton notes that over the next two decades the aviation industry estimates a need for more than 600,000 new aircraft maintenance technicians. The positions will provide attractive salaries to students wanting to pursue an aviation career and training tools, such as the 727, are essential to fostering interest in the aviation profession.

Practical education, like aviation mechanics, is more important now than ever for El Salvadoran youth. While the country ranks high for economic indicators, 12 percent of youth ages 15-24 are unemployed, and 41 percent are underemployed. A chronic lack of opportunity can cause frustration and disenchantment among young men and women who all too easily get involved in gangs and other damaging activities.

By teaching skills such as aircraft maintenance, mechanics, electronics and engineering, Don Bosco University offers advanced educational and employment opportunities for vulnerable youth, which in turn prepares students for participation in their country’s continued economic development. The newly donated FedEx plane will further support the university’s goal.

“Sooner or later, in the course of vocational education, students need to stop studying and get their hands dirty.” says Adam Rudin, director of the Salesian Lay Missioners program at Salesian Missions. Rudin traveled to El Salvador to represent Salesian Missions when the plane was delivered in late June. “Thanks to FedEx, hundreds of students at Don Bosco University now have the opportunity to practice what they have been taught.”

Don Bosco University was the first university accredited at a national level and is part of the worldwide Salesian University Network. It has a student body of approximately 6,000 students and maintains a strong link with the productive sector through technology transfer programs, continuous education courses, consultancy services for companies and research. Since 2005, Don Bosco University has been offering an aviation maintenance technician program which is a certificate program with international regulations that maintains strong linkages with enterprises and institutions like Aeroman and the Salvadoran Air Force.

“This aircraft will allow the development of specialized practices for our students in aviation maintenance and other areas, such as mechatronics, automation, electronics and mechanics,” says Federico Huguet, president of the University Don Bosco. “Access to this technology will contribute to the holistic development of our students, ensuring better technical preparation in their University training. With this donation, FedEx is transforming the teaching of aeronautics in El Salvador and certainly in Central America.”

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Sources:

ANS – El Salvador – A Boeing 727 for the Don Bosco University

World Bank – El Salvador

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“Founded on the values of solidarity and mutual trust, volunteerism transcends all cultural, linguistic and geographic boundaries,” said Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General in a statement about the day. “By giving their time and skills without expectation of material reward, volunteers themselves are uplifted by a singular sense of purpose.”

Through the years, International Volunteer Day has been used to focus on volunteer contributions to achieving Millennium Development Goals – a set of time-bound targets to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.

In honor of International Volunteer Day, the Salesians highlight the important work accomplished by their Salesian Lay Missioners who are providing hope and a path out of poverty for youth around the globe.

Salesian lay missioners go above and beyond the typical volunteer assignment. They volunteer their time, but also give up the comforts of home to live and work among the impoverished, often sacrificing years of their lives.

“We live with the people and are part of the communities we serve,” says Adam Rudin, director of the Salesian Lay Missioner program. “We are with them day and night, sharing meals and stories. As they learn from us, we, in turn, learn from them.” He adds that all volunteers have conversational knowledge of the language spoken in the community. “A sense of humor and a spirit of sacrifice are also essential,” he adds.

On, the Salesians call attention to programs where their lay missioners have made a difference in the lives of youth.

Bolivia

Hogar María Auxiliadora is home to 45 girls between the ages of five and 18 years who have been orphaned, abandoned, or abused. Salesian Lay Missioners have been working there since 2006. Located in Itocta, the home is set in a rural community a half hour outside of the city of Cochabamba. Girls in the program have access to a safe, nurturing environment where they receive tutoring and education and are encouraged to develop their personal gifts and talents in art, dance, music and athletics.

Cambodia

Don Bosco Vocational Training Center for Girls is located in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. The Salesian Sisters began the school in 1993 in order to reach out to the most impoverished of the villages, as well as the city, to create successful jobs in secretarial and computer areas. Courses offered are computer, accounting, general office procedures, English, personal development and several others depending on teachers available. Salesian Lay Missioners normally teach English as well as offer up time to help in any way possible.

Ethiopia

The Salesians have been a presence at Don Bosco Soddo Catholic School since September 2009. Students at this school and youth center enjoy participating in a variety of clubs, including media, sports, life skills, history and school safety. Choirs and dance groups have been organized by volunteers. Students from other schools in grades seven through 10 are offered free tutorial classes after school to help them prepare for the national exams. About 150 youth are in the primary school and another 200 participate in the youth center.

India

Located in the Assam region of India, the Ferrando Rehabilitation Centre was recently established to assist youth who have a disability such as deafness or loss of a limb. The Salesian sisters work with the youth to help them reintegrate into society and lead a dignified life. Salesian Lay Missioners help in a variety of ways, teaching computer skills, dance, physical therapy and English to the students.

Sources:

Salesian Lay Missioners – Website

UN – International Volunteer Day

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But, there is a unique breed of volunteers who are not always thought of – those truly exceptional individuals who care so much that they are willing to leave the comforts of home and actually live and work among the impoverished, sacrificing years of their lives. The Salesian Lay Missioners are one such group.

These lay missioners are everyday men and women from all walks of life, representing a varied range of ages, ethnic backgrounds and life experiences. What they all have in common is a desire to make a difference in the life of a child living on the fringes of society and the commitment to help make the world a better place.

Since it began in 1981, the Salesian Lay Missioners program estimates that about 400 participants have given more than 400 years of service in the poorest communities on the planet. The time these lay missionaries dedicate just to training for their service is more than most people will volunteer in their entire lifetimes.

Their orientation alone takes four weeks, and consists of psychological testing, cultural cross-training and conflict management – among other essential skills necessary for being a successful volunteer in remote villages that bear no resemblance to the hometowns they come from.

“Our training goes beyond the typical teaching of culture shock and talks about what it may be like being the only outsider the people have seen and the potential personal emotions that go along with that,” says Adam Rudin, director of the program. “Volunteers spend an entire week of the orientation learning what it means to live and work as a Salesian missionary among the people they are there to help.”

Salesian Missions programs range from classroom education and feeding programs to agricultural and trade schools. Orphanages and shelters for homeless youth are also central to what Salesian Missions has provided to more than 3 million children in more than 130 countries around the globe. The focus of the work is on education – and providing the essentials such as food and housing so that it is a reality even for the poorest youth. Salesian lay missioners who dedicate a minimum of one year of service are key to helping make all this good work possible.

“We live with the people and are part of the communities we serve,” says Rudin. “We are with them day and night, sharing meals and stories. As they learn from us, we, in turn, learn from them.” He adds that all volunteers have conversational knowledge of the language spoken in the community. “A sense of humor and a spirit of sacrifice are also essential,” he adds.

While so much is sacrificed by the lay missioners, something must be gained or the program would not be growing (about 20 people volunteered this past year and the number is increasing each year).

“The experience has a tremendous effect on the people who volunteer,” says Rudin. “One wonderful aspect is that the experience is different for every lay missioner that serves; however, there are some common themes such as learning to appreciate what we have here in the States and learning the beauties and complexities of other cultures.” Rudin adds that the experience is enhanced by the absence of “noise” that invades our lives such as cell phones, the internet, radio and television. “The experience is extremely personal and life-transforming,” says Rudin.

It is clear that the lay missionary experience has a profound impact on those who serve. It is also clear that those who serve, profoundly care about the human condition, especially when it concerns the precious children of the world.

“As a Salesian lay missioner, my goal is not just to teach the children,” says Emily Growney who is currently volunteering at a school for children with disabilities in Barapani, India. “My goal is to love them and play with them and, above all, make sure they know that they are loved. By doing that, I am filled with joy.”

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