(MissionNewswire) Fabian Carillo, an 8th grade student at the Don Bosco Center for the Development of Skills, known as CEDES Don Bosco in Costa Rica, has been a member of the national taekwondo team for the past three years. In international competitions, he has participated in meets in the United States, Panama, and Nicaragua, and has won several gold medals.

In Carillo’s most recent event at the Latin American Taekwondo PANAM, he won a bronze medal, taking first place in his category at the Costa Rican level and third place at the Latin American level.

His father, Alejandro Carillo, says that Fabian handles his role as an athlete well and that as a student he gets very good grades. His next competition will be in August in Nicaragua. He is already hard at work training for the event. Carillo practices taekwondo after classes at school, and trains two hours every day six days a week. He hopes to soon have the opportunity to compete in a Taekwondo World Cup.

“Sports programs are important for social integration and the promotion of values like teamwork, communication, respect, and team spirit,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Learning and playing team sports encourage leadership skills as well as teach youth to work as part of a team. Students also learn important social skills and have opportunities for growth and maturity.”

According to the World Bank, more than 1.14 million Costa Ricans live in poverty, which is more than 21 percent of the population. In addition, poor Costa Ricans are more likely to live in a single-mother household and have a higher-than-average number of children under age 5, as well as other dependents living in the same home. Dependents include children under age 14 or adults over age 65. More than 77 percent of poor Costa Ricans work in the informal sector and have roughly three years less schooling than their peers who are not living in conditions of poverty.

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

ANS – Costa Rica – CEDES Don Bosco student among Latin America’s top Taekwondo athletes

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Costa Rica

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(MissionNewswire) The Don Bosco Center for the Development of Skills, known as CEDES Don Bosco in Costa Rica, has been awarded the Blue Award in the hygiene promotion category by the Ecological Blue Flag and Quality Healthcare Seal. The center has been promoting a culture of cleanliness and hygiene through education and safe access to drinking water and sanitation services to help stop the spread of disease and prevent COVID-19 infections.

The Ecological Blue Flag program is an annual award that takes into account efforts to improve hygiene and environmental conditions. The Don Bosco Center obtained an evaluation of 100 points in the mandatory parameters, which include the correct management of drinking water, correct treatment and disposal of wastewater, application of the hygiene protocol, disinfection of installations and plants, hand-washing, and solid waste management.

“The Don Bosco Center has done significant work in ensuring that students and staff are learning and working in a safe and clean environment,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “This work is important all the time but has been particularly importing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Salesians around the globe have made access to clean water and proper hygiene a priority in Salesian schools and centers.”

According to the World Bank, more than 1.14 million Costa Ricans live in poverty, which is more than 21 percent of the population. In addition, poor Costa Ricans are more likely to live in a single-mother household and have a higher than average number of children under age 5, as well as other dependents living in the same home. Dependents include children under age 14 or adults over age 65. More than 77 percent of poor Costa Ricans work in the informal sector and have roughly three years less schooling than their peers who are not living in conditions of poverty.

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

ANS – Costa Rica – CEDES Don Bosco receives the Blue Prize for Promotion of Hygiene

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Costa Rica

The post COSTA RICA: School recognized for hygiene promotion first appeared on MissionNewswire.

(MissionNewswire) The Santo Domingo Savio Salesian Center in Cartago, Costa Rica, has an ongoing initiative to collect food donated by parishioners and provide it to poor families in the community. Those who wish to donate are able to drop the goods off at the center. Donations often consist of cereals, eggs, canned products, oil and water, among other items. A delivery of the food is made every first Friday of the month to those in need.

Currently, the initiative reaches 40 families near the Salesian Center. The initiative is supported by Salesian collaborators and aspirants and members of the Mary Help of Christians Association, who divide the food into packages.

“This initiative is important now more than ever especially as people are slipping more into poverty in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “This provides an opportunity for Salesians and those in the parish who are able to give back to those in the community who need a helping hand.”

According to the World Bank, more than 1.14 million Costa Ricans live in poverty, which is more than 21 percent of the population.

In addition, poor Costa Ricans are more likely to live in a single-mother household and have a higher than average number of children under 5 years old as well as other dependents living in the same home. Dependents include other children under 14 years old or adults over 65 years old. More than 77 percent of poor Costa Ricans work in the informal sector and have roughly three years less schooling than their peers who are not living in conditions of poverty.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Costa Rica – Santo Domingo Savio Salesian Center offers food to poor families

Santo Domingo Savio Salesian Center Facebook

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Costa Rica

The post COSTA RICA: 40 poor families receive food through ongoing initiative first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The Don Bosco School, which is part of the Don Bosco Salesian Educational Center (CEDES) and has more than 400 students, was represented by 16 students who are taking courses at the school’s center of technology. The first team, a finalist in the competition, designed two futuristic cities that reflect emotions, colors and fun. The second team, which received an honorable mention, created an eco-friendly residential complex with accessibility and eco-terraces to encourage sharing among families.

In addition to the competition, students also created and launched an application known as Quimera, which aims to reduce school abandonment. This is particularly relevant in Costa Rica. According to data from the Ministry of Public Education, in 2018, 10,211 students left secondary school without graduating. Created by five students, the project was a finalist in the regional competition Latin Code Week and was promoted by Junior Achievement.

Quimera is a cross-platform application that utilizes games and tests to motivate young people to enjoy studying and reinforces learning interactively. The objective of Quimera is to interactively link academic subjects and schools, allowing students to gain greater knowledge of the subjects, tackling them in a more dynamic way. Moreover, it will allow teachers to track student progress in order to provide extra support to help them stay in school.

These competitions provide a great way for students to use the skills they have learned in the classroom,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “In Costa Rica and in countries around the globe, Salesian missionaries help young people take responsibility for their own lives and provide them with both the technical and life skills needed to succeed in the workplace.”

According to the World Bank, more than 1.14 million Costa Ricans live in poverty, which is more than 21 percent of the population. While the poverty rate has dropped slightly from 2014, extreme poverty has been on the rise and has reached its highest recorded rate in the last six years.

In addition, poor Costa Ricans are more likely to live in a single-mother household and have a higher than average number of children under 5 years old as well as other dependents living in the same home. Dependents include other children under 14 years old or adults over 65 years old. More than 77 percent of poor Costa Ricans work in the informal sector and have roughly three years less schooling than their peers who are not living in conditions of poverty.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Costa Rica – Students of “CEDES Don Bosco” are finalists in educational projects in Latin America

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Costa Rica

The post COSTA RICA: Students from the Don Bosco School among top finalists in two educational competitions first appeared on MissionNewswire.