DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in the Dominican Republic have launched the Salesian Environmental Training Center, known as EcoBosco, which is a space built to promote the environmental care and defense of natural resources. EcoBosco is located in Arroyones de Básima in the province of Villa Altagracia and is 45 minutes from the city of Santo Domingo.

EcoBosco was built with the support of the Swiss Salesian organization Jugendhilfe Weltweit through the Salesian Don Bosco Foundation. It also received funding from the Office for the Promotion of Nonprofit Associations granted by the Department of Community Participation of the Ministry of Education.

The goal is to train future leaders in the management and care of natural resources, as well as promote and develop sustainable actions for care, reforestation, and agriculture in the area. The center’s training programs will encourage youth to be more environmentally focused. EcoBosco has a multi-purpose hall with a capacity for 250 people, camping areas, two houses, a kitchen and dining hall, paths for access to a forest, a lagoon, a parking lot and other common areas.

This project was developed as a response to Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ to raise awareness and increase action on the values ​​of integral ecology. This is one among many ecological projects Salesian missionaries have launched around the globe.

“Salesians are focusing on creating training programs and other initiatives to focus on environmental sustainability,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesians are working to create an environment that is safe and caring for all life on the planet while building up a new generation of environmentally committed citizens and leaders.”

The center’s inauguration was attended by authorities from the province, environmentalists, Salesians, and youth from the Salesian ecological movement, who were able to learn first-hand about all the projects that will be developed there.

Nearly half of youth under the age of 18 live in poverty in the Dominican Republic, according to UNICEF. Although the country’s economy has been steadily improving, the country’s poor still struggle to get enough food to eat and to access safe drinking water and adequate housing. Only 30 percent of youth finish primary school and only 18 percent finish secondary school on time. Schools are in poor shape with nearly half having no access to safe drinking water and more than 60 percent lacking adequate bathroom facilities.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Dominican Republic – Salesians inaugurate environmental training center “ECOBOSCO”

Salesian Missions

UNICEF – Democratic Republic of the Congo

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

(MissionNewswire) The Salesian School Sector, which provides education in the Dominican Republic, has launched the “Syllabus of the Salesian Ecological Movement: Integral Ecology, Reflection and Action for the Care of the Common Home.” The document proposes two years of education aimed at ecological awareness and helping students adopt more sustainable ways. It was written for ecological clubs at 15 Salesian secondary schools in the Dominican Republic and will impact 6,892 students.

The syllabus is in response to Pope Francis’ 2020 Laudato Si, which has as its theme “Good Christians and Upright Citizens.” Pope Francis underlined the importance of education and training that will help youth shape a lifestyle and foster environmental responsibility. Further, Rector Major Father Ángel Fernández Artime noted the importance of concrete initiatives in the care of the environment. The first objective is encouraging the environmental commitment of youth.

Father William Batista, head of the Salesian School Sector, presented the expected impact of this syllabus for youth who receive this training. He said, “As Salesians, we can only courageously take on the challenge of formation from this perspective, which is renewing and full of hope, aware that the new generations are very concerned for the care of the planet which they will inherit from us. This is why we accompany our boys and girls in generating valuable initiatives and together we change our habits to help heal the world.”

This is one among many ecological projects Salesian missionaries have launched around the globe. Leading many of these initiatives is the Don Bosco Green Alliance, an international collective of youth from Salesian institutions and organizations that contribute to global environmental action, thought and policy. Membership is open to all Salesian institutions and organizations worldwide.

“The Don Bosco Green Alliance is helping Salesian organizations in more than 130 countries have a focus on the environment,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Don Bosco Green Alliance members work to create an environment that is safe and caring for all life on the planet while building up a new generation of environmentally committed citizens and leaders.”

The Don Bosco Green Alliance’s priorities are combating pollution, reducing global warming and eliminating disposable plastics. In each of these areas, it aims to partner with ongoing global campaigns promoted by UN Environment or other international organizations.

Members have also undertaken such initiatives as environmental education to increase green areas and planting trees, the reduction of the use of non-degradable materials, promotion of organic agriculture and home gardens, preservation and conservation of water, and increasing the use of renewable energy sources.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Dominican Republic – Salesians launch a Syllabus for Ecological Formation for Salesian schools, which will benefit over 6,000 pupils

Don Bosco Green Alliance

Salesian Missions

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