Compared to Kenya’s more rural areas, fewer youth residing in the slums of Nairobi attend the later stages of school. The few schools serving this disadvantaged community are beyond the financial means of most families. UNICEF noted that while Kenya has free and compulsory education, youth in poverty still cannot afford to attend school with nine out of 10 children from poor households failing to complete their basic education.

Gender inequalities remain severe, with women in poverty five times more likely to be unemployed than their male counterparts. In addition, the number of street children and those addicted to drugs is a growing challenge.

With its mandate to serve “the poorest of the poor,” Don Bosco Boys Town is bringing hope while making a real impact—transforming the lives of hundreds of destitute young people by providing a practical path out of poverty.

Established in the mid-1980s, Don Bosco Boys Town is a technical school located in Nairobi. The school provides technical and trade skills training to more than 300 students a year, and has long since opened its doors to girls as well. Its mission extends beyond job training and offers students the opportunity for a life of dignity and good citizenship.

“The school attracts youth that do not do well on national college exams and provides them an alternative opportunity to acquire marketable skills that can help them make a living,” said Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “The tuition cost is highly subsidized to make this training affordable to the low income student population in Kenya.”

While the majority of its students are boys, both boys and girls are provided access to this two-year technical training program. The program offers training in a wide variety of vocational skills, including tailoring, car engineering/mechanics, carpentry, electrical work and welding as well as secretarial and a full spectrum of computer-related job skills. As part of a well-rounded education, additional programs such as sports, music, scouting and prayer groups are also included as part of the curriculum.

After graduation more than 80 percent of the graduates are employed in their fields of study. Many students are also able to move on to establish their own businesses and become entrepreneurs in Nairobi.

One recent student, Luciane Kimasha, began attending when a friend encouraged her to fill out the school’s application. She had lost both of her parents within two years and was constantly on the move from the home of one neighbor or friend to another. Her future seemed bleak until she was accepted into Don Bosco Boys Town.

“I’m going to be a car mechanic. I was the only girl in the automotive program, but I never gave up. In the second year, another girl joined me, so now there are two of us,” Kimasha explains. “From the moment I set foot in here, I got very many advantages. First, I learned my automotive mechanics and I can handle any issue. But I also got spiritual nourishment in the Church and seminars on life choices.”

Kimasha, like many of her peers attending the program adds, “I have learned a lot.”

In closing Father Hyde added, “All youth deserve a chance at a better life. At Don Bosco Boys Town we help youth take responsibility for their own lives by providing them the skills to find and keep a job to support themselves and help their communities.”

To make a donation in support of programs like this, go to SalesianMissions.org/Donate.

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In Kenya, Akankunda and Rio visited the Don Bosco Youth Educational Services and the Don Bosco Boys Town in Karen—located in the outskirts of Nairobi. On their tour of Don Bosco Youth Education Services, Akankunda was most impressed by the school’s media center which included print and video production units which are used to promote youth-friendly programs that teach life skills.

At Don Bosco Boys Town, the two visited vocational training programs that teach tailoring, car engineering and mechanics, carpentry, electrical work and steel soldering. The tuition cost is highly subsidized, making the training affordable to the largely low-income student population in Kenya.

This technical school attracts youth that do not do well on national college entrance exams and provides them an alternative opportunity to acquire marketable skills. Upon graduation, students become entrepreneurs and move on to establish their own businesses in Nairobi. While Don Bosco Boys Town primarily educates boys, girls also attend and have access to the same programs.

“Most impressive was a young female student learning steel soldering alongside 30 male students,” Akankunda says, “I was full of admiration for this brave young Kenyan girl.”

If funded, the Girls’ Education Challenge Project would allow Salesian Missions to further promote education for girls in Kenya. With fewer girls represented in the education system compared to their male peers, the project would target girls ages 6 to 19 years old and support enrollment, active participation, performance, retention and completion within Kenyan primary schools.

“Salesian education is teaching vulnerable children life and technical skills, enabling them to make a living as adults,” Akankunda says. “The investment in technical schools and the commitment to girls’ education attests to Salesian Missions’ dedication to giving hope to the less privileged.”

Salesian Missions is the U.S. development arm of the international Salesians of Don Bosco—specializing in programs and services for at-risk youth in more than 130 countries. The Salesians are widely considered the world’s largest private provider of vocational and technical education.

For more information, go to www.SalesianMissions.org.

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Sources:

ANS:  Papua New Guinea – Discovering the Salesian Missions

UNICEF: Pacific region turning spotlight on achieving justice for children

The post KENYA: Salesian Missions Office for International Programs Visits Kenya to Assist with Funding for Girls’ Education Challenge Project first appeared on MissionNewswire.