The 2016 theme for International Women’s Day is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality.” This year the U.N is reflecting on how to accelerate and build momentum for the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its new commitments under the UN Women’s Step It Up initiative. This new initiative asks governments to make national commitments that will close the gender equality gap – from laws and policies to national action plans and adequate investments.

Some key targets of the 2030 Agenda include: ensuring that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes; ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere; eliminating all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation; and eliminating all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

“On this International Women’s Day, I remain outraged by the denial of rights to women and girls – but I take heart from the people everywhere who act on the secure knowledge that women’s empowerment leads to society’s advancement. Let us devote solid funding, courageous advocacy and unbending political will to achieving gender equality around the world. There is no greater investment in our common future.”— UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon’s statement on International Women’s Day.

Salesian missionaries living and working in more than 130 countries around the globe are focused on achieving gender equality through programs targeted specifically for young women and girls. These programs strive to empower young women and girls by providing opportunities for education and training that lead to livable wage employment.

“Young women and girls face many disadvantages and barriers to accessing education and achieving financial independence despite their huge potential,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “It is very important for girls to attend school and gain an education. Girls that are empowered though education are more often able to achieve financial independence, marry at an older age and make better and healthier choices that affect not only themselves, but their families and communities as well.”

In honor of International Women’s Day, Salesian Missions is proud to share some of its programs around the globe that empower young women and girls.

BOLIVIA

Started in 1992, the Casa Maín girl’s home in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, provides shelter, nutritious meals and schooling for girls and young women with little access to education and those who were once living on the streets. Currently, there are more than 160 girls living and being educated at the home. Casa Maín is comprised of three houses and the girls are divided among them by age. The youngest girls, attending elementary school, live together in one house supported by several volunteer students from the secondary school. A second house provides shelter and peer support for girls attending secondary school while a third house is for young women attending the local university. The university students enjoy a setting that allows them to finish their degrees in higher education in a stable environment while learning how to live independently.

In addition to academic classes, the young women and girls at the home learn skills in communication and conflict management. Additional classes in dance, gymnastics and crafts are provided in the evenings and on weekends. Recently, the organization offered a three-week technology workshop to teach the girls basic computer skills including typing, word processing and drawing.

INDIA

Women from the slums of Mumbai, a densely populated city on India’s west coast, graduated from a Salesian-run 45-day skills training course. The women took courses in basic computing, English, tailoring, garment making, beauty care, hair dressing and mehndi (henna) application. The goal of the training was to help participants become better prepared for employment.

The Don Bosco Development Society in Mumbai which works to empower women in poverty to gain the skills and confidence they need to seek work, facilitated the training. For many of the participants, this was the first time they received educational training since the basic education they received when they were young. Salesian missionaries conducting the program modeled it after Skill India, an initiative by the Government of India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. After the course was completed, many of the students noted that through the course they gained a sense of self-worth that they had not had before. They also felt that the skills and confidence they gained would enable them to earn a living and support their families.

SENEGAL

Center Kër Don Bosco officially opened at the end of January in Dakar, the capital and largest city in Senegal. The new center provides education, vocational training and apprenticeship opportunities to disadvantaged youth and women living in the Yoff district on the outskirts of the city.

Focused specifically on helping women gain opportunities in the workforce, the center is offering two literacy classes as well as a safe space for studying. Women in Senegal are often heads of households but lack the training and confidence to try to enter the workforce or advance into higher paying jobs. The center’s goal is to help women connect with their peers and provide access to employment training to boost confidence and improve employment prospects.

SIERRA LEONE

Salesians at Don Bosco Fambul in Freetown, Sierra Leone, have been running a Girls Shelter for the past two years. Here, professional social workers and pastoral workers provide crisis intervention and follow-up care for girls and young women who have been the victims of sexual assault. Those that access services at the shelter are also able to enroll in educational programs that are a part of the broader Don Bosco Fambul network. These programs train young women in the skills necessary to find and retain employment.

As part of the rehabilitation program at the Girls Shelter, young women take coursework in hotel management, hairdressing and tailoring. This training helps to empower them to overcome the discrimination they have faced, gain a greater awareness of their rights and boost their work prospects. It also helps to build character while allowing the young women the freedom to make decisions that affect their lives and their health. Recently, both the trainers and the students in these programs were able to present their skills and products to the general public at an exhibition in Freetown.

###

Sources:

International Women’s Day 2016

UN – International Women’s Day 2016

The post INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Women’s Education, Empowerment Programs first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The Don Bosco Development Society in Mumbai which works to empower women in poverty to gain the skills and confidence they need to seek work, facilitated the training. For many of the participants, this was the first time they received educational training since the basic education they received when they were young. Salesian missionaries conducting the program modeled it after Skill India, an initiative by the Government of India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Salesian missionaries living and working in India and in more than 130 countries around the globe are focused on achieving gender equality though education and workforce development programs targeted specifically for women and girls. These programs strive to empower women and girls by providing opportunities for education and training that leads to livable wage employment. Many women attending the 45-day course initially struggled to balance the demands of the training with their responsibilities at home but eventually found the time and confidence to successfully complete the program.

“In the beginning we were hesitating,” said one student who completed the program. “Since some of us are housewives it was difficult to give time because of housework, cooking and small children.”

After the course was completed, many of the students noted that through the course they gained a sense of self-worth that they had not had before. They also felt that the skills and confidence they gained would enable them to earn a living and support their families.

“Women face many disadvantages and barriers to accessing education and achieving financial independence despite their huge potential,” says Father Rolvin D’Mello, executive director of the Don Bosco Development Society. “It is very important for girls to attend school and gain an education. Girls that are empowered though education are more often able to achieve financial independence, provide additional financial support within their households and make healthier choices that affect not only themselves, but their families and communities as well.”

With more than 1.2 billion people, India has the world’s fourth largest economy and according to UNICEF, is home to one-third of the world’s poor. Close to 217 million of India’s poor are children. Although more than 53 million people escaped poverty between 2005 and 2010, most remain vulnerable to falling back below the poverty line.

India’s youth face a lack of educational opportunities due to issues of caste, class and gender. Almost 44 percent of the workforce is illiterate and less than 10 percent of the working-age population has completed a secondary education. In addition, too many secondary school graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.

###

Sources:

ANS – India – Empowering Women for the Future

UNICEF – India

The post INDIA: Women from Slums of Mumbai Access Skills Training through Don Bosco Development Society first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Training centers have already been established in 2014 at the Don Bosco Technical School Maligaon in Guwahati and at the Don Bosco Technical School in Kolkata. The goal of the training centers is to offer expanded skills training to poor youth across India. According to the International Labor Organization’s Global Employment Trends 2014 Report, the unemployment rate in India has been gradually increasing since 2011 when the rate was at 3.5 percent. The rate rose to 3.6 percent in 2012 and again climbed in 2013 to 3.7 percent. The unemployment rate was expected to continue to grow throughout 2014, according the report.

“At present, there is a huge skills gap in the industry as it heads toward an expansion drive,” said Masaki Asano, managing director of Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd. “On the other hand, a large number of unskilled youth are pushed towards unemployment which is a hindrance to any nation’s development. This partnership is meant to address this very concern by providing a platform to the economically weaker and unemployed youth to obtain a job-oriented technical training in two-wheeler repair and servicing that meets industry standards.”

The Yamaha Training Centers follow the Yamaha Technical Academy’s training program which was developed in India in 2002 based upon Japan’s formal Yamaha technician training curriculum. The academy coursework provides comprehensive technical education and expertise from the Yamaha factory with hands-on diagnostic and troubleshooting skills training.

There are four levels of certificate courses, each lasting one year, that make up the Indian training centers’ curriculum and each class can take up to 30 students. The entry level course prepares students for work at an assistant’s level while the highest level course prepares students for supervisory work. Each student has the opportunity to access all four training levels and can choose to graduate at whichever level he or she is most interested in or qualified for. Most graduates go on to find work in Yamaha dealerships.

To help prepare students for the workforce, Don Bosco technical schools offer resume writing assistance, interview skills training and other social development services in addition to the courses that are part of the Yamaha Training Center program.

“As a recognized industry player, we shoulder the responsibility to empower the economically weaker sections of the society, especially the youth,” explained Ravinder Singh, vice president of strategy and planning at Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd. “We have incorporated many programs in our annual calendar to make a lasting impact on the lives of these young people by making them self-reliant. We certainly foresee recruitment opportunities for them at our own dealerships as this will help our dealers in getting quality trained manpower for their business.”

With more than 1.2 billion people, India has the world’s fourth largest economy and according to UNICEF, is home to one-third of the world’s poor. Close to 217 million of India’s poor are children. Although more than 53 million people escaped poverty between 2005 and 2010, most remain vulnerable to falling back below the poverty line.

India’s youth face a lack of educational opportunities due to issues of caste, class and gender. Almost 44 percent of the workforce is illiterate and less than 10 percent of the working-age population has completed a secondary education. In addition, too many secondary school graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.

###

Sources:

Car Trade – Yamaha extends its Training School to Mumbai Bosco Boys Welfare Society

Indian Express – Yamaha Shows Youth Road to Employability

Don Bosco Technical School in Kolkata

Don Bosco Technical School Maligaon in Guwahati

The post INDIA: Yamaha Expands Partnership Opening Two New Training Centers at Salesian Programs in Chennai and Mumbai first appeared on MissionNewswire.

The goal of the medical health camp was to provide preventative screenings and health education on cancer and related health issues resulting from high blood pressure, excess weight and other factors. The event, which was held free of charge for participants, provided education and health screenings for more than 550 women.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), close to 5.8 million Indians die each year from heart and lung diseases, stroke, cancer and diabetes. One in four Indians are at risk of dying as a result of a non-communicable disease before they reach the age of 70. Doctors in the country are also finding that people are being affected by heart disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases at younger ages.

The WHO notes that globally, more than 4 million deaths are caused by exposures to indoor household air pollution and 3.7 million deaths are attributed to outdoor air pollution each year. Approximately 40 percent of the deaths from indoor air pollution and 25 percent of those attributed to outdoor air pollution occur in Southeast Asia. The poor in India who live near busy roads and industrial sites are disproportionately affected by air pollution as are women and children who spend more time at home breathing in smoke and soot from cooking stoves.

“Salesian missionaries care for the sick in nearly 100 clinics and hospitals, located mostly in rural areas, around the globe,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “The medical health camp provided many Indian women access to necessary health education and screenings that will help to prevent disease and improve their overall quality of life.”

During the medical health camp, medical personnel administered screenings for diabetes, high blood pressure and body mass index. Gynecological and sonography services to screen for kidney and gall bladder stones, hernias, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts and appendicitis were also provided. In addition, the women who attended the camp were educated on the benefits related to income planning, saving and loans.

With more than 1.2 billion people, India has the world’s fourth largest economy and according to UNICEF, is home to one-third of the world’s poor. Close to 217 million of India’s poor are children. Although more than 53 million people escaped poverty between 2005 and 2010, most remain vulnerable to falling back below the poverty line.

Lack of educational opportunities in India are often due to issues of caste, class and gender and with 44 percent of the workforce illiterate, there is much work to be done. Less than 10 percent of the working-age population has completed a secondary education and too many secondary graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.

Sources

Don Bosco Development Society

Don Bosco India – Free Medical camp held for women on Women’s Day

UNICEF – India

World Health Organization – India: first to adapt the Global Monitoring Framework on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)

The post INDIA: Don Bosco Development Society Medical Health Camp Provided Screening to More than 550 Women first appeared on MissionNewswire.