Both the Don Bosco Technical Center and the Don Bosco Hotel School provide two-year skill training programs to poor and orphaned youth between the ages of 17 and 22 years with limited opportunities for education. The Don Bosco Hotel School focuses on hospitality programs to prepare students for work in restaurants, at catering companies and hotels and in other areas of the tourism field. The Don Bosco Technical Center, the largest technical school in the area, offers courses in electricity, electronics, automotive repair, printing, web design, audiovisual editing and production, journalism, social communication, secretarial skills, sewing, culinary arts, hotel management and welding.

Primarily known for its social communication and journalism program, the Don Bosco Technical Center is home to the Salesian-run Audiovisual Center which operates as a teaching institution for media communications while providing audiovisual production services to the local community. Started in 2007 by Father Albeiro Rodas Samnang, rector of the Don Bosco Foundation of Cambodia, the Audiovisual Center trains youth from rural and disadvantaged communities in media communications with the goal of teaching them a viable trade that will lead to stable employment after graduation. In addition to courses in media communications, the center offers workshops facilitated by Cambodian journalists.

The donated rice-meals are provided to students during the school day, and for 161 students who are boarders at the schools, meals are provided three times a day.

“Technical students need the proper nutrition to focus on their studies and fully take part in classroom and in-field training,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Prepared students are more likely to learn valuable skills that will help them gain employment and break the cycle of poverty in their lives while enabling them to give back to their communities.”

Stop Hunger Now partners with Salesian Missions (in New Rochelle, N.Y.) which works to identify needs and coordinate delivery of 40-foot shipping containers full of meals supplemented with additional supplies when available. The partnership was developed in 2011 and since that time, more than 60 shipping containers, including more than 16 million rice-meals, have been successfully delivered to 19 countries around the globe. The meals and life-saving aid has helped to nourish poor youth at Salesian schools and programs and care for those in need of emergency aid during times of war, natural disasters and health crises.

“The partnership with Stop Hunger Now allows Salesian Missions to expand its services for youth in need,” adds Fr. Hyde. “Operating feeding programs for youth in Salesian schools whose families cannot afford to feed them is very important and integral to the success of our students and their ability to gain an education.”

Salesian missionaries have a long history of teaching job skills to youth in Cambodia. Through the United Nations, missionaries began providing technical and vocational education to Cambodian refugees living in camps along the Thai-Cambodian border in the late 1980s. In 1993, at the invitation of the government of Cambodia, a technical School in Phnom Penh was established to republish, translate and write books and educational documents that were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge regime. The technical school contained the only working printing press in the country – and served as a model of hope through education.

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Sources:

Don Bosco Technical Center

Don Bosco Hotel School 

Stop Hunter Now 

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Started in 2007 by Father Albeiro Rodas Samnang, rector of the Don Bosco Foundation of Cambodia, the Audiovisual Center trains youth from rural and disadvantaged communities in media communications with the goal of teaching them a viable trade that will lead to stable employment after graduation. In addition to courses in media communications, the center offers workshops facilitated by Cambodian journalists.

Students studying at the Audiovisual Center are able to apply the skills learned in the classroom by providing media production services to the public. These services include voice and music recording, audio and video editing and production and audio and video presentation in Khmer and English.

“The Audiovisual Center provides Cambodians the ability to use media and make a contribution to the country’s development, reducing poverty and empowering a culture of participation and democracy,” says Fr. Samnang. “Many of the graduates of the center have gained employment in Cambodian media through several television, radio, newspaper and digital media companies. In addition, the center has been supported by professional volunteers and Cambodian journalists sharing their experience with the students.”

The Don Bosco Technical Center in Sihanoukville is one of six technical schools supported by the Don Bosco Foundation in Cambodia. The Foundation provides technical skills training for youth between 16 and 22 who have completed at least the 8th grade. The technical schools are located in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Kep, Battambang and Poipet and provide courses in automotive, industrial mechanics, electricity and electronics, social communication, secretarial and office administration, tailoring, hospitality, welding, agriculture, information technology and language and arts communication.

“The Don Bosco technical schools are important for poor students in Cambodia and also for developing a skilled workforce for the local economy,” adds. Fr. Samnang. “Not only is education about learning to read and write, it provides a foundation for a career and a secure livelihood. Salesian educational programs bring new hope for Cambodian students and for their families.”

Cambodia has a long history of violence and conflict that has driven up poverty rates in the country. Having moved past the troubles of the Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodia’s economy has been strengthening and the construction, tourism and agriculture industries have seen much growth. However, according to the World Bank, almost a quarter of Cambodians still live in poverty, many residing in the country’s most rural areas, and close to 75 percent of the population continues to face seasonal food shortages.

Rural Cambodians make up about 80 percent of the country’s population and have the most limited access to education, healthcare and other public services. Today, close to a quarter of Cambodians over the age of 15 are illiterate. With very little access to education, poor youth find it especially challenging to break the cycle of poverty and find hope for the future.

Sources

Don Bosco Tech Audio Visual Center

World Bank – Cambodia 

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Although Samoa has made impressive progress in social development, many rural communities in the country grapple with an unequal distribution of wealth and benefits. Poorer communities in remote parts of the islands are particularly vulnerable, especially in areas most likely to be affected by cyclones or other natural disasters. Gender inequality is apparent as women strive and often fail to find the same work and income opportunities as men and youth find it increasingly difficult to find livable wage employment in the country.

Salesian programs in Samoa are working to provide youth with an education and training as well as the necessary resources to find and keep employment. Don Bosco Technical Center in Alafua, a town just outside the capital city of Apia in the north central part of the country, provides vocational education and trade skills programs to prepare students ages 15 to 23 for employment.

“Salesian missionaries in Samoa work directly with poor and disadvantaged youth to provide hope for a positive future through education and training as well as sporting, recreational and cultural activities,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian missionaries have established a presence in local communities allowing them to experience firsthand the issues residents face. This way, they are able to adapt their programs to meet each community’s individual needs.”

The Don Bosco Technical Center provides a second chance for close to 270 young men, many of whom have struggled to successfully complete or continue their education in mainstream schools. Both two-year and four-year training programs are offered with specialties in welding, motor mechanics, woodwork, electronics and plumbing. In addition, students study Samoan, English, mathematics, technical drawing and life skills.

Significant emphasis is placed on workshop and practical experience to help students apply skills learned in the classroom to real life work environments. Because of the quality of education provided and the lack of trained tradespeople in Samoa, more than 85 percent of graduates secure employment in the country. Some graduates have chosen to emigrate to New Zealand or Australia and have had success finding employment in those countries as well.

The center also offers sporting and recreational activities including fautasi (long-boat), games and traditional singing and dancing in addition to promoting personal development. In an effort to expand and meet the needs of students, the school plans to introduce solar electricity and complete a computer laboratory and internet facilities for staff and students.

“Salesian missionaries living and working in Samoa are able to tailor educational programs to ensure the best employment opportunities for students after they graduate,” adds Fr. Hyde. “The addition of life skills training and personal development opportunities help students make good life choices and become better employees.”

Sources

Don Bosco Technical Center Alaufa

World Bank – Samoa

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“Salesian programs help to provide a stable environment and path out of poverty for many youth,” says Father Albeiro Rodas, who is in charge of Don Bosco Vocational Center Kep. “Our new programs and facilities allow for additional youth to have access to more diverse educational programs that provide them hope for a better future.”

Female students at Don Bosco Vocational Center Kep have a new residence hall. The opening of Salesians of Piet de Visser House, also known as the Banteay Srei Women’s Hostel, will provide residence for female students and teachers.

Further, Don Bosco Technical Center has a new building that will house studies in tailoring, electrical skills and vehicle maintenance service. The new building was named Sok San Site (Site of Peace), honoring the Salesians, teachers and students who led the Don Bosco Technical School inside the Khmer Sok San Site Refugee Camp in Thailand during the war in the 1980s-1990s.

In addition, the Salesians received approval for construction of a new art section and the installation of audiovisual studios in the social communication section. The Salesian program will eventually teach art skills such as painting, sculpture, drawing, design, music, dance and drama for youth from the regions of Kep, Kampot and Takeo.

Inside the new building for social communication, the audiovisual studios will serve to train young people in the use of media and the production of educational and social audiovisual production. Youth will participate through short courses in art and audiovisual skills, while young people from poor rural areas of the region will have the opportunity to engage in a two year technical course.

Lastly, the Don Bosco Service Center offers services to the Kep Province communities, especially for youth and visitors to the region. This Service Center contributes to the sustainability of the educational center and to the promotion of other Don Bosco projects.

Currently, the Don Bosco Service Center provides photocopy and photography services, an Internet café, computer school, laundry facility and barber shop for boys.

In 1993, at the invitation of the government of Cambodia, the technical School in Phnom Penh was established to republish, translate, and write books and educational documents that were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge regime. It contained the only working printing press in the country—and served as a model of hope through education.

“As more and more programs for youth are developed in Cambodia, donations are needed to help make the programs and facilities fully operational,” explains Fr. Rodas. “We are still in need of furniture for both our male and female residences, audiovisual and other radio equipment for our radio station as well as updated water and electrical systems at the facility.”

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

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Sources:

Salesian Missions – Work in Cambodia

Salesian Missions – CAMBODIA: Construction Continues, Donations Needed at Don Bosco Vocational Center Kep

UNICEF – Cambodia

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