The Don Bosco Technical Institute has been providing education and skills training in the electrical, automotive, carpentry and machine fitting maintenance trades as well as life skills training and employment assistance for more 200 students over the last 13 years. Within the last year, the institute has added new workshop materials and built a basketball court for recreational activities and six apartments for staff members who require accommodation on campus.

While the majority of students are male, the institute has been working to increase enrollment of female students by encouraging them to take courses in more typically male-dominated trades as well as providing opportunities for those who previously left school due to marriage or pregnancy. Currently, most young women begin at the institute with life skills training followed by courses in teaching and nursing.

The Laura Vicuna Hostel, operated by Salesian Sisters, provides safe accommodation for 36 young women from economically deprived backgrounds who have come to Honiara to attend university. The hostel is at maximum capacity and has a growing waiting list of young women who wish to live at the hostel and study and at the Don Bosco Technical Institute.

Responding to local need and numerous requests, the Salesian Sisters have been providing a five-month home economics course for women from disadvantaged backgrounds who have had very little formal education. In the Solomon Islands, only 20 percent of female adults are literate. The home economics program offers classes in basic literacy, math, computing, dress making, cooking and health awareness. Students learn practical skills in sewing and textiles as well as home and small business management. Many choose additional classes in music, basket weaving and gardening as well.

In 2013, the technical school introduced new courses in the basics of hospitality and tourism for young men and women seeking employment in hotel management and the hospitality industry. The school’s curriculum continues to expand based on the employment needs of the local community and student interest.

“Most of the students at the Don Bosco Technical Institute are from poor families and many have dropped out of traditional schools,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “There, they are getting a second chance by learning skills that will enable them to find employment to support themselves and their families.”

The Solomon Islands is one of the poorest countries in the Pacific region with almost 40 percent of the population living in poverty, according to UNICEF. The majority of the country’s children live in remote areas where access to education is limited. Close to 25 percent of youth never attend primary school with 30 percent of those attending never completing. Limited access to education and an adult literacy rate of less than 35 percent perpetuates the cycle of poverty from generation to generation.

Eighty-four percent of Solomon Islanders reside in rural areas and rely on subsistence farming for their livelihoods. Limited access to health and other social services and a lack of transportation, electricity and telecommunications infrastructure compounds already challenging economic conditions. With the majority of youth living in remote areas with limited educational and employment prospects, overcoming poverty is an uphill battle.

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Sources:

Don Bosco Technical Institute, Solomon Islands

Salesian Missions Australia Province Newsletter – Year in Review 2015

UNICEF – Solomon Islands

The post SOLOMON ISLANDS: Salesian Missionaries Help Youth Learn a Trade at Don Bosco Technical Institute first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Eighty-four percent of Solomon Islanders reside in rural areas and rely on subsistence farming for their livelihoods. Limited access to healthcare and other social services and a lack of transportation, electricity and telecommunications infrastructure compounds already challenging economic conditions. With the majority of youth living in remote areas with limited educational and employment prospects, overcoming poverty is an uphill battle.

In April, the Solomon Islands faced two devastating cyclones that killed 23 people and left more than 9,000 homeless as a result of devastating floods, landslides and strong winds. According to an Australia Network News report, the capital city of Honiara and the whole island of Guadalcanal were declared disaster zones. Responding to this crisis, Salesian programs and schools opened their doors to affected families in need of shelter and other assistance.

For students attending the Salesian-run Don Bosco Technical Institute Henderson, in the Solomon Islands’ capital city, Honiara, it was a chance to help their community and give back to those in need.

As part of their term project, students in the machinist fitting and maintenance program made drum ovens for six families staying at the school during the flooding. Although the students had only been in the program for three months, within just a few weeks’ time, they were able to craft the ovens using two and a half drums and show off their skills in welding, cutting, grinding, polishing and painting as well as utilize the safety measures they had learned.

“While learning we could make something useful for a needy family, I feel very happy,” says Willie Laumanu, one of the contributing students.

Students in the carpentry program assisted additional families by donating tables, chairs, garden diggers and open fire potholders they had created. The garden digger was an innovative design, a sharpened flat plate of metal welded on a four inch round hollow pipe, created by George Oge, a former graduate of the institute and now the supervisor of its maintenance department.

The Don Bosco Technical Institute has been bringing new opportunities to poor youth in the area through education and skills training in the electrical, automotive, carpentry and machine fitting maintenance trades as well as life skills training and employment assistance for the past 10 years.

While the majority of students are male, the institute is working to increase enrollment of female students by encouraging them to take courses in more typically male-dominated trades as well as providing opportunities for those who previously left school due to marriage or pregnancy. Currently, most young women begin at the institute with life skills training followed by courses in teaching and nursing.

“Most of the students at the Don Bosco Technical Institute are from poor families and many have dropped out of traditional schools,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “There, they are getting a second chance by learning skills that will enable them to find employment to support themselves and their families.”

This past year, the institute introduced a new course in the basics of hospitality and tourism that provides training for young men and women seeking employment in hotel management and the hospitality industry.

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Sources

ANS – Solomon Islands – Students of Don Bosco distribute drum ovens and other gifts to ex-refugee families

Australia Network News – Solomon Islands National Disaster Council issues all clear in wake of deadly Honiara floods

UNICEF – Solomon Islands

The post SOLOMON ISLANDS: Salesian Students Helping Those Affected by Recent Flooding first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Eighty-four percent of Solomon Islanders reside in rural areas and rely on subsistence farming for their livelihoods. Limited access to health and other social services and a lack of transportation, electricity and telecommunications infrastructure compounds already challenging economic conditions. With the majority of youth living in remote areas with limited educational and employment prospects, overcoming poverty is an uphill battle.

The Solomon Islands face devastating cyclones during monsoon season which runs from November through April. In early April of this year, two cyclones tore through the Solomon Islands leaving a wake of destruction in their path. The Australia News Network reports that 23 people have died and 9,000 were left homeless after the devastating floods, landslides and strong winds. According to the same report, the capital city of Honiara and the whole island of Guadalcanal have been declared a disaster zone. The chairman of the Solomon Islands National Disaster Council says Honiara needs reconstruction, not rehabilitation, for roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

There are also growing fears of an outbreak of disease due to damage to the sewerage system and water supplies, which in some areas are completely destroyed. The National Disaster Management Office says dysentery, malaria, dengue fever and other diseases related to poor sanitation are all a real risk. The Solomon Islands Water Authority says 40 percent of Honiara is still cut off from the water supply, including many of the evacuation centers where people went to take shelter.

Salesian programs in the Solomon Islands have been affected. The Salesian-run Don Bosco Technical Institute Henderson in Honiara, which has been providing education and skills training in the electrical, automotive, carpentry and machine fitting maintenance trades as well as life skills training and employment assistance for the past 10 years, has sustained damage and flooding. The agro-technical center and youth center have also been affected.

A donated ambulance used by the program was swept away while Salesians were trying to save several families and was rendered beyond repair. In the seminary and pastoral center, the flooding is deep and seminarians are confined to the second floor of the building. The water has also reached the library in the building. Within the surrounding community, bridges are failing and many people have taken shelter within the cathedral and other Salesian buildings.

“Working in more than 130 countries around the globe, Salesians face extreme weather and other disasters and are prepared to handle what happens within their programs and communities during times of crisis,” said Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Because Salesians were already working within these Solomon Island communities prior to the storms, they have been able to respond quickly to those in need, particularly those who have needed shelter,” he added.

In Tetere in the province of Makira, Salesians run the Don Bosco Rural Training Center where more than 120 young men and women are enrolled to learn farming and technical skills. After the cyclones hit, the local Salesian parish there was completely submerged in water. The hospital, school and the residence for the Salesian Sisters who run the school were saved thanks to the work of volunteers who raised embankments of gravel. However, with several bridges having been swept away, Tetere remains cut off from aid.

Salesians continue to work within their local communities in the Solomon Islands providing education and training to poor youth and assisting those in the community as best they can.

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Sources

ANS – Solomon Islands – Two Violent Cyclones in One Month

Australia News Network – Solomon Islands National Disaster Council issues all clear in wake of deadly Honiara floods

UNICEF – Solomon Islands

The post SOLOMON ISLANDS: Salesian Programs Offer Shelter to Homeless Recovering from Devastating Cyclones first appeared on MissionNewswire.

In addition, limited access to health care, social services and reliable transportation, particularly in rural areas where close to 84 percent of the population reside, on top of a weak electricity and telecommunications infrastructure, compounds already challenging economic conditions.

The Salesian-run Don Bosco Technical Institute Henderson in the Solomon Islands’ capital city, Honiara, is bringing new opportunities to poor youth in the area. The institute has been providing education and skills training in the electrical, automotive, carpentry and machine fitting maintenance trades as well as life skills training and employment assistance, for the past 10 years.

While the majority of students are male, the institute is working to increase enrollment of female students by encouraging them to take courses in more typically male-dominated trades as well as providing opportunities for those who previously left school due to marriage or pregnancy. Currently, most young women begin at the institute with life skills training followed by courses in teaching and nursing.

The Laura Vicuna Hostel, operated by Salesian Sisters in Honiara, is home to 25 young girls from distant villages and surrounding islands who have come to the city to study at the Don Bosco Technical Institute and other local schools. In addition to their school studies, many of the young women here learn new skills such as music, sewing, basket weaving and gardening. A recent donation of sewing machines by the Rotary Club of North Balwyn in Australia, is helping students practice their new skills with the hope of future employment.

“Most of the students at the Don Bosco Technical Institute are from poor families and many have dropped out of traditional schools,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “There, they are getting a second chance by learning skills that will enable them to find employment to support themselves and their families.”

This past year, the institute introduced a new course in the basics of hospitality and tourism that provides training for young men and women seeking employment in hotel management and the hospitality industry.

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Sources

UNICEF – Solomon Islands

Salesians – Australia Pacific

Salesian Missions Australia Province Newsletter – Year in Review 2013

Don Bosco Technical Institute, Solomon Islands

The post SOLOMON ISLANDS: Salesians Help Young Men Learn Trades, Find Stable Employment first appeared on MissionNewswire.