Youth currently comprise more than 23 percent of the country’s total population and those between the ages of 20 and 24 years face an unemployment rate close to 40 percent, according to  a 2014 United Nations Human Development report. A Sri Lanka Labor Force Survey conducted during the first quarter of 2015 found there were 422,446 unemployed persons between the ages of 18 and 24 years.

Since 1983, ethnic violence in the north and east of the country has forced more than 800,000 people from their homes and sources of livelihood. Thousands of children lost one or both parents in the conflict and the number of households headed by women increased, negatively impacting the poverty rate in the country.

Nine out of 10 poor people in Sri Lanka live in rural areas, according to the World Bank. More than 40 percent of the country’s rural poor are small-scale farmers with farm production often hampered by neglect and low investment levels resulting from poor financial services and limited technology. Sri Lankans are affected by a significant lack of infrastructure including roads, electricity, irrigation systems and communication channels. In several areas of the country, seven out of 10 people have no access to electricity and almost half of the population does not have access to safe drinking water. Malnutrition among children is also common.

“Youth unemployment stems from the ongoing war and deeply entrenched social factors of class, ethnicity and caste,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian missionaries working in the country focus their efforts on meeting basic needs as well as education and social development services for poor youth and their families.”

Salesian schools, services and programs throughout Sri Lanka are helping to break the cycle of poverty while giving many hope for a more positive and productive future. The Don Bosco Vocational Training Center equips its students with the skills they need to compete in the labor market by offering courses in hotel management, electrical and mechanical engineering, computers and more. The center is also serving local employers by providing them a well-trained labor force.

“I am in a good position to help my family financially and hope to have a better future,” said 19-year-old W. Tiron Lakmal who stopped studying due to financial problems and undertook a welding course at the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center, according to a recent UCA News article about the school.

Lakmal said he is grateful for the vocational training or else he would have been just another unemployed young person with no future and no confidence to find work.

Many of the technical school’s students are school dropouts seeking a second chance. The school is accessible to poor youth regardless of their religious affiliation who are looking to dedicate themselves to overcoming the challenging labor conditions in the country. The Salesians of Don Bosco have been operating in Sri Lanka since 1956. In 1963, missionaries set up their first technical institute and since then, have established 17 more in locations across the country.

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Sources:

The Don Bosco Vocational Training Center in Nochchiyagama, Sri Lanka

UCA News – Sri Lankan Salesians help youth in difficult job market

World Bank – Sri Lanka

The post SRI LANKA: Salesian Missionaries Provide Technical Training to Poor Youth to Help Them Gain Employment in Difficult Labor Market first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Each year, June 20 marks World Refugee Day, a day that honors the plight of millions of refugees and internally displaced people around the globe. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, noted that at the end of 2014, more than 50 million people had been forced from their homes worldwide. Almost 80 percent of those displaced are women and children.

Established in 2001, World Refugee Day is coordinated by UNHRC and focuses on honoring the courage, strength and determination of men, women and children forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence. Each year, the day focuses on a particular theme that highlights specific circumstances faced by refugees. This year’s theme, “Get to know a refugee – Ordinary people living through extraordinary times,” aims to bring the public closer to the human side of the refugee story.

“All around the world we are seeing families fleeing violence,” said High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres in a recent statement about World Refugee Day. “The numbers are massive – but we must not forget that these are mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. People who led ordinary lives before war forced them to flee. On this World Refugee Day, everyone should remember the things that connect all of us – our common humanity.”

To mark World Refugee Day 2015, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs around the globe that provide life-changing education and support for refugees and internally displaced people in need that were developed by Salesian Missions and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Salesian Missions, headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, is the U.S. Development Arm of the international Salesians of Don Bosco.

COLOMBIAN REFUGEES

In recent years, more than 450,000 people have fled the violence of Colombia to neighboring Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama and Costa Rica. Salesian Missions’ New Beginnings initiative, which started in 2011, has provided more than 1,000 Colombian refugees in these four countries vocational and human development training as well as job placement services.

Many of the Colombian refugees began the program with no marketable skills. Without the prospect of a job, it was hard for them to create stability for their families and build new lives. The New Beginnings program grants each refugee 260 hours of technical training as well as 40 hours of human development workshops. The training programs, coupled with the job placement services, allowed these victims of violence and chaos to start over and build a stable, hopeful future for themselves, their families and their new communities.

SRI LANKAN REFUGEES IN INDIA

For the fifth year, Salesian Missions has received funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration to conduct its New Beginnings program for Sri Lankan Refugees in Tamil Nadu, India. To date, close to 2,500 refugees have received vocational training scholarships through the program. Since 1983, ethnic violence in Sri Lanka has forced tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils from their homeland in search of safety and a new life in Tamil Nadu, India. According to UNHCR, there are close to 140,000 Sri Lankan refugees in 65 countries, with almost 70,000 in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu.

Refugees face many challenges as they begin to make a new life in their host countries. Sri Lankan Tamils are unique in that their host population in Tamil Nadu is also ethnically Tamil. While Sri Lankan refugees share a common language and customs with their host community, they still struggle to gain marketable skills and find livable wage employment.

Since 2010, Salesian Missions has been providing its New Beginnings program for young male and female Sri Lankan refugees who have been living in refugee camps in 15 target districts in India. In 2015, Salesian missionaries are serving 550 individuals by providing vocational training through a network of nine Salesian-run Don Bosco schools spread across Southeast India. In addition, 550 women are benefiting from refugee camp-based small business incubator programs. The New Beginnings program provides market-conscious vocational and technical skills training that results in livable wage employment, allowing trainees to better support themselves and their families. Many refugees enter the program with few, if any, job prospects or with a history of low paid part-time work experience which is typically unskilled and often dangerous and exploitative.

REFUGEES IN KENYA

Kakuma was established in 1992 near Kenya’s border with South Sudan and was a place of refuge for unaccompanied minors fleeing warring factions in what was then southern Sudan. Today, the Kakuma refugee camp has more than 180,000 refugees, well over the 120,000 person capacity for which it was built. More than 44 percent of the refugees at the camp are from South Sudan and arrived after fleeing the country to escape conflict and violence.

Kakuma is operated by UNHCR in collaboration with Salesian missionaries in the country as well as several other humanitarian organizations. The camp offers refugees safety, security and life-saving services such as housing, healthcare, clean water and sanitation. Salesian missionaries at Kakuma refugee camp operate the Holy Cross Parish and the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where 1,044 young men and women are receiving critical employment and life skills. There are many courses available and those studying welding, carpentry and bricklaying often utilize their new skills helping to build infrastructure within the camp. Salesian missionaries are currently seeking funding to build a new school on a donated plot of land at the refugee camp in order to meet the growing demand.

Salesian missionaries at the camp also operate the Helping Children to be Children program which gathers refugee children and leads them in games, songs and classes held outdoors on the camp grounds. As part of the program, children are offered the opportunity to draw and learn to speak English. Close to 3,000 children benefit from this Salesian program which currently has no steady funding and is run primarily by refugee volunteers.

SYRIAN REFUGEES IN TURKEY

Sharing a 500-mile-long border with Syria, Southeastern Turkey has more than 1.6 million Syrian refugees, as reported by the United Nations. Salesian missionaries are providing services at three sites within Syria while also providing for Syrian refugees in Turkey. While many Syrian refugees stay in towns on the Turkey-Syrian border, many find their way to big cities like Istanbul where Salesian missionaries operate a program that currently serves close to 400 Syrian refugees.

At the Don Bosco Center in Istanbul, Salesian Father Andres Calleja Ruiz leads special programs for refugee children and youth from Syria as well as for a growing number of families fleeing ISIS persecution in Iraq. Because most refugees do not speak the local language it is difficult for children to attend school and adults to find work. At the Center, Salesian missionaries provide a school for more than 350 refugee children where they learn English language skills and traditional school subjects such as mathematics, geography and music. Students have access to sports and dance programs intended to help them connect with their peers and find enjoyment and comfort in their new surroundings. In addition, the program provides counseling both for youth and their families to help them overcome the challenges and traumas they have faced.

Technical skills training is a critical component of Salesian work in Istanbul. Many refugees leave the country’s border towns and refugee camps and make their way to Istanbul hoping to find employment and a more stable life. If they fail to find work, refugees are often left in dire circumstances. The Don Bosco Center’s technical skills training program is a critical safety net for those in need.

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Sources:

World Refugee Day 2015

The post WORLD REFUGEE DAY: Salesian Missions Highlights Educational Programs Assisting Refugees around the Globe first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Kakuma was established in 1992 near Kenya’s border with South Sudan and was a place of refuge for unaccompanied minors fleeing warring factions in what was then southern Sudan. Today, the Kakuma refugee camp has more than 180,000 refugees, well over the 120,000 person capacity for which it was built. More than 44 percent of the refugees at the camp are from South Sudan and arrived after fleeing the country to escape conflict and violence.

Kakuma is operated by UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, in collaboration with Salesian missionaries in the country as well as several other humanitarian organizations. The camp offers refugees safety, security and life-saving services such as housing, healthcare, clean water and sanitation. According to UNHCR, for the third year in a row, Kakuma continues to receive record numbers of refugees from South Sudan. By late December 2014, there were more than 42,000 new arrivals in Kakuma. Without a lasting ceasefire and peace and reconciliation in South Sudan, UNHCR predicts the steady influx into Kenya is likely to continue throughout 2015.

The World Food Programme distributes 9,300 metric tons of food for 500,000 refugees in northern Kenya each month at a cost of $9.6 million. Unless more than $12 million is raised, there will be a critical food gap during August and September of this year.

“We are very worried about how this cut may affect the people who rely on our assistance,” says Thomas Hansson, World Food Progammes’s acting country director for Kenya, in a statement in the Thomas Reuters Foundation article. “But our food stocks are running out, and reducing the size of rations is the only way to stretch our supplies to last longer. We hope that this is only a temporary measure and we continue to appeal to the international community to assist.”

Salesian missionaries at Kakuma operate the Holy Cross Parish and the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where 1,044 young men and women are being trained in critical employment and life skills. There are many courses available at the training center and those studying welding, carpentry and bricklaying often utilize their new skills helping to build infrastructure within the camp.

“Don Bosco Vocational Training Center is the only formal technical training center in the Kakuma refugee camp,” says Father Luke Mulayinkal who oversees the Salesian work at Kakuma. “There are so many who are being prepared for a livelihood and for nation building in their home countries or in the countries in which they will be settled. At the end of their year studies, the students receive a Kenya Government Certificate which holds much value for the refugees.”

In addition to the critical food shortfalls, Kakuma is running out of space. By the end of August 2014, the camp was unable to accommodate new arrivals and UNHCR sought to secure new land for its expanded operations. With the influx of refugees into the camp and a need for technical education, Salesian missionaries at Kakuma are struggling to meet the demands of students seeking training. While land has been provided to build a new facility, funding still needs to be raised to complete the project.

“Since the influx of refugees and the critical food shortages, Salesian missionaries have many needs here,” adds Fr. Mulayinkal. “We need to expand our services to meet the growing demand for shelter, nutrition, education, social support and infrastructure to run our programs. Right now we do what we can for as many as we can but the demand continues to grow.”

Headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, has launched a donation appeal to aid Salesian missionaries at Kakuma in building a new training facility as well as funding ongoing humanitarian assistance for those displaced. As Salesian missionaries in Kenya continue to provide safety and shelter for displaced families, they are reaching out for support so they may continue to help those in need.

To give to relief efforts helping those in need throughout Africa, go to SalesianMissions.org and select “African Crisis Emergency Fund” on the donate page.

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SOURCES:

Photo: Matija Kovac/Wikimedia Commons

Thomas Reuters Foundation – Funding shortfall forces U.N. to cut refugee food rations in Kenyan camps

UNHCR – Kakuma Refugee Camp 2015

The post KENYA: World Food Program Cuts will Affect Nearly 1,000 Participating in Salesian Programs at Kakuma Refugee Camp first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Beginning in May 2014, the project aims to create awareness among youth and their parents of the importance of vocational training, improve access to vocational training by improving facilities and infrastructure and improve the skills of educators to better prepare students for the workforce.

“One of the key challenges facing youth in the Congo is the lack of education and the skills required to find and retain stable employment in the labor market,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian missionaries provide youth access to education and training opportunities they would not have otherwise with a focus of the training being to prepare students for the workforce. Salesian programs offer a seamless transition from the classroom into employment.”

Started in 1991, the Don Bosco Vocational Center provides vocational education in industrial electricity, carpentry, motor mechanics, welding and general mechanics. Graduates are provided a certificate of completion and provided assistance in finding employment. The center has 25 educators who teach classes and provide support to students.

“Salesians missionaries have been providing vocational and technical training programs to local youth and women for many years,” adds Fr. Hyde. “The constant expansion of our programs is important to us and provides access to education to all youth who want to improve their quality of life.”

The Republic of Congo’s population is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the country leaving the vast areas of tropical jungle in the north virtually uninhabited. One of the most urbanized countries in Africa it has 70 percent of its total population living in a few urban areas. In recent years, industrial and commercial activity has declined rapidly in rural areas leaving rural economies dependent on the government for support and subsistence.

According to Rural Poverty Portal, poverty has worsened in the Republic of Congo since the 1980s resulting in half the country’s population living below the poverty line. Close to 65 percent of the country’s poor live in rural areas where nearly 50 percent of the population is unemployed with little access to education or long-term stable employment.

Most living in rural areas are small-scale farmers or fishermen with those most vulnerable to living in conditions of poverty being young people and women who are the primary agricultural producers and processors. While more than 75 percent of people living in urban centers have access to water, access drastically decreases to 11 percent in rural areas. In addition, more than one third of children under age five that live in rural areas suffer from malnutrition.

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Sources:

ANS – Republic of Congo – A new structure for the Vocational Training Centre

Rural Poverty – Republic of Congo

Salesian Missions – Congo video

*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.

The post REPUBLIC OF CONGO: New Building at Don Bosco Vocational Center to Increase Student Admission first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Salesian missionaries at Kakuma operate the Holy Cross Parish and the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where 1,044 young men and women are  being trained in critical employment and life skills. There are many courses available at the training center and those studying welding, carpentry and bricklaying often utilize their new skills helping to build infrastructure within the camp.

“Don Bosco Vocational Training Center is the only formal technical training center in the Kakuma refugee camp,” says Father Luke Mulayinkal, who oversees the Salesian work at Kakuma. “There are so many who are being prepared for a livelihood and for nation building in their home countries or in the countries in which they will be settled. At the end of their year studies, the students receive a Kenya Government Certificate which holds much value for the refugees.”

Today, the Kakuma refugee camp has more than 180,000 refugees, well over the 120,000 person capacity for which it was built, with more refugees arriving every day. More than 44 percent of the refugees at the camp are from South Sudan and arrived after fleeing the country to escape conflict and violence. According to UNHCR, for the third year in a row, Kakuma continues to receive record numbers of refugees from South Sudan. By late August 2014 there were more than 42,000 new arrivals in Kakuma. Without a lasting ceasefire and peace and reconciliation in South Sudan, UNHCR predicts the steady influx into Kenya is likely to continue into 2015.

Kakuma is running out of space. By the end of August 2014, the camp was unable to accommodate new arrivals and UNHCR sought to secure new land for its expanded operations. With the influx of refugees into the camp and a need for technical education, Salesian missionaries at Kakuma are struggling to meet the demands of students seeking training.

Recently, A plot of land was provided for the Salesian missionaries to develop an additional vocational school to accommodate the growing numbers. While the land has been secured, it still has to be fenced off, new buildings constructed and machines and equipment purchased for the classrooms. Once the school is completed, it will offer classes for adults in carpentry, welding, sewing and the English language. Salesian missionaries are currently seeking funding to build the new vocational center and equip its workshops and classrooms.

“Since the influx of refugees, the Salesians have many needs here,” adds Fr. Mulayinkal. “We need to expand our services to meet the growing demand for shelter, nutrition, education, social support and infrastructure to run our programs. Right now we do what we can for as many as we can but the demand continues to grow.”

Headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, Salesian Missions—the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco—has launched a donation appeal to aid this project as well as ongoing humanitarian assistance for those displaced. As the Salesians in Kenya continue to provide safety and shelter for displaced families, they are reaching out for support so they may continue to help those in need.

To give to relief efforts helping those in need throughout Africa, go to SalesianMissions.org and select “African Crisis Emergency Fund” on the donate page.

Sources

ANS – Kenya – The war in South Sudan continues and the Kakuma refugee camp is overcrowded

UNHCR – Kakuma Refugee Camp 2015

The post KENYA: Salesian Missionaries are Building New Vocational School for Growing Refugee Population first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Kakuma is operated by UNHCR in collaboration with Salesian missionaries in the country as well as several other humanitarian organizations. The camp offers refugees safety, security and life-saving services such as housing, health care, clean water and sanitation. As some of the world’s most vulnerable youth, young refugees often survive devastating violence and a struggle to find food and shelter only to find themselves in refugee camps with little opportunity for education. Many arrive with few means of supporting themselves and no sustainable livelihood.

Salesian missionaries at Kakuma refugee camp operate the Holy Cross Parish and the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center where 1,044 young men and women are receiving critical employment and life skills. There are many courses available and those studying welding, carpentry and bricklaying often utilize their new skills helping to build infrastructure within the camp.

“Don Bosco Vocational Training Center is the only formal technical training center in the Kakuma refugee camp,” says Father Luke Mulayinkal, who oversees the Salesian work at Kakuma. “There are so many who are being prepared for a livelihood and for nation building in their home countries or in the countries in which they will be settled. At the end of their year studies, the students receive a Kenya Government Certificate which holds much value for the refugees.”

With a recent influx of refugees into the camp and a need for technical education, the Salesian missionaries at Kakuma are struggling to meet the demands of students seeking training. The goal, if funding can be secured, is to reopen a second technical training center which had closed in 2008 when the camp population shrunk to 20,000 as a result of many refugees being able to return to their homes. The camp started growing again in 2011, and has increased in population each year, putting a strain on programming and creating a need to reopen previously offered services. Today, students must wake very early in the morning and walk a few miles to get to the Don Bosco Center. Many others must wait until there is room in the training programs to accommodate them.

Salesian missionaries at the camp also operate the Helping Children to be Children program, which gathers refugee children and leads them in games, songs and classes held outdoors on the camp grounds. Children are also offered the opportunity to draw and learn to speak English. Close to 3,000 children benefit from this Salesian program, which currently has no steady funding and is run primarily by refugee volunteers.

At Kakuma, refugees often do not have the money to buy nutritious food or milk and many children go without milk for a very long time. On the occasions the Helping Children to be Children program gains access to funding, it purchases balls for the children’s games as well as biscuits, sweets and milk for the refugees. Recent funding allowed the Salesian programs to provide milk to the children at the camp as well as a cabbage each to 225 families.

“Since the influx of refugees, the Salesians have many needs here,” adds Fr. Mulayinkal. “We need to expand our services to meet the growing demand for shelter, nutrition, education, social support and infrastructure to run our programs. Right now we do what we can for as many as we can but the demand continues to grow.”

Recently, Salesians at Kakuma began building a new chapel for the refugees. Once completed, it will be the sixth Salesian chapel at the camp and will be used as place of prayer and social support. An additional $10,000 is need to complete the project.

Headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, Salesian Missions—the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco—has launched a donation appeal to aid this project as well as ongoing humanitarian assistance for those displaced. As the Salesians in Kenya continue to provide safety and shelter for displaced families, they are reaching out for support so they may continue to help those in need.

To give to the relief efforts helping those in need throughout Africa, go to SalesianMissions.org and select “African Crisis Emergency Fund” on the donate page.

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Sources:

UNHCR – UNHCR – 2014 Country Operations Profile – Kenya

Salesian Missions – Kenya

The post KENYA: Salesian Missionaries Provide Hope, Education and Nutrition to Youth in Kakuma Refugee Camp first appeared on MissionNewswire.

In Nagaland, located in the northeast of India, Salesian programs are working to help poor youth. The Don Bosco Technical Institute there has trained 1,300 unemployed youth in vocational courses such as spa and beauty services, food and beverages service, hospitality, housekeeping and sales and marketing. The institute boasts a 77 percent placement rate in stable employment for graduates and it plans to train 15,000 more poor youth in the next 10 years.

“Successful trainees have found placements in reputed companies and groups including hotels, spas, resorts and even hospitals,” says Father AM Joseph, executive director of Don Bosco Technical Institute in a recent local Morung Express article about the school. “Earlier, we needed to seek out placements in industries and companies, but now they approach us for placement of our students. Today we have an impact and Don Bosco Technical Institute has become a brand name.”

The Salesians have been educating poor youth in Nagaland since 1969. In response to rising youth unemployment, they launched Don Bosco Technical Institute in the region in 2012. There, students focus on learning specialized skills through vocational training while also taking additional courses in grooming, social skills, computer skills and English.

Today there are four Don Bosco Technical Centers in Nagaland each with a separate focus: AIDA Don Bosco complex, Working Women Center, Don Bosco Vocational Training Center in Dimapur district and the Don Bosco Youth Center in Wokha district. According to officials at the institute, there are plans to expand to ten centers by 2014.

This past summer, 90 students graduated from the AIDA Don Bosco Complex in Dimapur. With support from the Union Ministry of Rural Development, students are educated for free and are provided free accommodation and meals if they live a distance away.

Many students work hard in their programs and strive to succeed. For some it’s one of the few opportunities available to break the cycle of poverty and find employment.

“It’s a dream come true for me getting admission in this training institute,” says Miss Rongsensangla, a spa trainee interviewed in the Morung Express article. “I came here with a goal of becoming a professional beautician. After I joined the institute, I have learned how to communicate, punctuality, how to speak English, health care and cleanliness.”

Don Bosco Technical Institute has 176 educational centers across India and has trained close to 75,000 youth in vocational and technical programs. The school boasts an 80 percent placement rate into stable employment after graduation.

In the same Morung Express article, Fr. Joseph noted that the Salesians plan to substantially increase the number of technical institutes across India over the next several years with new centers already opening in Jammu and Kashmir and other northeast and Maoist controlled regions.

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Sources:

Don Bosco Technical Institute –India

The Morung Express – Don Bosco: Empowering unemployed youth in Nagaland

Planning Commission for India – Poverty Report

UNICEF – India Poverty

The post INDIA: Don Bosco Technical Institute is Preparing Poor Youth for the Workforce in Nagaland first appeared on MissionNewswire.