(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian organizations and countries around the globe in recognizing World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. In 2013, United Nations member states adopted a resolution that designated July 30 as the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. The day aims to raise awareness about the victims of human trafficking and promote and protect their rights.

This year’s theme “Use and abuse of technology” focuses on the role that technology plays in enabling and impeding human trafficking. Technology both acts as a mechanism for traffickers to recruit, exploit and control victims, and organize their trafficking efforts, but technology is also important for law enforcement in aiding investigations and enhancing prosecutions.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) notes, “With the global expansion in the use of technology — intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift of our everyday life to online platforms — the crime of human trafficking has conquered cyber space. The internet and digital platforms offer traffickers numerous tools to recruit, exploit, and control victims; organize their transport and accommodation; advertise victims and reach out to potential clients; communicate among perpetrators; and hide criminal proceeds — and all that with greater speed, cost-effectiveness and anonymity. Moreover, technology allows these criminals to operate internationally across jurisdictions and evade detection with greater ease.”

Salesian missionaries who operate in more than 130 countries around the globe work both to prevent human trafficking and to care for victims who are living on the streets and seeking a second chance in life.

“Salesian missionaries around the globe provide programs and services to help youth lead healthier productive lives and to ensure their safety,” says Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions. “Part of the focus of Salesian missionaries in many countries is educating youth about the dangers associated with migration, which can put them at risk of trafficking and those who might wish them harm. One of the primary ways we support youth is understanding the needs of the local market and providing training programs that help youth find work in their own communities in employment sectors that are looking for skilled labor.”

To mark World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2022, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs around the globe that provide life-changing education, prevention and awareness.

BOLIVIA

Salesian missionaries are working to develop more supportive services for a growing population due to migration in Cobija, Bolivia.

Salesian missionaries are working to develop more supportive services for people in Cobija, Bolivia. The area has seen continued growth and has nearly 70,000 people. The growth is the result of migration from areas like La Paz, Oruro and Cochabamba, as well as from the neighboring department of Beni. There is also migration from local Indigenous communities.

Salesians face challenges in the area, including low economic levels and a mediocre educational system.

Salesian missionaries are already providing programs and services for poor children and families in communities across Bolivia. In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, for example, the Don Bosco Project acts as a hub to help coordinate activities among several local Salesian-run programs including Hogar Don Bosco, Mano Amiga, Patio Don Bosco and Techo Pinardi. The Don Bosco Project provides comprehensive rehabilitation and vocational training programs that bring social inclusion and meaningful employment to its students.

Santa Cruz attracts youth who leave the difficult life of the rural highlands in search of new opportunities. The Don Bosco Project ensures these youth and others have access to emergency shelter, clothing and nutritious meals. Psychologists, social workers, health care staff and teachers work together to address the needs of almost 2,000 children who access primary and secondary schooling and vocational education.

KENYA

Don Bosco Boys Town in Nairobi, Kenya, teaches technical skills to youth from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds.

Don Bosco Boys Town, located in Nairobi, Kenya, teaches technical skills to youth from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds. These youth, who live in informal settlements, have little chance for an education and advancement in life. Salesians are ensuring they are able to gain the skills for later employment.

Don Bosco Boys Town also provides education and technical skills training to former street children and offers a primary, secondary and technical school. Launched in 1985, Don Bosco Boys Town has provided education to more than 6,000 boys and girls.

The two-year technical training provides youth with a wide variety of skills training programs to choose from, including tailoring, car engineering/mechanics, carpentry, electrical work and welding, as well as secretarial skills and a full spectrum of computer-related job skills. After graduation, more than 80 percent of graduates are employed in their fields of study. Many students go on to attend university or establish their own businesses in Nairobi.

SENEGAL

The “Stop Trafficking” campaign in Senegal launched additional activities to promote development and reduce migration in East and West Africa.

The “Stop Trafficking” campaign launched additional activities to promote development and reduce migration in East and West Africa. The project activities focused on youth in Senegal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau.

The project provided access to education through scholarships and work grants so that youth were prepared for employment in the current labor market. The project also provided kits to allow participants to start micro-enterprises in strategic sectors.

The project strengthened the existing formal and informal psycho-social care that young migrants receive when they return back to their home countries to help them reintegrate into their communities. It also provided them with the resources to connect to education and employment in their own countries to reduce the need for migration. Finally, the project raised awareness among youth about the risks of migration. The work was done through a series of radio campaigns and cultural events, including theatrical performances, film screenings and debates.

SIERRA LEONE

Don Bosco Fambul in Sierra Leone provides support and recovery for underage girls who are victims of sexual violence and abuse and forced into prostitution.

Don Bosco Fambul, one of Sierra Leone’s leading child-welfare organizations and located in Freetown, has been operating the Girls Os+ program, which provides support and recovery for underage girls who are victims of sexual violence and abuse and forced into prostitution. Since the program was launched five years ago, it has changed the lives of more than 600 girls and given them the opportunity to start a new life and access education.

The project began by accident when Father Jorge Crisafulli asked a group of underage girls forced to be prostitutes on the streets if they wanted to change their lives. He was able to create a new program inside an already thriving organization. Don Bosco Fambul has a staff of 120, including Salesian social workers who go out to the streets, slums and marketplaces. They engage with vulnerable youth and encourage them to join Don Bosco Fambul’s successful programs.

To support the Girls Os+ program, Don Bosco Fambul launched a therapeutic center with four large buildings, a clinic, accommodations for volunteers and social workers, a house for the Salesian community, and a chapel. It’s the only program of its kind in West Africa that enables girls to live in a safe environment to overcome their traumas and start a new life.

Salesian missionaries, professional social workers, and pastoral workers provide crisis intervention and follow-up care for girls and young women who have been victims of sexual assault. Girls that access services at the shelter are also able to attend educational programs that are a part of the broader Don Bosco Fambul network of programs. These educational programs give young women the skills necessary to find and retain employment.

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Sources:

ANS Photos (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

BOLIVIA: Services grow to meet needs in community

KENYA: Youth from disadvantaged backgrounds learn job skills

Salesian Missions

SENEGAL: Stop Trafficking campaign launches new activities to provide access to education for poor youth at risk of migration

SIERRA LEONE: Program for girls facing abuse honored

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2022

The post WORLD DAY AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS: Salesian Missions highlights programs that educate youth to decrease risk of trafficking first appeared on MissionNewswire.

(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian organizations and countries around the globe in recognizing World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. In 2013, United Nations member states adopted a resolution that designated July 30 as the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. The day aims to raise awareness about the victims of human trafficking and promote and protect their rights.

This year’s theme “Victims voices lead the way” highlights the importance of listening to and learning from survivors of human trafficking. Victims play a key role in finding effective measures to prevent this crime, identify and rescue victims, and support them on their road to rehabilitation. The goal is to have a more victim-centered and effective approach in combating human trafficking.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) notes, “Many victims of human trafficking have experienced ignorance or misunderstanding in their attempts to get help. They have had traumatic post-rescue experiences during identification interviews and legal proceedings. Some have faced revictimization and punishment for crimes they were forced to commit by their traffickers. Others have been subjected to stigmatization or received inadequate support.”

Salesian missionaries who operate in more than 130 countries around the globe work both to prevent human trafficking and to care for victims who are living on the streets and seeking a second chance in life.

“Salesian missionaries around the globe provide programs and services to help youth lead healthier productive lives and ensure their safety,” says Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions. “Part of the focus of Salesian missionaries in many countries is educating youth about the dangers associated with migration, which can put them at risk of trafficking, and those who might wish them harm. One of the primary ways we support youth is understanding the needs of the local market and providing training programs that help youth find work in their own communities in employment sectors that are looking for skilled labor.”

To mark World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2021, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs around the globe that provide life-changing education, prevention and awareness.

INDIA

Adolescent girls at risk of human trafficking receive vocational training through a partnership between the Salesian College Sonada and Rimpocha Tea in India.

The Salesian College Sonada has entered into a new partnership with Rimpocha Tea, based in Siliguri, India, to provide vocational training for adolescent girls in the area who are at risk of exploitation and human trafficking.

The Salesian College was founded in 1938 and is located in the village of Gorabari. More than 95 percent of its student population comes from the hills of Darjeeling, a region known throughout the world for the quality of its tea leaves. In the Darjeeling District, there are currently 83 tea farms covering an area of about 19,000 hectares. These tea farms provide stable employment for more than 52,000 people.

The area faces challenges with people migrating from rural regions in search of a better life in more populous areas, which also puts people, especially girls, at risk of human trafficking. Compounding the problem are the low wages provided to those working in the tea industry. Many leave in search of better paying jobs.

Local organizations working to prevent trafficking estimate that more than 400 girls are trafficked every year from tea gardens, mostly from those gardens that have stopped functioning. Traffickers first look for their victims where hunger and poverty are higher, rather than areas were businesses are stable and there are more opportunities for higher education.

ITALY

Victims of human trafficking take part in a hospitality course aimed at giving them jobs and hope in the hotel and restaurant sectors in Italy.

Victims of human trafficking are finding hope for a better future through a hospitality course aimed at employment in the hotel and restaurant employment sectors thanks to a partnership between the Italian Red Cross and the National Salesian Center for Vocational Training and Ongoing Education (CNOS-FAP).

Siddhi, Cindy and Ritha are among the 22 women currently enrolled in the course at the Salesian Center in San Benigno Canavese, a commune on the outskirts of Turin, Italy.  The women in the program attend theoretical lessons and cooking, pastry and cleaning workshops and are then provided a 60-hour internship and job placement.

The courses, part of the European project “Pathways,” are providing support and education to migrants and victims of trafficking. For the last two years, the Italian Red Cross and seven other organizations from Italy, Greece and the United Kingdom have been engaged in these efforts.

MALI

The “Stop Trafficking” campaign in Mali aims to prevent young migrants from becoming victims of crime and exploitation.

Salesian missionaries in Mali* have launched a “Stop Trafficking” campaign which has already been successful in Ethiopia, Ghana and Senegal since starting in 2015. A collaborative effort between the Salesian-run International Voluntary Service for Development (VIS) and the Don Bosco Mission Association in Turin, Italy, the campaign is now being launched in Mali, Nigeria and Liberia.

The campaign raises awareness of the dangers of youth migration. With a focus on youth leaving countries in Africa in search of a better life in Europe, it aims to prevent young migrants from becoming victims of crime and exploitation.

The Salesian Vocational Training Center in Bamako, Mali’s capital city, currently offers four diploma-based courses in metalworking, electricity and solar energy, automotive and agricultural mechanics, and entrepreneurship. The center also awards a secondary school diploma in automotive mechanics and metalworking.

A goal of the campaign is to be able to offer these courses to additional youth in need. Salesians also plan to roll out a system to better identify vulnerable youth and make inroads in helping them secure employment after graduation. In addition, the campaign will launch agricultural training that mostly targets women in the rural town of Moribabougou.

SENEGAL

The “Stop Trafficking” campaign has launched additional activities to promote development and reduce migration in East and West Africa.

The “Stop Trafficking” campaign has launched additional activities to promote development and reduce migration in East and West Africa. For 15 months, project activities will focus on youth in Senegal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau.

First, the project will provide access to education through scholarships and work grants so that youth will be prepared for employment in the current labor market. The project will also provide kits that will allow participants to start micro-enterprises in strategic sectors.

The project will work to strengthen the existing formal and informal psycho-social care that young migrants receive when they return back to their home countries to help them reintegrate into their communities. Lastly, the project will raise awareness among youth about the risks of migration. It will provide them with the resources to connect to education and employment in their own countries to reduce the need for migration. This will be done through a series of radio campaigns and cultural events such as theatrical performances, film screenings and debates locally.

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Sources:

ANS Photos (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

INDIA: Salesian College Sonada partners with Rimpocha Tea to provide vocational training for girls to prevent trafficking from tea gardens

ITALY: Hope for victims of human trafficking

MALI: Salesian “Stop Trafficking” campaign launches in Mali to increase availability of vocational training

SENEGAL: Stop Trafficking campaign launches new activities to provide access to education for poor youth at risk of migration

Salesian Missions

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

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 WORLD DAY AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS: Salesians provide life-changing education and prevention programs first appeared on MissionNewswire.

This year’s theme focuses on first responders to human trafficking, highlighting and honoring those “identifying, supporting, counseling and seeking justice for victims of trafficking, and challenging the impunity of the traffickers.”

Since 2003, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has collected information on nearly 225,000 victims of trafficking detected worldwide and released the 2018 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. It states, “The vast majority of detected victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and 35 percent of those trafficked for forced labor are female.”

Data also shows that trafficking happens all around the globe, affecting every country. The share of people trafficked within their own country has doubled in recent years to 58 percent of all detected victims.

“Salesian missionaries around the globe provide programs and services to help youth lead healthier productive lives and ensure their safety,” says Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions. “Part of the focus of Salesian missionaries in many countries is educating youth about the dangers associated with migration and those who might wish them harm. One of the primary ways we support youth is understanding the needs of the local market and providing training programs that help youth find work in their own communities in employment sectors that are looking for skilled labor.”

To mark World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2020, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs around the globe that provide life-changing education, and prevention and awareness programs.

INDIA

The Salesian College Sonada has entered into a new partnership with Rimpocha Tea, based in Siliguri, India, to provide vocational training for adolescent girls in the area who are at risk of exploitation and human trafficking.

The Salesian College was founded in 1938 and is located in the village of Gorabari. More than 95 percent of its student population comes from the hills of Darjeeling, a region known throughout the world for the quality of its tea leaves. In the Darjeeling District, there are currently 83 tea farms covering an area of about 19,000 hectares. These tea farms provide stable employment for more than 52,000 people.

The area faces challenges with people migrating from rural regions in search of a better life in more populous areas, which also puts people, especially girls, at risk of human trafficking. Compounding the problem are the low wages provided to those working in the tea industry. Many leave in search of better paying jobs.

Local organizations working to prevent trafficking estimate that more than 400 girls are trafficked every year from tea gardens, mostly from those gardens that have stopped functioning. Traffickers first look for their victims where hunger and poverty are higher, rather than areas were businesses are stable and there are more opportunities for higher education and healthcare facilities.

MALI

Salesian missionaries in Mali* have launched a “Stop Trafficking” campaign that has had much success since its October 2015 launch in Ethiopia, Ghana and Senegal. A collaborative effort between the Salesian-run International Voluntary Service for Development (VIS) and the Don Bosco Mission Association in Turin, Italy, the campaign is now being launched in Mali, Nigeria and Liberia.

The campaign raises awareness of the dangers of youth migration. With a focus on youth leaving countries in Africa in search of a better life in Europe, it aims to prevent young migrants from becoming victims of crime and exploitation.

The Salesian Vocational Training Center in Bamako, Mali’s capital city, currently offers four diploma-based courses in metalworking, electricity and solar energy, automotive and agricultural mechanics, and entrepreneurship. The center also awards a secondary school diploma in automotive mechanics and metalworking.

A goal of the campaign is to be able to offer these courses to additional youth in need. Salesian missionaries aim to increase the center’s enrollment from 433 students to 809 in the 2020 school year. They also plan to roll out a system to better identify vulnerable youth and make inroads in helping them secure employment after graduation. In addition, the campaign will launch agricultural training in the rural town of Moribabougou that mostly targets women.

SENEGAL

The “Stop Trafficking” campaign has launched additional activities to promote development and reduce migration in East and West Africa. For 15 months, project activities will focus on youth in Senegal, Gambia and Guinea Bissau.

First, the project will provide access to education through scholarships and work grants so that youth will be prepared for employment to meet current labor market needs. The project will also provide kits that will allow participants to start micro-enterprises in strategic sectors.

The project will work to strengthen the existing formal and informal psycho-social care that young migrants receive when they return back to their home countries to help them reintegrate into their communities. Lastly, the project will raise awareness among youth about the risks of migration. It will provide them with the resources to connect to education and employment in their own countries to reduce the need for migration. This will be done through a series of radio campaigns and cultural events such as theatrical performances, film screenings and debates locally as well as in Italy.

###

Sources:

ANS Photos (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

INDIA: Salesian College Sonada partners with Rimpocha Tea to provide vocational training for girls to prevent trafficking from tea gardens

MALI: Salesian “Stop Trafficking” campaign launches in Mali to increase availability of vocational training

SENEGAL: Stop Trafficking campaign launches new activities to provide access to education for poor youth at risk of migration

Salesian Missions

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

*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 WORLD DAY AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS: Salesian Missions highlights programs that educate youth and help them find employment to decrease risk of trafficking first appeared on MissionNewswire.