The new school—along with the restoration of the damaged areas of Don Bosco Polytechnic—is part of a collaboration with the Caracol Industrial Park. This industrial park is expected to be one of the largest in the Caribbean, according to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) which is financing the industrial park project along with private investors and other organizations.

The school will develop training modules ranging from three months to two years that will give youth the skills needed to meet job requirements for the new industries located in the industrial park. Sae-A Co. Ltd., a Korean apparel manufacturer, is investing $78 million to develop operations in the park and has committed to hiring at least 20,000 Haitians to work there. This is the largest single investment in modern Haitian history, according to the IDB.

“This is a simple ceremony, but it is very important for its symbolism and the meaning it carries, given that the government of Haiti is involved, with the determination of the President of the Republic, in the concentration of investments and the creation of Industrial Estates, which of course needs a trained labor force,” said Minister Paul at the opening of the school.

“The Caracol Industrial Park shows the positive impact foreign investment can have in building Haiti back better,” said former U.S. President Bill Clinton at the official ceremony to set the foundational stone for the construction of the industrial park in November, 2011. “It will bring tens of thousands of jobs to Haitians, and I am proud to be here for the groundbreaking of this important project.”

Investments also include $55 million for the initial construction phase from the IDB. The U.S. government has committed more than $124 million in funding to build at least 25 megawatts of electrical power generation, improve regional health facilities, construct up to 5,000 housing units near the towns of Ouanaminthe, Fort Liberté, Terriere Rouge, Trou Du Nord, Caracol, and Quartier Morin in Northern Haiti in partnership with the IDB and Food for the Poor, and modernize regional port facilities, according to the IDB website.

“This is a unique opportunity to provide youth with skills that they can immediately put into action to rebuild their individual lives, as well as their country. Our goal is to support Haiti’s youth as they become the country’s leaders in the public and private sectors,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Don Bosco Technical School will prepare youth for jobs through traditional and professional training courses in the areas identified as most in need, including hydraulics, masonry, cabinet making, tailoring and administrative work.

“We are constantly developing new training programs to meet the needs of the specific areas of Haiti where we work,” explains Fr. Hyde, adding that Salesian Missions is currently undertaking an in-depth study of the employment situation in Haiti to better understand the needs of the marketplace and determine what opportunities are available to students.

Father Sonel Romain, director of the Salesian Center in Fort Liberté, notes that since 1935, Salesians have worked to educate Haiti’s most vulnerable youth and have been working in Fort-Liberté for 10 years offering both formal and informal education programs.

Like the Don Bosco Technical School, the center in Fort Liberté offers a wide range of educational programs and includes an elementary school, a technical school, a vocational training center, teacher-training courses and a school of nursing. In March, a new section of the school of nursing opened in conjunction with the presentation of certificates to nursing students. New buildings include four classrooms, a library, a work room, a staff room and others for administration.

Salesians also work to develop programs that aid community development and contribute to the advancing of opportunities for the poor and underserved. Recently, Salesians proposed a project which included enhancing food security by improving agricultural production and productivity in agriculture schools in Fort Liberté, as well as Cap Haitien and Gressier.

ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS IN HAITI:

Salesian Missions, headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, is the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The Salesian Missions Office for International Programs was assigned the task of coordinating international Salesian relief efforts in Haiti immediately after the January 2010 earthquake. The Salesians have served Haiti for 75 years, operating schools, feeding programs, orphanages, and youth programs and building educational infrastructure. For more information, go to www.SalesianMissions.org.

For more information about Salesian Missions’ work and progress in Haiti, visit ProgressInHaiti.org.

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SOURCES:

ANS (Salesian Info Agency)

ProgressInHaiti.org

The post HAITI: Opening of Salesian Technical School to Provide Skills, Jobs to 2,000 Students first appeared on MissionNewswire.

According to Fisher, 88 percent out of the $4.6 billion in aid pledged by countries last year has already been dispersed or committed to specific programs for transport, debris removal, education, job creation, water and sanitation, public administration, health, housing, energy and other areas.

However, Fisher adds that as the two year anniversary approaches, continued aid is needed in all areas.

“Even as housing and resettlement programs accelerate, thousands of people still have basic social needs at a time when humanitarian funding is decreasing and too many partners are closing essential operations,” he says.

One of the organizations with a permanent presence in Haiti is Salesian Missions, which operates schools, homeless shelters, orphanages, feeding programs and vocational training institutes.

“Since the earthquake, Salesian Missions has made enormous efforts to rebuild their presence as a leader in vocational training in Haiti. Close to 22,000 children and youth will attend classes in the 2011-2012 school year”, says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, who have provided education and vocational training to children, youth and adults in Haiti since 1935.

“We’re committed to staying in Haiti no matter what the need. Since the earthquake, we’ve created emergency relief and cholera-prevention programs, while expanding our primary goal of education and vocational training programs to include an additional emphasis on those skills that will help youth to rebuild their country,” says Fr. Mark, noting specific examples:

• The Oeuvre des Petites Ecoles du Père Bohnen (OPEPB or “little schools”), more than 17,000 children and youth distributed throughout 30 schools, a Vocational Training Center and a Teachers Normal School receive education and food programs. These “little schools” are located in the very poor areas of La Saline and Cite Soleil. Although the 2010 earthquake caused enormous damage, the Salesians are serving and feeding thousands of children on a daily basis.  In the 2009-2010 academic year, the institution served 21,696 students.
• Pétion-Ville’s Dominique Savio Elementary School serves about 870 children from ages six to 12. Sixty teachers and more than 540 boys and girls attend the Dominique Savio College. In the Literacy Center, 150 working men and women who had never gone to school or who had dropped out, as well as boys and girls who are employed in domestic service are receiving instruction.
• In Cayes, the Salesians run the Diocesan Center for Arts and Crafts (CEDAM). Close to 140 boys are trained in carpentry, masonry, mechanics and electricity while a group of appproximately 60 girls train in cooking, sewing, embroidery and home decoration.
• In the Cap-Haitian Agricultural Technical School there are 140 students (including 25 girls), and approximately 200 others attending the Vocational Training School.
• The work in the northern capital of Haiti includes Lakou and Lakay centers to ensure shelter and education for almost 80 street children.
• In Fort-Liberté, more than 170 children (55 percent of them girls) are receiving basic educational skills. About 150 young people attend the Vocational Training Center in three sections: plumbing, carpentry and masonry. About a hundred (a third of women) study at the Teachers Normal School and approximately 160 young women attend the School of Nursing.

“Progress is being made in Haiti, and a great deal more will be made due to the enthusiasm and energy of the students who are so eager to study and to make a contribution,” says Fr. Mark, adding that in September 2011, a record 71 students graduated from the Salesian Timkatec 2 trade school in Pétion-Ville, just outside of Port au Prince. There, the students received a vocational education preparing to rebuild their country while developing the skills to be self sufficient. The majority of students trained as masons, builders, electricians and plumbers while others trained to be tailors and shoemakers.

“We are constantly looking for ways to improve job opportunities for youth,” adds Fr. Mark. “Whether it is through existing programs, helping graduates overcome obstacles to enter the workforce, or researching the needs of the marketplace.”

Salesian Missions is currently undertaking an in-depth study of the employment situation in Haiti to better understand the needs of the marketplace and determine what opportunities are available to students.

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PHOTO: Jessica O’Connor / SALESIAN MISSIONS

SOURCES:

United Nations Press Release: Almost two years after earthquake, Haiti shows signs of progress

Rinaldi Foundation Bulletin

From Homelessness to Hope in Haiti: Salesian School Provides Trade Skills to Rebuild a Country

The post HAITI: Signs of Progress Nearly Two Years After Earthquake first appeared on MissionNewswire.