Each year, UN-Water sets a theme for World Water Day corresponding to a current or future challenge. This year’s theme is ‘Water and Jobs’ and highlights the positive effects of having enough quality water to change workers’ lives and livelihoods and even transform societies and economies. UN Water notes that almost half of the world’s workers, 1.5 billion people, work in water-related sectors and nearly all jobs either depend on water or ensure its safe delivery. Yet, the millions of people who work in water are often not recognized or protected by basic labor rights.

UN-Water estimates that worldwide 768 million people lack access to improved water sources and 2.5 billion people have no improved sanitation. For those who have no access to clean water, water-related disease is common with more than 840,000 people dying each year from water-related diseases. Women and children often bear the primary responsibility for water collection in the majority of households and globally, spend 140 million hours a day collecting water. Children in these communities are forced to walk for hours to collect drinking water—water that often proves contaminated and seriously sickens those who consume it. Many others are unable to attend school regularly because they must spend time searching for distant wells.

In response to this crisis, Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, has made building wells and supplying fresh, clean water, a top priority for every community in every country in which Salesian missionaries work.

“Having access to clean water is essential for life and brings a sense of dignity to the children and families we serve in our programs,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Improving water and sanitation facilities also ensures that teachers and students are working and learning in an environment that promotes proper hygiene and has safe drinking water, reducing the number of waterborne illnesses that can affect those in our schools keeping them away from important study time.”

In honor and celebration of World Water Day 2016, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight Salesian programs around the globe that provide clean, safe water to those most in need.

DR CONGO

Close to 4,000 youth, parents, Salesian staff and community members are benefiting from two water projects at Salesian training and vocational centers in the city of Lubumbashi in the southeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo*. The Salesian-run Kansebula St Jean Bosco Institute and Chem Chem Center have nearly completed the renovation of existing water systems which were outdated, wasting energy and had insufficient quantities of water.

Salesian missionaries began the two water projects to ensure clean fresh water for the students and the sustainability of the water sources for their facilities. At Kansebula, the project consists of erecting a high water tower and two 2,500 liter water tanks in connection to the existing water system. Once completed, this project will improve water management and protect the water pump in use. At Chem Chem the project entails upgrading the existing water system to allow proper quantities of clean water for students. This is being accomplished by deepening the existing well, erecting a high water tower and installing two 2,500 liter water tanks.

ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia is experiencing the worst drought the country has seen in more than 50 years. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently announced that agricultural assistance for the upcoming rainy season in Ethiopia is essential to help the drought-affected people as one of the strongest El Niño events on record continues to have devastating effects on the lives and livelihoods of farmers and herders.

Salesian missionaries and volunteers with the International Volunteers for Development (VIS) are concerned that the devastating drought is forcing residents to flee the country making them vulnerable to illegal migration (particularly to Europe and the Middle East), exploitation and human traffickers who are already taking advantage of the crisis. Using deep wells built by VIS volunteers in recent years, Salesian missionaries and volunteers are currently distributing water to schools, hospitals and first aid clinics, centers for street children, women’s refuges and diocesan centers. The goal during this emergency phase is to support the 12,000 residents of the Somali, Tigray and Oromia regions and those living in the South.

INDIA

Salesian missionaries working at the Don Bosco St. Joseph School for Children in Ghanaur, a town in the Patiala district in the state of Punjab, India, have begun a construction project to update and improve facilities at the school making it more accessible to its more than 540 students. Currently, the school’s bathroom facilities are dilapidated, out-of-date and insufficient to accommodate the students and faculty.

Situated on the periphery of a large village, the school was created to serve poor students whose parents could not afford traditional school fees. It offers a full range of academic classes as well as recreational programs. Each year, the student population grows as more and more area families require access to affordable education. Due to its growing population, sanitation has been a major concern at the school and will be addressed by the recent construction project which will provide separate bathroom facilities for male and female students. To date, a well has been dug and the purchasing of materials and digging of pits are underway. Once enough funds are raised to complete the project, construction of the bathroom buildings will begin.

RWANDA

Salesian missionaries in the community of Rukago in the city of Kigali, the capital and largest city of Rwanda, just completed a water and sanitation project for the local Salesian school which had been in desperate need of new sanitation and safe drinking water. The project, funded by Salesian Missions, provided eight new toilets and repaired a water tank that provides clean drinking water for the students. Prior to the repair of the water tank, students had to walk more than a mile to collect water from a hill in a swampy area.

The construction project for the new toilets consisted of digging a pit, purchasing materials and constructing a beam, walls and roof. After that, doors were added and the new building was painted. Salesian missionaries expect that this new project will help local families save on medical expenses for treating children who develop water-related diseases and illnesses due to contaminated water. The new improvements will also give the school children better access to safe water so they can turn their attention and focus to their studies.

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Sources:

UN Water – World Water Day 2016

*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.

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The 2016 theme for International Women’s Day is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality.” This year the U.N is reflecting on how to accelerate and build momentum for the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its new commitments under the UN Women’s Step It Up initiative. This new initiative asks governments to make national commitments that will close the gender equality gap – from laws and policies to national action plans and adequate investments.

Some key targets of the 2030 Agenda include: ensuring that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes; ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere; eliminating all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation; and eliminating all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

“On this International Women’s Day, I remain outraged by the denial of rights to women and girls – but I take heart from the people everywhere who act on the secure knowledge that women’s empowerment leads to society’s advancement. Let us devote solid funding, courageous advocacy and unbending political will to achieving gender equality around the world. There is no greater investment in our common future.”— UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon’s statement on International Women’s Day.

Salesian missionaries living and working in more than 130 countries around the globe are focused on achieving gender equality through programs targeted specifically for young women and girls. These programs strive to empower young women and girls by providing opportunities for education and training that lead to livable wage employment.

“Young women and girls face many disadvantages and barriers to accessing education and achieving financial independence despite their huge potential,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “It is very important for girls to attend school and gain an education. Girls that are empowered though education are more often able to achieve financial independence, marry at an older age and make better and healthier choices that affect not only themselves, but their families and communities as well.”

In honor of International Women’s Day, Salesian Missions is proud to share some of its programs around the globe that empower young women and girls.

BOLIVIA

Started in 1992, the Casa Maín girl’s home in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, provides shelter, nutritious meals and schooling for girls and young women with little access to education and those who were once living on the streets. Currently, there are more than 160 girls living and being educated at the home. Casa Maín is comprised of three houses and the girls are divided among them by age. The youngest girls, attending elementary school, live together in one house supported by several volunteer students from the secondary school. A second house provides shelter and peer support for girls attending secondary school while a third house is for young women attending the local university. The university students enjoy a setting that allows them to finish their degrees in higher education in a stable environment while learning how to live independently.

In addition to academic classes, the young women and girls at the home learn skills in communication and conflict management. Additional classes in dance, gymnastics and crafts are provided in the evenings and on weekends. Recently, the organization offered a three-week technology workshop to teach the girls basic computer skills including typing, word processing and drawing.

INDIA

Women from the slums of Mumbai, a densely populated city on India’s west coast, graduated from a Salesian-run 45-day skills training course. The women took courses in basic computing, English, tailoring, garment making, beauty care, hair dressing and mehndi (henna) application. The goal of the training was to help participants become better prepared for employment.

The Don Bosco Development Society in Mumbai which works to empower women in poverty to gain the skills and confidence they need to seek work, facilitated the training. For many of the participants, this was the first time they received educational training since the basic education they received when they were young. Salesian missionaries conducting the program modeled it after Skill India, an initiative by the Government of India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. After the course was completed, many of the students noted that through the course they gained a sense of self-worth that they had not had before. They also felt that the skills and confidence they gained would enable them to earn a living and support their families.

SENEGAL

Center Kër Don Bosco officially opened at the end of January in Dakar, the capital and largest city in Senegal. The new center provides education, vocational training and apprenticeship opportunities to disadvantaged youth and women living in the Yoff district on the outskirts of the city.

Focused specifically on helping women gain opportunities in the workforce, the center is offering two literacy classes as well as a safe space for studying. Women in Senegal are often heads of households but lack the training and confidence to try to enter the workforce or advance into higher paying jobs. The center’s goal is to help women connect with their peers and provide access to employment training to boost confidence and improve employment prospects.

SIERRA LEONE

Salesians at Don Bosco Fambul in Freetown, Sierra Leone, have been running a Girls Shelter for the past two years. Here, professional social workers and pastoral workers provide crisis intervention and follow-up care for girls and young women who have been the victims of sexual assault. Those that access services at the shelter are also able to enroll in educational programs that are a part of the broader Don Bosco Fambul network. These programs train young women in the skills necessary to find and retain employment.

As part of the rehabilitation program at the Girls Shelter, young women take coursework in hotel management, hairdressing and tailoring. This training helps to empower them to overcome the discrimination they have faced, gain a greater awareness of their rights and boost their work prospects. It also helps to build character while allowing the young women the freedom to make decisions that affect their lives and their health. Recently, both the trainers and the students in these programs were able to present their skills and products to the general public at an exhibition in Freetown.

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Sources:

International Women’s Day 2016

UN – International Women’s Day 2016

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The two Covenants together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights form the International Bill of Human Rights and outline the civil, political, cultural, economic and social rights that are the birthright of all human beings. The theme of Human Rights Day 2015 is “Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always” which aims to promote and raise awareness of the two Covenants on their 50th anniversary. The day also marks the kick-off of a year-long campaign that will promote the theme of rights and freedoms – freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.

According to the United Nations, many people around the globe remain unaware of the existence of the International Bill of Human Rights and many countries still have much to do to build political institutions, judicial systems and economies that allow people to live with dignity. Through education and social development programming, Salesian missionaries in more than 130 countries around the globe fight to ensure that all youth know their rights, are able to fully participate in their communities and have their voices heard.

Whether it’s combating child labor, assisting homeless youth or building schools where children previously had no access to education, Salesian missionaries are on the front lines educating youth on their rights and ensuring access to programs and services they need. Working in more than 5,300 Salesian primary and secondary schools around the globe, missionaries educate children in some of the poorest places on the planet. Education provides vulnerable youth a sense of personal dignity and self-worth and helps to break the cycle of poverty. At Salesian schools, young children gain an education, learn about their rights and freedoms and participate in sports and other activities all in a safe environment that encourages learning and growth.

“Education is always our primary focus,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. “We know youth are dealing with much more than just needing access to education. Salesian programs are tailored to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Homeless and malnourished youth are simply not able to focus effectively on their studies while they struggle to meet their basic needs. Salesian programs also provide food and shelter so students are able to focus on the education provided.”

In honor of Human Rights Day, Salesian Missions highlights its unique educational programs that are helping poor youth receive an education, understand their rights and find a path out of poverty, bringing them hope for the future.

CAMBODIA

In a country where less than half of children finish primary school, more than 50,000 children have received the encouragement and support needed to complete an elementary education through the Don Bosco Children Fund since its inception in 1992. The Don Bosco Children Fund assists poor youth between the ages of 6 and 15 who are either unable to go to school or have had to drop out due to poverty. Through the fund’s program, youth not only receive support to continue their education, they also receive a monthly assistance package consisting of goods and cash. Social workers ensure that participants make progress and remain in school and those with special aptitude are further supported and encouraged to pursue college coursework. During the 2013-2014 school year, the Don Bosco Children Fund supported 4,426 students in Cambodia’s government-run schools and another 637 students in schools managed by Don Bosco Schools Battambang.

INDIA

The Child Rights Education and Action Movement Project operated out of the city of Bangalore reached out to poor youth in both urban and rural areas of the State of Karnataka in southwestern India to create a culture that will support and uphold the protection of children’s rights. The goal was to encourage and enhance youth participation in the development process of promoting children’s rights and ensuring their care and protection. The project included the formation of more than 450 child rights clubs and the training of 900 teachers and 22,500 children in human rights education. The clubs aim to impart children’s rights awareness to about 75,000 children within a three year period.

SIERRA LEONE

Salesian Missions in Madrid, Spain recently released a report titled, Right to Protection of Children in Sierra Leone, which detailed a number of child rights violations that have been occurring in the country in the wake of the Ebola epidemic. According to the report, youth are faced with the devastating repercussions of Ebola including forced child labor, child abuse and more than 12,000 children who have been left orphaned. In Sierra Leone’s capital city, Freetown, Don Bosco Fambul, one of the country’s leading child welfare organizations, has been working for the prevention and detection of child rights violations as well as providing care and social integration for children and youth at-risk. Since 2010, the organization has provided a countrywide phone counseling service and since the outbreak of Ebola in 2014, the counseling line has turned into a widely used resource for Ebola prevention and support. More than 25,000 calls about Ebola have been answered and fielded. The data gathered as a result of the calls has helped the country’s national registration office identify Ebola hotspots and crisis regions. Through the hotline, Don Bosco Fambul brought hope to the children and adolescents of one of the poorest countries in the world during a terrible time of crisis.

SOUTH SUDAN

As a result of violence and a struggle to gain independence, much of South Sudan had been reduced to rubble. Infrastructure including hospitals, churches, schools and social program buildings were almost totally destroyed. Given the inability of the government to solve the problem, two Salesian priests decided that the best way to help the fledgling nation was through education. At the time of independence, more than 70 percent of the country’s children did not attend school. The “One Hundred Village Schools for South Sudan” project started in 2012 and since that time, 60 primary schools, comprised of four classrooms and a teacher’s office, have been built across the Salesian dioceses in the country. These schools are currently educating 13,500 children. The remaining 40 schools are expected to be completed by 2017.

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Sources:

Salesian Missions

UN – Human Rights Day 2015

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According to USAID, the lead U.S. government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential, there are more than 62 million girls around the globe who are not in school. Many families cannot afford school fees and others send their daughters to work at a young age instead. As a girl ages, the fight to get an education becomes progressively more difficult. USAID notes that in the developing world, one in seven girls is married before her 15th birthday. Girls with secondary schooling are up to six times less likely to marry as children compared to girls who have little or no education.

For those who are able to attend school, the walk to and from school is often unsafe. Around the world, 246 million children experience gender‐based violence at or on their way to school every year. A report released by the United Nations Human Rights Council noted that attacks on schools occurred in at least 70 countries between 2009‐2014, and that approximately 3,600 attacks against schools, teachers and students were recorded in 2012 alone.

“Young women and girls face many disadvantages and barriers to accessing education and achieving financial independence despite their huge potential,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “It is very important for girls to attend school and gain an education. Girls that are empowered though education are more often able to achieve financial independence, marry at an older age and make better and healthier choices that affect not only themselves, but their families and communities as well.”

In honor of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight programs around the globe that empower and educate young women and girls.

BOLIVIA

Started in 1992, the Casa Maín girl’s home in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, provides shelter, nutritious meals and schooling for girls and young women with little access to education and those who were once living on the streets. Currently, there are more than 160 girls living and being educated at the home. Casa Maín is comprised of three houses and the girls are divided among them by age. The youngest girls, attending elementary school, live together in one house supported by several volunteer students from the secondary school. A second house provides shelter and peer support for girls attending secondary school while a third house is for young women attending the local university.

The university students enjoy a setting that allows them to finish their degrees in a stable environment while learning how to live independently. In addition to academic classes, the young women and girls at the home learn skills in communication and conflict management. Additional classes in dance, gymnastics and crafts are provided in the evenings and on weekends. Most recently, the organization offered a three-week technology workshop to teach the girls basic computer skills including typing, word processing and drawing.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

In the Dominican Republic, women striving for a better life can access support services through the “Madres Project” in Santo Domingo. This project addresses the root causes that force children to live on the streets. By teaching mothers skills that enable them to earn a living wage and improve their living conditions, their children become more likely to stay at home and off the streets. Made possible through a partnership between Salesian Missions and the International Volunteer Movement for Development, the program offers women complete courses in literacy, post-literacy, health care and computer skills with each training module including lessons in human rights. Salesians in Santo Domingo also operate a training program for youth in the poorest areas of the city called “Boys and Girls with Don Bosco.”

INDIA

In the state of Tamil Nadu, India, the Salesian “New Beginnings” program helps to educate Sri Lankan refugees while giving their families the chance to achieve stability in their new country. The program offers technical and vocational courses and skill training as well as job placement support to aid refugees in finding employment.

For women with children who are unable to leave the refugee camp and attend traditional classes, a special program has been developed within the camp. Through it, women receive training in skills such as jewelry making and sewing and are also provided entrepreneurial workshops. In addition, they are eligible for financial assistance to start up new businesses where they can use their new skills while continuing to take care of their families. One such business is a cooperative that utilizes sewing machines and equipment financed through a micro-credit program. To date, close to 2,500 refugees have received vocational training scholarships through the program and 550 women are benefiting from the refugee camp-based small business incubator program. In addition, Salesian missionaries are currently serving 550 individuals by providing vocational training through a network of nine Salesian-run Don Bosco schools spread across Southeast India.

MEXICO

Salesians working in Mexico City, Mexico, are directing their efforts toward the country’s at-risk population, including girls and mothers living on the streets. Innovative programs are preventing poor youth from dropping out of school and are providing them important educational and training opportunities. Through the “Yolia” program, girls and young women are able to spend their days at a Salesian center in the city where they can have meals, receive tutoring, obtain therapy and learn job skills such as jewelry making and hair styling. Some girls choose the residential program where they receive additional education and services while gaining a renewed sense of dignity and self-worth.

SIERRA LEONE

Salesians at Don Bosco Fambul in Freetown, Sierra Leone, have been running a Girls Shelter for the past three years. Here, professional social workers and pastoral workers provide crisis intervention and follow-up care for girls and young women who have been the victims of sexual assault. Those that access services at the shelter are also able to enroll in educational programs that are a part of the broader Don Bosco Fambul network and which train them in the skills necessary to find and retain employment. The training helps to empower them to overcome the discrimination they have faced and gain a greater awareness of their rights. It also helps to build character while allowing the girls and young women the freedom to make decisions that affect their lives, improve their health and boost their work prospects.

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Sources:

Salesian Missions

United Nations Human Rights Council Report: Attacks on Girls February 2015

UN Women – 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

USAID – Let Girls Learn

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Earlier this year, while speaking to Salesian priests and nuns at a Sunday mass in Turin, Italy’s Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, the Pope recounted fond childhood memories of his family’s closeness to the Salesians and how when his mother was ill, he was taken out of public school to spend one year studying with Salesian missionaries. The Pope went on to recall how he grew very attached to the Salesian community during the year he spent with them. Noting how Salesian missionaries go above and beyond classroom teaching by using creative arts, sports and other activities to engage young people, he recalled the creation of a soccer team for Argentinian street children by Salesian Father Lorenzo Massa in 1908.

In anticipation of the bicentennial of  Salesian founder St. John (Don) Bosco’s birth on August 16, Pope Francis sent a letter to Father Ángel Fernández Artime, the Salesian Rector Major. In the letter, Pope Francis praised the work of Don Bosco and the Salesian Family and highlighted Don Bosco’s call to service and his work with poor and disadvantaged youth. Pope Francis also praised Salesian efforts in establishing education and social development services that are open to all youth regardless of language, race, culture or religion.

As part of the letter, Pope Francis states, “A characteristic feature of Don Bosco’s pedagogy is loving kindness, which is to be understood as a love that is manifested and perceived, and reveals itself in caring, affection, understanding and involvement in the life of another person. In the experiential process of education, according to Don Bosco, it is not enough to love, but love needs to be expressed in gestures that are concrete and effective. Thanks to this loving kindness, so many children and adolescents in Salesian settings have experienced an intense and serene emotional growth, which has proved very valuable in the shaping of their personality and in their life’s journey.”

Salesian missionaries educate more than 1 million youth in more than 5,300 primary and secondary schools and nearly 1,000 vocational, technical and agricultural schools. To date, more than 3 million youth have participated in Salesian programs operated by more than 30,000 Salesian missionaries in more than 130 countries around the globe. Salesian programs provide poor youth and their families access to education, workforce development, humanitarian relief, youth clubs, health services, feeding programs and more.

“Salesian missionaries are dedicated to caring for poor youth through programs that are innovative in design and customized to meet local needs,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Missionaries focus on helping young people become self-sufficient through education and skills training that leads to employment, which in turn builds strong communities.”

Salesian missionaries are widely considered one of the largest private providers of vocational and technical training in the world. Programs focus on helping vulnerable youth in some of the poorest places on the planet by providing access to educational opportunities that match local workforce development needs. Through Salesian skills training programs, youth are able to gain the skills necessary to find and retain stable employment. This work helps grow local economies and breaks the cycle of poverty for poor youth and their families.

“Salesian missionaries are often faced with challenges when providing programs in some of the most difficult environments, especially after natural disasters and in regions plagued by conflict and war, but despite hardship, their mission to bring hope and opportunity to those living in poverty remains strong,” adds Fr. Hyde.

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Sources:

Vatican Radio – In Turin, Pope recalls charism of Salesians’ Don Bosco

The post GLOBAL: Pope Francis Recalls His Positive Educational Experiences in Salesian Schools first appeared on MissionNewswire.

In anticipation of the day, Pope Francis sent a letter on June 24 to Father Ángel Fernández Artime, the Salesian Rector Major, after the Pope’s visit to Turin, Italy. In the letter, Pope Francis praised the work of Don Bosco and the Salesian Family and highlighted Don Bosco’s call to service and his work with poor and disadvantaged youth. Pope Francis also praised Salesian efforts in establishing education and social development services that are open to all youth regardless of language, race, culture or religion.

As part of the letter, Pope Francis states, “A characteristic feature of Don Bosco’s pedagogy is loving kindness, which is to be understood as a love that is manifested and perceived, and reveals itself in caring, affection, understanding and involvement in the life of another person. In the experiential process of education, according to Don Bosco, it is not enough to love, but love needs to be expressed in gestures that are concrete and effective. Thanks to this loving kindness, so many children and adolescents in Salesian settings have experienced an intense and serene emotional growth, which has proved very valuable in the shaping of their personality and in their life’s journey.”

The work of Salesian missionaries was started in 1859 by Don Bosco, a young priest at the time, along with 18 young men who were once poor street children cared for by Don Bosco. Their goal was to bring hope to thousands of poor youth and instill in them confidence while training them in the skills needed for a better life. Despite the anti-religious age in which Don Bosco lived, he served thousands before his death. More than 125 years later, this legacy continues and impacts millions of children in need.

Don Bosco was born in the village of Becchi in northern Italy on August 16, 1815. From an early age, he was drawn to helping disadvantaged youth. He joined the seminary in 1835 and supported himself by working as a tailor, blacksmith, shoemaker, carpenter, violinist, acrobat and magician. His various talents would later help him to meet and inspire youth in need. As the founder of the Salesian order, he spent his ministry educating and helping improve the lives of disadvantaged children by setting up homes and schools for them within the city of Turin, Italy as well as in other parts of the world.

During the Industrial Revolution, Don Bosco saw many young boys migrating from villages to towns looking for better education and work opportunities only to end up sleeping on the streets facing exploitation and often being forced to beg for food and other basic needs. He began looking out for these young boys, meeting with employers to ask for better wages and treatment for them. Eventually, he founded a trade school to help young people develop skills and gain an education. He also introduced many to music and sports. Don Bosco died on January 31, 1888 and was canonized a saint in 1934.

Today, his work continues in primary, secondary, vocational, trade and professional schools around the globe. Through Salesian programs, poor youth and their families have access to education, workforce development, humanitarian relief, youth clubs, health services, feeding programs and more. Salesian missionaries focus on rebuilding lives and helping young people become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain long-term employment.

“Just like Don Bosco, Salesian missionaries work and live among the youth they serve,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Following his example, Salesian missionaries continue to provide innovative programs that are customized to meet the immediate needs of poor youth in the communities they serve. On Don Bosco’s bicentennial, we reflect back on the foundation of this great work as well as on how far we have come in providing youth hope for a brighter future.”

During many of the bicentennial celebrations of Don Bosco’s life and work, current and former Salesian students expressed their appreciation and gratitude for their education and the many additional services that have helped them break the cycle of poverty and access opportunities for a better life.

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Sources:

ANS – Italy – 16th August 1815 – 2015: Eucharist of the Bicentenary

National Catholic Register – Bosco Bicentennial: Street Party for Saint Draws 15,000 People

Salesian Missions – Letter from Pope Francis to the Salesians in Celebration of the Bicentennial of Don Bosco’s Birth

The post GLOBAL: Thousands of Salesian Missionaries and Youth around the Globe Celebrate Bicentennial of St. John (Don) Bosco’s Birth first appeared on MissionNewswire.