The majority of children living in the Solomon Islands live in remote areas where access to education is almost unheard of. Combined with few employment prospects, youth face an uphill climb out of poverty.

A new program at the Don Bosco Technical Institute in Honiara is helping youth overcome these challenges, bringing hope and fresh opportunities. Recently, the Australia-Pacific Technical College—an Australian government program—chose the Salesian-run Don Bosco Technical Institute as the location for its new campus. Set up as a technical and professional training college for youth in the Pacific, the Australia-Pacific Technical College is sustained by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

Supporting investments in training and skills development is a key focus of the Solomon Islands-Australia Partnership for Development and, more widely in the Pacific, for AusAID. The Australia-Pacific Technical College was established in 2007 to increase the number of skilled workers in the Pacific, and improve employment opportunities for Pacific Islanders. More than 4,950 Pacific Islanders have graduated with new skills from the college’s four campuses in Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

The new partnership with Don Bosco Technical Institute allows for many more students to receive critical job training, education and skills than previously had access. The partnership will fund tuition for students and support upgrades to Don Bosco’s facilities.

“Up to 300 students will now have the chance to gain internationally recognized qualifications in automotive repair and construction over the next three years,” says Peter Baxter, director general of the Australian Agency for International Development. “They will join more than 490 Solomon Islanders who have already graduated from Australia-Pacific Technical College and now have the skills, training and confidence to take advantage of job opportunities, either in Solomon Islands or in the region.”

Students from all over the Solomon Islands will have an opportunity to study and achieve internationally recognized certification in automotive repair or construction, engineering, hospitality and community services. The demand for these specialized skills means economic opportunities and brighter prospects for youth who come from generations of poverty.

“I am pleased that we are partnering with Don Bosco—an important institution of teaching, learning and training in Solomon Islands,” adds Baxter. “This partnership will give more Solomon Islanders the chance to learn new skills and secure a job.”

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Sources:

ANS – Solomon Islands – The Salesian Institute in Honiara will host an APTC campus

UNICEF – Solomon Islands

Don Bosco Technical Center

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As Larcom studied youth at the Salesian-run school, he found that access to education played a much greater role in reducing the propensity for payback killings than harsh criminal penalties. He also noted the positive impact the Salesians had on education and on their local community.

Larcom says of his host Fr. John Cabrido, a missionary at Vunabosco, “Not only did Fr. John Cabrido give me a warm invitation to visit, within a couple of weeks he had organized a two month itinerary for my fieldwork, including hosts, guides, translators and transport.” Larcom’s research is timely as youth crime is something the country continues to address.

Criminal behavior among youth in Papua New Guinea and across the South Pacific has been on the rise. In March 2009, the Government of Papua New Guinea, in partnership with UNICEF, hosted a sub-regional meeting focused on juvenile justice issues, including finding ways to strengthen the links between the justice and child welfare systems.

Delegates at the meeting noted that many youth were detained for petty crimes with incarceration serving both as a punishment and as a rehabilitation tool. A UN Secretary-General’s Global Study on Violence Against Children in 2005, revealed that incarceration resulted in youth being vulnerable to further violence, abuse and other legal rights violations.

Larcom’s research results show that education rather than traditional detention plays a greater role in reducing crime and recidivism in youth offenders. At Salesian schools and technical institutes in Papua New Guinea youth have access to education where otherwise they may not. Secondary and technical education in the country is reserved for very few but at the Vunabosco Agro-Technical Secondary School as many youth as possible are admitted, regardless of academic ability.

Education provides the means for youth to better their lives and their circumstances. Students at the Vunabosco Agro-Technical Secondary School gain skills they will have for a lifetime and are better prepared to serve their communities when they go home – passing their education forward.

Larcom noted, “One of the former students of Bougainville, who I met, returned to his village and built a hydroelectric generator out of scrap, which provides regular electricity to the whole village.”

It is this type of education, Larcom found, that deters criminal behavior while preparing youth for a productive future, creating opportunities where otherwise there would be none.

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Sources:

ANS:  Papua New Guinea – Discovering the Salesian Missions

UNICEF: Pacific region turning spotlight on achieving justice for children

The post PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Research Indicates Salesian Education Deters Youth Crime first appeared on MissionNewswire.