(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries have been providing education and social development programs for poor youth and their families in Zimbabwe since 1995. Salesians started in the capital city of Harare and then began in 2001 in Hwange. Between the locations, there are two Salesian church parishes, a youth center, a secondary school and a technical school.

Salesian missionaries are working to grow their educational presence in the communities. During a recent trip to Hwange, Rector Major Ángel Fernández Artime blessed the foundation stone for a new Salesian Technical Secondary School. Students from the Don Bosco Secondary School attended the blessing and greeted the rector major with great joy.

The Don Bosco Secondary School opened in 2021 with 90 students for grade 8. Both boys and girls, mostly from poor mining families, are attending the school. The Don Bosco Technical School has a long history in the region and is growing with the help of 40 lay mission partners that assist with education, legal, financial, engineering and coordinating teams. In Harare, Salesians are also working to open a Salesian Youth Spirituality Animation Center within the complex of the main parish center.

“We congratulate Salesians in Zimbabwe for the addition of these schools,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Education is always our primary focus, and we are happy to know that youth in these communities are going to have a chance to learn skills for future employment. This will enable youth to give back to their family and community.”

According to the United Nations, poverty has reached unprecedented levels with more than 70 percent of Zimbabwean children in rural areas living in poverty. A report, compiled by UNICEF and the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, shows high levels of poverty in rural regions and more than half of children do not have enough to eat. Humanitarian organizations have warned that if nothing is done to address food security issues, child poverty will only grow.

The World Bank estimates that extreme poverty in Zimbabwe has risen from 29 percent in 2018 to 34 percent in 2019 and continued to rise into 2020 and 2021. The rise in poverty has been attributed to acute food shortages that are the result of the country’s current economic crisis and the effects of drought on agricultural productivity. Close to 5.5 million people in rural Zimbabwe face starvation.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Zimbabwe – Blessing of the Foundation Stone for the School at Hwange by Fr. Angel

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Zimbabwe

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(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries have been providing education and social development programs for poor youth and their families in Zimbabwe since 1995. Salesians, part of the ZMB Salesian Vice Province, started in the capital city of Harare and then in 2001 in Hwange. Between the locations there are two growing Salesian church parishes, a youth center, a secondary school and a technical school.

Recently, Don Bosco Hwange welcomed its first 90 students for grade 8 at the newly opened Don Bosco Secondary School. Both boys and girls, mostly from poor mining families, are attending the school.

The Don Bosco Hwange community is located within a large 28-hectare compound. On the compound is the fast-growing multicultural parish of St. Theresa in Empumalanga. The parish community has grown from four families when it started to 316 families in 2021. In Harare, Salesians are also working to open a Salesian Youth Spirituality Animation Center within the complex of the main parish center. The Don Bosco Technical School has a long history in the region and is growing with the help of 40 lay mission partners that assist with education, legal, financial, engineering and coordinating teams.

“We congratulate the ZMB Vice Province for their steadfast development and work for poor youth in this beautiful and also very challenged country where many young people are waiting to meet Don Bosco on their life and faith journey,” said Father Václav Klement, a Salesian missionary.

According to the United Nations, poverty has reached unprecedented levels with more than 70 percent of Zimbabwean children in rural areas living in poverty. A report, compiled by UNICEF and the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, shows high levels of poverty in rural regions and more than half of children do not have enough to eat. Humanitarian organizations have warned that if nothing is done to address food security issues, child poverty will only grow.

The World Bank estimates that extreme poverty in Zimbabwe has risen from 29 percent in 2018 to 34 percent in 2019 and continued to rise into 2020 and 2021. The rise in poverty has been attributed to acute food shortages that are the result of the country’s current economic crisis and the effects of drought on agricultural productivity. Close to 5.5 million people in rural Zimbabwe face starvation.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Zimbabwe – Don Bosco journey with Zimbabwe youth

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Zimbabwe

The post ZIMBABWE: New school welcomes first 90 students first appeared on MissionNewswire.

UNICEF estimates that a little over 2.2 million children lived below the poverty line in Spain last year. They also note that there are now over 760,000 households with children where no adult works. In addition, 14.4 percent of children were living in households with a high poverty rate in 2011 up from 13.7 percent in 2010.

The Salesians in Valencia provide primary, secondary and technical training for poor youth, offering a path out of poverty for many of their students. In addition to formal education, youth centers, sporting teams and other youth related activities, the Salesians help students to develop and grow into responsible hard working adults who are able to develop employable skills and find jobs that support themselves and their families.

“Education is very important for poor youth,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian programs focus on education to give youth both the training and development skills necessary to lead successful and productive lives.”

Coordinated by Carolina Charsley in Zimbabwe and Ana María Ramos Marimón, from Don Bosco School’s Spanish Department, this new program covers foreign languages and literature, as well as engages the Social Sciences Department at Don Bosco.

The program encourages students from both schools to use email written in both English and Spanish to improve their foreign language communication competence. The Foreign Languages and Literature Department work with the students on the spoken word by assisting them in making audiovisual presentations in English about the school and the city of Valencia. The Social Sciences Department is assisting with the audiovisual aspect of this project.

The program at Don Bosco School begins with students in their first and second years writing and sending letters to students in Zimbabwe. In the second half of the year, second year students add social science activities. Finally, the third year students create audiovisual presentations in English. The first letters from Zimbabwe arrived in Spain in December and responses from Don Bosco students were sent back the same week.

“Programs that help to advance technology and foreign language skills give students an advantage in the job market and make youth more employable. This program accomplishes both,” adds Fr. Hyde.

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Sources:

ANS –  Spain – Educational Exchange programme with Zimbabwe

Salesian of Don Bosco Valencia – Website

UNICEF – Spain statistics

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