Salesian missionaries teach essential skills around the globe.
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (Sept. 8, 2024) Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian organizations and countries around the globe in celebrating International Literacy Day. Celebrated each year on Sept. 8, the day was launched in 1967 to “remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society.”
This year’s theme focuses on “Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace.” UNESCO notes, “There is a pressing need to harness the transformative potential of literacy for promoting mutual understanding, social cohesion, and peace. In today’s world, in which multilingualism is a common practice for many, empowering people by adopting a first language-based, multilingual approach to literacy development and education is particularly effective for its cognitive, pedagogical, and socio-economic benefits. Such an approach can help promote mutual understanding and respect, while solidifying communal identities and collective histories.”
“Salesian missionaries provide education for youth of all ages in the most poverty-stricken and remote places around the globe, regardless of their religious background,” said Father Michael Conway, director of Salesian Missions. “Through primary, secondary and vocational and technical education, Salesian missionaries teach essential skills including literacy and English language skills, as well as skill-building to ensure youth can find employment.”
In honor and celebration of International Literacy Day 2024, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight Salesian programs with a focus on educational and literacy efforts for poor youth.
EL SALVADOR
The Salesian-run FUSALMO offered an opportunity for youth to attend a training course for call center employment. Held at the Don Bosco Youth Integral Program sports complex, operated by FUSALMO, in the municipality of Soyapango, El Salvador, the six-month course focused on English language skills and offered specific workshops targeted to call centers. At the conclusion of the course, support was offered in finding employment in the call center sector.
“The young people who currently attend this new course are already in the process of connecting with call center human resources departments with which we collaborate. They come to visit our facilities and carry out interviews and English language knowledge assessment with the kids. More than 80% of the participants are already eligible for work,” explained Jazmin Cuellar, coordinator of the project, when the program began.
FUSALMO offers traditional and non-traditional educational opportunities for at-risk youth. Through recreational programs, enrichment opportunities in the arts and music, vocational training and more, youth are encouraged to stay off the streets, learn to cooperate and co-exist, and gain the skills they need to become productive, contributing members of a more peaceful society. Founded in 2001, the organization has positively impacted the lives of more than 265,000 children and their families.
NICARAGUA
Students attending Saint John Bosco Salesian School in Granada, Nicaragua, received scholarships thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions. In 2023, 62 primary and secondary students benefited from this scholarship funding.
The students come from poor families who do not earn a substantial wage or who are led by single mothers. The families have serious financial difficulties and struggle to pay tuition on their own. The scholarship funding ensures youth from these families have access to high-quality education.
A Salesian noted, “Salesian education responds to today’s challenges and seeks to educate and empower youth to develop a sense of responsibility for one’s own life, overcoming obstacles with courage and perseverance.”
PHILIPPINES
Six students who attend Don Bosco Technical Institute in Makati City, Philippines, were supported with their education thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions. Five of the students were in the automotive program while the sixth student took the fitter machinist course.
Don Bosco Technical Institute was established in 1971 to provide poor and underprivileged youth with the skills training to find and retain employment. Today, the institute teaches close to 800 students in courses including automotive, machine shop, electrical and electronics, and printing.
The institute has also developed long-term partnerships with organizations that help ensure students are able to access on-the-job training and find employment once they graduate. Partnerships have been developed with Ford and Porsche, among others.
Students enrolled in the Porsche program complete a 10-month basic training course that includes both theoretical and practical training at the Don Bosco Technical Institute where Porsche has set up and equipped a dedicated training facility. During the program, students undergo advanced Berlitz-administered language lessons in English and Spanish, as well as training in customer service.
SOUTH AFRICA
The Salesian Institute Youth Projects in South Africa launched a Smart Work Center to ensure youth have the digital skills needed to compete in the current marketplace. The center is in the institute’s old computer lab and was supported by the Rotary Club Waterfront and carried out in collaboration with Computers4Kids.
Providing digital literacy across all of the institute’s programs can be challenging given the varied literacy and writing abilities of the students. Salesians have brought on volunteers to assist with literacy programs at the institute’s Learn to Live School of Skills, which is a school designed specifically for vulnerable and at-risk youth. For a variety of socio-economic reasons, these youth are not able to succeed in mainstream schools.
Leveraging its extensive network of industry partners, Salesian Institute Youth Projects ensures that the Smart Work Center provides youth with the digital skills needed for employment and then works to create the bridge between education and industry. The Smart Work Center has already made a significant impact by educating 215 youth. These students use the center at least twice a week to enhance their digital literacy and academic skills. The Computers4Kids and Reading Eggs programs that are integrated into the curriculum have proved instrumental in improving literacy rates.
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Salesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, and is part of the Don Bosco Network—a worldwide federation of Salesian NGOs. The mission of the U.S.-based nonprofit Catholic organization is to raise funds for international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. The Salesian missionaries are made up of priests, brothers and sisters, as well as laypeople—all dedicated to caring for poor children throughout the world in more than 130 countries and helping young people become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain employment. To date, more than 3 million youth have received services funded by Salesian Missions. These services and programs are provided to children regardless of race or religion. For more information, go to SalesianMissions.org.
Contact:
Laura Perillo
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