of Don Bosco
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The Salesians of Don Bosco
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Who are they?
They are a society of Priests, Brothers, Sisters and Volunteers in the Catholic Church who are committed to serving the needs of disadvantaged youth. This society was founded in Italy by Father (Don) Giovanni Bosco and has spread throughout the world. Its main focus in Southern Africa is on the homeless and destitute children living on the street.
THE PROBLEM
Decades of apartheid government in South and Southern Africa have left poverty and ignorance in their wake. Many parents are too poor to feed their children, let alone educate them and child abuse is too often the cause of runaway children. Long before maturity and self-reliance have established themselves in a street child, he may well be on the road to substance abuse, theft, AIDS, murder, exposure, TB, starvation. In this aspect, apartheid was devastatingly successful. Many people consider that the street children came from "somewhere else" and should "go back there".
THE SOLUTION ...
is to join with the Salesians in their work through volunteering or through financial support. Funding for projects has to be raised through contributions from concerned citizens. The Salesians have been running projects in Southern Africa for a hundred years and in that time they have established themselves in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Swaziland and Lesotho.
These are the projects that they run:
Western Cape - at the Salesian Institute
Learn To Live, an education and skills training programme for street children, opened in January 1990 and has a capacity for over eighty pupils each day. The youth, both boys and girls, come to the programme from shelters and homes throughout the city. The project has three phases:
(i) preparing street youth to return to formal schooling or to encourage them to attend basic skills training;
(ii) providing the opportunity to gain work experience and training before actual employment;
(iii) empowering them to be independent.
Skills taught include carpentry, leatherwork and metalwork.
Brother Joe Bell in Learn To Live
Don Bosco Hostel, accommodation for street youth, opened in 1991 to offer shelter to needy youths who are too old for admittance to children's shelters. This is the last stop for many: without this safety-net there would be the inevitable life of drugs and crime on the street. Currently accommodating up to 26 former street youths all over the age of sixteen, the programme nevertheless endeavours to reunite these youths with their families when this is possible. Individual counselling is available. The youths return to formal schooling, attend the work skills programme at Learn To Live or find employment.
Don Bosco Centre is also known as Sixteen Plus Outreach as it targets youth in the 16 - 25 age group who are living on the street. A fulltime Co-ordinator and dedicated Volunteers provide a resource and network facility. Street work, research, counselling, legal assistance are all offered, the programme networking where needed. These youth are listened to and encouraged to make informed choices in their lives.
Coleudge Daniels with
Sixteen Plus Outreach street kids
Gauteng
Diocesan Youth Pastoral Centre is a place where qualified counsellors work with youth in self-development programmes, retreats and leadership programmes. The youth come from schools, parishes and youth groups.
Swaziland
In Manzini the Salesians minister to homeless and marginalised boys and girls. Local business co-operates with them in a skills training programme. In addition to regular schooling and a recreational centre, Manzini Youth Care passes on the skills of carpentry, sewing, baking, welding, electronics and electrics, mechanics, upholstery, panel beating and spray painting, screen and conventional printing, hair care and plumbing.
Lesotho
The Salesians run a mission station in Maputsoe complete with primary schools and high school. The Salesian Sisters run Primary School and a training centre for girls when the need to earn income outweighs the need to learn.
Kids at school in Lesotho
WHAT IS NEEDED?
We must stop the decaying of our society into a rootless, homeless, drug-saturated and hopeless mess. We must try to reach as many children as possible to literally "save their lives". We need to initiate more outreach and youth development programmes that are staffed by professionals, yet we are hamstrung by a lack of funding. Everything that we use in the rehablitation programmes has to be funded by concerned people like you.
Contact: Father Robert Gore SDB: afmsdbmo@iafrica.com
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