“Foyer Don Bosco serves boys and girls in very complex situations, including children who have been abandoned by their families, victims of abuse and victims of forced marriages,” Salesian Missions Media Representative, Hannah Gregory says in the August 11 report.
Through funding from Salesian Missions, the Centre has educated more than 3,700 people on the rights of children and the child protective systems, Ms. Gregory has reported, adding, “This included educating parents about the rights and duties of children, alert mechanisms, and early detection of vulnerable situations in children.”
To date, the Centre in Benin has been able to care for 77 children, reinsert 50 children into the programs and reintegrate another 50 children with their families, the New York-based official has reported.
With the support of Salesian Missions, SDB missionaries at Foyer Don Bosco in Benin have facilitated the teaching of school children and apprentices about their rights and duties, as well as about personal hygiene and whistleblowing mechanisms in the event of abuse, violence and exploitation, the Media Representative has reported.
Other activities undertaken at the Centre include public awareness events in the markets and on the radio about the country’s criminal law in the context of abuse, trafficking, mistreatment or exploitation of children, as well as training local authorities’ officials and religious leaders about their role in the protection of children, the August report indicates.
In Liberia’s capital, Monrovia where members of SDB have been ministering in Parishes, youth Centres, schools and oratories since 1979, Salesian Missions supports various schools such as Mary Help of Christians School and Don Bosco Technical High.
Mary Help of Christians School, which is run by Salesian Sisters, provides a foundation of education and support for young students who would otherwise have limited opportunities, Ms. Grgeory says in the August 11 report.
Started in 1993, the school serves about 560 students, with more than 100 of them benefitting from the institution's feeding program that is funded by the Salesian Missions.
To supplement current educational efforts, Ms. Gregory reports, Don Bosco Technical High launched a vocational training course for electronic-technicians in 2019 that is available to 90 high school students and 30 uncertified electricians each year.
The course is open to the high school students in the afternoons and to young workers in the mornings “to help them obtain certification to improve their options in the workforce,” the Salesian Missions official says.
