Butare, 22 August, 2021 / 9:20 pm (ACI Africa).
Members of the Religious Institute of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) in Rwanda are reaching out to young mothers through vocational training initiatives being realized at the Don Bosco Technical and Vocational Training School in Rango in the country’s Butare Diocese.
In a Thursday, August 19 report obtained by ACI Africa, officials of the SDB development arm, Salesian Missions, say, “The rate of teenage pregnancies in the country has had exponential growth in recent years and is becoming a major obstacle to social and economic development among the poorest populations.”
“Salesians have launched projects to help educate and promote family involvement while also providing skills training so that young mothers can find employment or start a small business, ensuring that they can live in a dignified manner with their children,”
Officials of the New York-based entity recall that recently, in collaboration with the Salesian Mission Office in Turin, Italy, “Salesian missionaries launched a project to purchase 40 sewing machines to train and empower young mothers so they can acquire the skills to start a small business.”
“Launching a modest tailoring or dressmaking shop or a simple sewing workshop can help provide an income for families,” SDB members in Rwanda are quoted as saying in the August 19 report.
