Ethiopia - Inauguration of new workshops of "Don Bosco Children"

30 November 2018

(ANS - Addis Ababa) - On Wednesday 28 November, the new workshops of the "Don Bosco Children" project were officially opened at the Salesian center of Mekanissa, in Addis Ababa. With the creation of these new structures, the opportunities for vocational training and employment for the "boys of Don Bosco" in Ethiopia are further extended.

The construction of these new laboratories was agreed upon with the project partner companies, all active in the automotive sector: "CNH Industrial Italy", "CNHI International", "New Holland" and "Moenco".

Taking part in the opening ceremony were: Mgr. Luigi Bianco, Apostolic Nuncio in Ethiopia; Daniela Ropolo, Head of the sustainable development project "CNH Industrial"; Fr Estifanos Gebremeskel, Provincial of the Vice Province of Ethiopia (AET); Fr Angelo Regazzo, SDB; and several other representatives of the Government and the bodies involved.

The newly opened workshop will serve to provide short-term courses for dozens of students on the "Operation and maintenance of agricultural machinery".

The "Bosco Children" project seeks in every way the social recovery and the integral development of children and adolescents at risk of Addis Ababa and the surrounding areas. It is carried out by the Salesians in collaboration with various organizations and technical-vocational training is actually only the last stage of a broader path; it begins when Salesians and their lay collaborators go to the most abandoned neighborhoods of the Ethiopian capital to search for street children – who the former, out of respect, do not call them that, but rather "boys of Don Bosco", from whom the name of the project derives: "Don Bosco Children".

Once contact is established with these children, they are offered informal education meetings, in which they are provided with breakfast and clean clothes, but they leave the boys free to be further involved or engage or, instead, to continue with life on the street.

For those who decide to begin the journey, the children follow three years of integral or comprehensive formation, and welcomed at a Salesian boarding school. During this time the Salesians also try to bring them closer to their families and, if this is possible, they continue to accompany and monitor the progressive re-integration into and of the family.

A significant peculiarity of the project is that during the years of technical training the Salesians help the children to find small extra jobs so they may put aside some money that the minors can deposit on a "blocked" account, i.e., where they can only make cash deposits.

Only at the end of the formative journey, when they have completely embraced the commitment to a responsible life, will the youth have the opportunity to take what he has put aside and saved, with a nice surprise: the agreement is the Salesians will double the amount set aside by the young person - a good incentive towards working at their utmost. 

 

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