Antananarivo, 20 October, 2023 / 8:21 pm (ACI Africa).
On the annual event of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, officials of the U.S.-based development arm of the Religious Institute of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), Salesian Missions, have reviewed their initiatives that seek to support vulnerable persons across the globe, including Africa.
In a report published Tuesday, October 17, the day of the UN observance, the leadership of Salesian Missions has revisited life-changing education and social initiatives in education and social development in Madagascar and Zambia.
“Education is a primary pathway out of poverty,” the interim Director of Salesian Missions, Fr. Timothy Ploch says in the report, and adds, “Salesian educational programs provide youth the opportunity to gain an education and the skills for later employment. This enables them to earn a living and become self-sufficient.”
“Programs also go beyond traditional education and help to support youth with basic needs, like offering feeding programs at school, so that they can do the hard work of focusing on their studies,” Fr. Ploch further says.
In the Indian Ocean Island-nation of Madagascar, Salesian missionaries provided support for 20 families in the Ivato district thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, he says.