Salesian Missions Programs for Youths in Need

Salesian Missions Highlights Programs for Youths in Need

International Youth Day

(ANS – New Rochelle – August 12, 2025) – Salesian Missions in New Rochelle joins humanitarian organizations and countries around the globe in recognizing International Youth Day. Celebrated each year on Aug. 12, International Youth Day was established by the United Nations to raise awareness of issues affecting young people around the world.

Working in more than 130 countries, Salesian priests, brothers, and sisters provide a range of social development and educational programs for youths who are poor and at risk. They help ensure that youths have the basic needs of nutrition, shelter, safety, and health care accessible to them. Salesians also offer more than 5,500 primary and secondary schools and more than 1,000 vocational, technical, professional, and agricultural schools around the globe.

“Salesians are focused on education but know that youths in poverty are dealing with much more than that in their daily lives,” said Fr. Michael Conway, director of Salesian Missions. “This is why Salesian feeding and sheltering programs, youth centers, medical clinics, and more are essential to a young person’s overall well-being and enables them to focus on their education to gain the skills for future employment and self-sufficiency.”

In honor and celebration of International Youth Day 2025, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight Salesian initiatives that educate and empower youths.

HAITI

More than 3,000 youths in Haiti received nutritious food through a partnership between Salesian Missions and Rise Against Hunger, an international humanitarian organization growing a global movement to end hunger. The shipments of meals were received by the Salesians of Don Bosco in Haiti and then distributed to 11 Salesian centers and schools in the first half of 2024. Salesians facilitate school feeding programs, family meetings, professional training, primary and secondary education, apprenticeships, catechesis classes, and various other social activities.

Haiti faces ongoing political and social strife. Rodnel Ball, age 16, is one of the recipients and has been living at the Timkatec center in Port-au-Prince for 5 years. He said: “When I arrived at Timkatec, I started to eat Rise Against Hunger meals every day. The meals are important to me because they give me strength and they taste good. Not only did I gain weight by eating the meals, but I also found the motivation to study. I study better. I like to sit with my classmates when I eat.”

A Salesian noted, “We appreciate Rise Against Hunger and the solidarity from the United States for sending food for our youths. We can see the joy on the face of each child after eating and when they arrive home.”

INDIA

Salesian missionaries with Don Bosco Snehalaya in Assam, India, were able to fund the “Comprehensive Support for Poor and Needy Children in Assam” project thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions. The funding provided support for 142 young people in need of care and protection at 5 Salesian childcare institutions.

Donor funding was used for food, education, clothing, and counseling, as well as support for the staff to provide the services. The institutions that were supported were the Snehalaya Boys Home, which provides support for 29 boys ages 12-16; Auxilium Snehalaya, which supports 30 girls, ages 6-11; Ila Snehalaya, a home for 23 young boys, ages 6-11; Jyoti Snehalaya, a home for 33 girls, ages 12-18; and Snehalaya Center for Child Rights, a home for 25 boys, ages 15-18.

Anjana Tanti, age 18, is one of the youths supported by this donation. She is living at Jyoti Snehalaya. She said: “I had a very bad childhood. My father died when I was 3 years old. My mother married another man. My stepfather used to beat me. I was the victim of child abuse. I was rescued by Childline, Dimapur, and was referred to Auxilium Snehalaya at the age of 5.”

UKRAINE

Salesians were able to construct a new soccer field for students at Blessed Klymenty and Andrey Sheptytskyi in Lviv, Ukraine, thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions. The donation impacted more than 400 students who regularly use the field.

The previous field was in such disrepair that it made it difficult for the students to play at all. It was filled with mud and was uneven. The soccer goals lacked netting, so when a goal was scored youths had to chase the ball.

A Salesian said: “The new field is bringing a new life for the students who are more enthusiastic about playing soccer and using the field. Since the beginning of the school year, Salesian priests and soccer coaches have actively conducted soccer activities on the field next to the gymnasium. They organized a class schedule to ensure fair playing time for all. In the morning, students are using the field and after midday, the field is utilized for youths from the Salesian Pokrova Parish.”

Close to the gymnasium is a modular city of Mariapolis, where people who have been internally displaced are living. Among them are youths who are interested in sport activities. The goal is to reach out to these youths so that they can access the new field. Salesians will also rent the field to raise the funding needed to cover maintenance costs.

WEST AFRICA

Salesian missionaries in the Our Lady of Peace provincial community were able to provide 209 scholarships to youths who are disadvantaged, thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions. The Antonio Cesar scholarship program took place in Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, and Senegal.

According to the UNESCO Statistical Institute, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of exclusion from education. More than a fifth of children aged about 6-11 are out of school, a third of children aged about 12-14, and nearly 60% of young people aged about 15-17. The region faces a growing demand for education due to its steadily increasing school-age population. Girls face greater exclusion from school than boys of the same age.

Youths receiving the scholarships were aged 8-25, and they were either orphaned or from families that could not afford their schooling.

A Salesian explained: “We want to ensure that all youths have a chance to gain an education, particularly girls who face greater disadvantages in accessing education. Salesians provide education and social development programs to support poor youths and their families. It is our goal to connect all youths, despite their disadvantages, to education where they can gain skills for later employment and to succeed in life.”