Salesian Missions and Laudato Si’
by Julia St. Clair
(ANS – New Rochelle – May 31, 2021) – New
Rochelle-based Salesian Missions, a private, nonprofit organization that operates
as a non-governmental organization (NGO), is dedicated to raising money for and
helping projects to advance in the Third World. “In 2020, we helped 67
provinces, which received $8.5 million for over 100 projects,” Fr. Gus Baek,
director of Salesian Missions, explained. “We have been doing this for 75
years, during which we’ve raised over $637 million.” In the special year
dedicated to the encyclical Laudato Si’ (May 24, 2020-2021), the mission
office oversaw, among its many projects, numerous programs on the environmental
theme.
Salesian Missions provides aid through education, health,
humanitarian assistance, church-building, and the Salesian Lay Missioners
program. A recent example of how Salesian Missions helped moral and spiritual
development through education is how they funded 1,000 Bibles through the Koch
Foundation. Additionally, their chapel projects saw 35 chapels provided for during
2020 and raised a total of $607,475 to support the cause.
Moreover, one way that Salesian Missions has participated in the
fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’ is how they introduced a
renewable energy training program in Tanzania that serves over 480 students a
year. With funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Don Bosco
Vocational Training Centers created training laboratories and enhanced their
solar and electronic classes and workshops. Students can now study solar energy
installation, operation, and equipment maintenance. The project increases
access to quality technical training on renewable energy, a fast-growing
industry in Tanzania.
“They cannot find fossil energy in Africa, so solar energy is
the way of the future. And it’s better for the environment,” Fr. Gus began.
“We’re training young men and women to use solar funds and basic equipment, as
well as to install solar panels. After graduation, 100% of kids get jobs. This
is great since we need well-trained people in this area.”
Salesian Missions has also funded many clean water initiatives
around the world. In Burkina Faso, where the Don Bosco Center is no stranger to
solar energy, Salesian Missions recently helped to install a solar-powered
water pump. They use 30 solar energy lamps to light up the center. When they
requested a solar-powered borehole, Salesian Missions was happy to help. They
provided the missing solar pump needed to complete the borehole and water tower
that now provide clean water for the center and surrounding community.
“I saw only two countries before the pandemic—Tanzania and
Kenya. In both places, children must travel long distances with no shoes to get
water,” Fr. Gus exclaimed. “Salesian parishes help them, and we include their
stories as examples when we do our weekly outreach. The clean water projects
receive very strong and positive responses.”
To learn more about ongoing projects at Salesian Missions,
please visit https://salesianmissions.org
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