Salesian Missions launched an improved website this week, with the purpose of keeping its donors and partners informed about how its programs make a difference to some of the worlds poorest youth in more than 130 countries around the globe.

The website SalesianMissions.org showcases the nonprofit organizations new logo and utilizes an interactive map that allows site visitors to easily access information of interest to them.

The map offers the ability to Find Your Mission, with easy-to-use functions that bring site visitors to specific, compelling information about missions in countries that span across the globe. Search functionality is possible either by type of mission or by country.

If someone was interested in Bolivia, for example, says Stephen Eross, operations manager for Salesian Missions. All they have to do is select that country on the map and they are taken to photos and detailed information about the Muriyana Agricultural School, where more than 600 high school students and 100 advanced students receive training and are learning to integrate their work into the local community.

This is just one example of thousands of programs Salesian Missions supports around the globe. Eross explains that because the work they do is so vast and complicated, the improved website works to provide specific examples of how donors gifts are making an impact in some of the most impoverished and dangerous locations on the planet.

Considering the Salesians are regarded as the single largest provider of vocational and technical training in the world, there are many stories to be told.

We often call ourselves the worlds best-kept secret, says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions. We are committed to telling the stories of our work with thousands of homeless children in big cities as well as remote corners of the globe that have been forgotten and neglected by the rest of society.

The improved website also takes advantage of social media, linking to Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, donors are able to more easily make online contributions and choose to receive information via email.

The website is the culmination of a comprehensive, dedicated effort to improve the nonprofit organizations external communications and increase efficiency.

ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS

Salesian Missions, Inc., in New Rochelle, NY, is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the United States. The mission of the U.S.-based Catholic organization is to raise funds for its international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. All donations are tax deductible, with 82% going directly to fund programs.

The Salesians of Don Bosco operate more than 3,400 youth education and trade schools, 23 colleges, more than 90 agricultural schools, 216 clinics and hospitals, 225 orphanages and shelters, and a wide variety of social and economic development activities. Salesian Missions has an active presence in more than 130 countries spanning all five continents The Salesians are led by nearly 34,000 priests, brothers and sisters who serve as Salesians of Don Bosco (S.D.B.), the second largest order in the Roman Catholic Church.

To date, more than 3 million youth have received services funded by Salesian Missions. These services and programs are provided to children regardless of race or religion. To date, more than 5 million Americans have contributed financially to this work. The Salesian Missions Office for International Programs has been entrusted by dozens of government agencies and humanitarian organizations to be the stewards of funds dedicated to education programs for desperately poor children.

For more information, go to SalesianMissions.org.

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On September 10th, 2012 Leisure Fitness opened its 22nd store. The new Leisure Fitness – Englishtown, NJ store is located at 455 Route 9. This is Leisure Fitness’ seventh location in New Jersey, with more locations coming soon.

The store location was most recently known as Joe’s East Coast Fitness, and has been a fitness equipment store for 27 years. Joe Dalzell, former owner of East Coast Fitness, will be joining the Leisure Fitness team in a hybrid role of Commercial and Residential Sales based out of the Englishtown, NJ store.

Leisure Fitness offers high-quality fitness equipment to meet your home, office, and corporate needs. Equipment includes ellipticals, treadmills, recumbent and upright bikes, home gyms, rowing machines, free weights, and accessories.

The store will have a full selection of top brands including; Precor, Life Fitness, Landice, Inspire Fitness, LifeSpan Fitness, Spirit Fitness, ElliptiGO, Bodyguard, AbCoaster, Body-Solid and more.

Leisure Fitness operates under the philosophy that to reach a wellness destination people must have education and motivation. Therefore, Leisure Fitness provides a professional, educated staff of fitness experts who are knowledgeable about all of the equipment’s capability and performance specifications as well as what equipment is right for any of the countless individual needs that their customers can and will have.

To promote wellness in the community, Leisure Fitness is offering free Corporate Wellness Seminars to major employers in Englishtown and surrounding communities. Other organizations that have taken advantage of these seminars include Princeton University, Siemens, Wawa, FBI, Johns Hopkins Hospital Systems, and Astra Zeneca.

Dan Lahey, Manager for the Englishtown Store, said, Leisure Fitness is excited to serve the Englishtown communitys fitness needs and to provide health and fitness guidance to meet there fitness goals. Dan has over 5 years of industry experience in the New Jersey market.

Leisure Fitness is passionately committed to providing the tools that will help its customers get fit and stay fit. All the products displayed and sold at Leisure Fitness are carefully reviewed to insure that every item is of the highest quality and engineered to deliver results. Once becoming a member of the Leisure Fitness customer family, Leisure Fitness makes every effort to continue to motivate and educate their customers with a variety of services designed to keep people moving towards their fitness goals and beyond.

If youd like more information about Leisure Fitness please visit LeisureFitness.com, or contact store manager, Dan Lahey, at (732) 972-3434. If you are interested in Corporate Wellness Seminars, please call Anne Stephenson, at (302) 224-5062.

Find More Education System Press Releases

Ixxus consultant Dan Tuffery has just been announced as the winner of Alfrescos 2012 Dashlet Challenge; an annual contest pitting dashletes against each other to prove their technical know-how.

Dans winning entry was a Search Terms dashlet (http://addons.alfresco.com/addons/search-terms-dashlet) which can be used to show search terms which have been executed in Alfresco, along with a number of filters which give users improved control over which search terms are displayed. Search terms are represented in a tag cloud, and are weighted by how many times a search has been executed.

“The Search Terms dashlet makes great use of the Solr search engine which is new in Alfresco 4, said Jeff Potts, Chief Community Officer at Alfresco, It gives valuable insight to anyone running an Alfresco Share-based sites because it allows them to see what people are searching for, including what people searching for and not finding. These kind of insights make it easier for knowledge managers to tweak and tune their Share sites which makes everyone more productive.”

Ixxus has a strong pedigree in the world of enterprise search, and is the only UK authorised SI partner for LucidWorks, the first commercial entity exclusively dedicated to Lucene/Solr. With client demand growing for incorporation of additional search functionality in Alfresco implementations, the company is investing time and resources in creating trail-blazing search solutions.

In his role at Ixxus, Dan has carried out a number of Lucene/Solr projects this year, including developing a powerful faceted search feature which improves discoverability in Alfresco 4 by allowing users to apply multiple filters to search results. Those attending Alfresco DevCon on 5-7th November in Berlin will have the opportunity to see Dan speak about his search experience and expertise, in his talk on Implementing Faceted Search Using Share and Solr (http://devcon.alfresco.com/berlin/sessions/implementing-faceted-search-using-share-solr).

The Dashlet Challenge is an annual competition run by Enterprise Content Management experts Alfresco, which this year ran from August-September. With its strong open source community and user base, the Alfresco Add-Ons store contains over 175 extensions and plug-ins for the Alfresco platform, all of which are freely contributed by the community, and freely available for download.

About Ixxus

With headquarters in London and offices in New York and Romania, Ixxus is an experienced global consultancy and systems integration organisation. The company specialises in the design, development and operational support of enterprise content management and search solutions, with a modern and innovative approach to project delivery.

Ixxus is an Alfresco platinum partner with unrivalled implementation experience. The company has worked across all industry sectors; including publishing, finance, higher education, government, legal and manufacturing. Customers include Yell.com, Virgin Money, Amnesty International, Clifford Chance and 118.com.

About Alfresco

Alfresco is the open platform for social content management. With nearly 2,000 customers in 55 countries, Alfresco is the worlds most trusted open platform for highly scalable, enterprise-class content management. Boasting over 250 partners, a vibrant open source community, and customers including Home Depot, Michelin and the New York Philharmonic, the Alfresco ecosystem is driving innovation across the globe. Headquartered in London, with US headquarters in Atlanta, Alfresco was founded in 2005 by a team of content management pioneers including CTO, John Newton, and CEO, John Powell. For more information, visit http://www.alfresco.com/

More Education System Press Releases

New fears grow along with the number of people seeking safe shelter at a Salesian Missions compound in Du?kou?. More than 30,000 displaced civilians are now living there after fleeing their homes when the Carrefour district was looted and houses set on fire on March 29. At least 800 people were killed.

There is no food, people are sleeping on the ground, there is nowhere else to go, says Salesian Father Vicente Grupeli. There are no toilets or washing facilities and we have no drinking water.

They also are without adequate food and water. However, Fr. Grupelis greatest fear is a cholera outbreak, which he says is a serious threat if more aid is not received soon.

A Doctors Without Borders/M?decins Sans Fronti?res (MSF) team has been providing medical care in the Salesian compound in Du?kou? on a daily basis since December. On April 19, MSF reported:

“The pressure on the camp is enormous. The number of people sheltering there far surpasses its capacity, and more are continuing to arrive. In surrounding villages, many people are still hoping to make their way to this dreadful safe haven.”

In our dispensary, consultations have recently doubled and in some rooms we have two consultants because of the lack of space, says Dr. Mohamadou Seyni, who coordinates MSFs activities in the camp. After the days of violence, we had a lot of trauma and injuries that we needed to refer to our team in the hospital in town, but now most of our consultations are for malaria. Yesterday, out of 120 children tested, 80 had malaria.

On April 4, the Salesian Info Agency (ANS) reported that there are only two Salesians there who have to try to respond to the appeals for help from about 20,000 people.

Since then, the number of people seeking shelter and assistance at the Salesian compound has grown to at least 30,000. A report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) confirms the massive numbers and shows completed registrations for more than 27,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs) seeking refuge in and around the Salesian compound in Du?kou?.

The numbers are growing and people are afraid to leave and return home.

It would be naive to believe that they will return home immediately, says Fr. Gupeli.

The fears are warranted. Catholic News Service (CNS) reported that armed robbers attacked members of the faculty of a Jesuit-run theology school in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan on April 17, as the priests were preparing for dinner. Students have not been at the school for several months due to escalating violence in the area. The robbers entered school grounds by jumping over a security wall, then quickly disarmed the guards on duty and attacked a deacon.

This illustrates why U.N. forces have guarded the Salesian compound ever since the violence erupted, making it one of the only places civilians feel safe (even with the health threats they face due to lack of adequate clean water and sanitation). Like all Salesian workings around the globe, safety is paramount and is evident in the large security walls and guards. But the presence of the U.N. forces doesnt ease the fears of the people. Rather, it indicates the seriousness of the situation.

This does not mean that there is more security, says Fr. Gupeli. On the contrary, the people are afraid.

The Salesian Missions compound created to serve as a vocational training center, a home for children and a youth center suspended all activities to care for the tens of thousands who have overwhelmed the facility, according to Fr. Grupeli.

ANS reports, to cope with this tragic situation, the Salesians and the refugees are in urgent need of help from the main humanitarian aid agencies.

The Salesian mission office in Madrid launched an urgent appeal for food, water, medical supplies and other needs that are in short supply. Information about the campaign can be found at http://www.misionessalesianas.org.

Story provided by MissionNewswire.

About SALESIAN MISSIONS in Du?kou? and Around the Globe

The Salesian Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus mission as it is known locally is the only remaining catholic mission in Du?kou? and is registered officially as Salesian Missions Du?kou?.

The Salesians in Du?kou? are connected with the Salesian Missions office in New Rochelle, NY, which is working to provide information about the events and situation in Du?kou?. The office is responsible for U.S.-based fundraising efforts to support missions around the globe, in addition to managing crisis response when needed (such as it did in Haiti).

The Salesians are made up of 34,000 Priests, Brothers and Sisters serving in the spirit of their founder, Don Bosco, an Italian Catholic priest who devoted his life to fulfilling the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. Their mission is to enable poor and suffering children to live better lives and build brighter futures. The Salesians operate 5,000 schools and technical training centers, 23 colleges, 216 clinics and hospitals, 225 orphanages and shelters, and a wide variety of social and economic development activities in more than 130 countries spanning all five continents.

No American Lay Missioners are serving in the Ivory Coast.

More information about Salesian Missions (and ways to help) is available at http://www.SalesianMissions.org.

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When they assemble in their cap and gowns on June 2nd, the graduating seniors of Don Bosco Cristo Rey are going to have a lot to celebrate.

Not only will these 70 young adults have satisfied a rigorous high-school curriculum, earned significant experience working in the local business community, and paid for a portion of their own education through their dedicated labors, they will also have defied the odds against them; 100% of this first graduating class received acceptance letters to college. An impressive statistic on any commencement day, but certainly on one that features a graduating class, more than 60% of which is comprised of students who will represent the first generation in their families to attend college. Nothing could more faithfully embody the schools 2010-2011 theme: Work for the best; dont settle for less!

The 2011 graduating class of Don Bosco Cristo Rey is full of educational pioneers; the school didnt even exist 5 years ago. And at that time, very few of the members of this class with a composition of 57% female, 64% Hispanic, 34% Black, and universally challenged economically would have appeared on anyones most like to succeed list. But succeed they did, and well.

Every student participates in the Corporate Work Study Program where they gain professional work experience and earn money to pay for a portion of their education. One of the corporate work-study sponsors, Russette Samuel said, Ill never hire a temp again. Lou Boland, of Boland, Inc. said, “These kids are business leaders of tomorrow, proving themselves today.

Opened in August 2007, and located in Takoma Park, MD, Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School is the newest high school in the Archdiocese of Washington, and was designed for students in the greater Washington area who dream of going to college but have very limited financial resources. In the tradition of the Salesians of Don Bosco, an order of priests and brothers who have been educating youth since 1859, Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School emphasizes the importance of Faith, Family, Future, and Fun in education.

For more information on the first graduating class of Don Bosco Cristo Rey, contact Claire Wyrsch, Director of Communications, 301-891-4750.

Best Bark Media is a client-centered marketing media company powered by decades of experience and well-established networks.

Media Contact: Janice Ockershausen, Best Bark Media 1200 29th Street NW, Suite B-100 Washington, DC 20007. 202-342-0002. BestBarkMedia.com

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Salesian Missions has teamed up with students and professors from Fordham University to carry out a multi-country study to identify best practices at Salesian technical vocational training schools around the globe.

The Salesians are widely regarded as the largest single provider of technical vocational training in the world. Don Bosco the founder of the Roman Catholic Religious order opened the first Salesian vocational training school in Turin, Italy in 1845. Since then, the congregation’s network of vocational training schools has expanded to provide assistance to underserved populations in more than 100 countries on six continents. Salesian Missions in New Rochelle, NY, is the U.S.-based arm of the Salesians, which works to raise funds and develop international programs.

Working with Fordhams International Political Economy and Development graduate program, the study examines the design and delivery of training programs compared to practices employed at non-Salesian vocational schoolswith particular emphasis on student selection, skills taught, job-placement, and post-training support.

Our partnership with Fordham University allows us to build on the Salesians’ decades of experience providing training services in these countries, says Jaime Correa-Montalvo of the Salesian Missions Office for International Programs headquartered in New Rochelle, NY.

With support from professors, Fordham students review previous literature and academic research on vocational training and workforce development practices before traveling on summer assignments to the

developing world to visit Salesian vocational schools. There, they conduct field-level surveys with school administrators, teachers, and current and former students.

In 2010, students traveled to countries throughout Asia and Africa. Similar fieldwork is planned for 2011 and beyond, with the eventual goal of publication in an academic journal and a best practices manual that will be shared with Salesian vocational schools throughout the world.

By studying, documenting and building awareness of best practices we hope to assist Salesians in providing assistance to those most in need, Correa-Montalvo adds.

ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS

Salesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, and is part of the Don Bosco Networka worldwide federation of Salesian NGOs. The mission of the U.S.-based nonprofit Catholic organization is to raise funds for international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. The Salesian missionaries are made up of priests, brothers and sisters, as well as laypeopleall dedicated to caring for poor children in more than 130 countries and helping young people become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain employment. To date, more than 3 million youth have received services funded by Salesian Missions. These services and programs are provided to children regardless of race or religion. To date, more than 5 million Americans have contributed financially to this work. Salesian Missions is a is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and all donations are tax deductible. For more information, go to http://www.SalesianMissions.org.

ABOUT FORDHAM UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1841, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York, offering exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition to approximately 14,700 students in its four undergraduate colleges and its six graduate and professional schools. It has residential campuses in the Bronx and Manhattan, a campus in Westchester, the Louis Calder Center Biological Field Station in Armonk, N.Y., and the London Centre at Heythrop College in the United Kingdom. For more information, go to http://www.Fordham.edu.

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In a year that has been the most violent since the beginning of a peace treaty in 2005 underscored with high levels of corruption and human rights violations the people of South Sudan had something to celebrate as their country became Africas 54th country and the globes newest nation on July 9, 2011.

This follows decades of civil war, and a referendum this past January in which nearly 99 percent of southern Sudanese who voted chose to secede from Sudan and form an independent nation.

The new nation enters a new phase while confronting humbling realities about the state of its people. South Sudan is one of the most impoverished countries in the world, has the worlds highest maternal mortality rate and struggles with very low literacy rates (90% of the female population remain illiterate). According to the United Nations, more than half of its people feed, clothe and shelter themselves on less than one dollar a day.

In an editorial published by the New York Times on July 7, Secretary General of the U.N. Ban Ki-Moon wrote, I came to appreciate the sheer scale of these challenges, for myself, when I first visited South Sudan in 2007 an area of 620,000 square kilometers with less than 100 kilometers of paved road. Within this larger context, the risk of increased violence, harm to civilian populations and further humanitarian suffering is very real.

At the same time, he points out South Sudan has remarkable potential. With substantial oil reserves, huge amounts of arable land and the Nile flowing through its center, South Sudan could grow into a prosperous, self-sustaining nation capable of providing security, services and employment for its population.

A new USAID mission has been designated in the South Sudan city of Juba to address the countrys development needs and create a transition strategy to guide activities in South Sudan.

The lack of economic opportunity, particularly among marginalized youth, is another critical potential driver of conflict in South Sudan, reads the USAIDs South Sudan Transition Strategy Executive Summary.

Specializing in meeting the needs of such marginalized youth, the Salesians of Don Bosco have been working in the region since 1982 providing educational opportunities, housing, food, youth centers, health services and other needs to those otherwise without a voice or hope for the future. The Salesians work continued even during the most intense warfare in 1997 and 1998, followed by the starvation of many and an ongoing humanitarian crisis that continues today. The atrocities in Darfur sparked an international outcry for the entire region as people not only fled for their lives due to violence, but also fought starvation, poverty and disease.

After the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, new opportunities arose for international humanitarian organizations to partner in the reconstruction of Sudan.

In response, the Don Bosco Network an international network of Salesian NGOs that includes Salesian Missions in New Rochelle, NY published a Sudan 2007-11 Country Strategy Paper. The paper included an outlined approach for specific interventions to help youth in the southern Sudan zone. Strategies included: improving access to schooling, especially for IDPs (internally displaced people) in the town of Wau; enabling the start-up of small enterprises in the Wau County by providing employment-oriented vocational training to youth; and promoting agro-based livelihoods in the Wau County through agricultural training and services.

As a result, Salesian involvement throughout Sudan has been further developed, including a strong presence in four of the cities in the newly formed South Sudan: Tonj, Wau, Maridi and Juba.

At St. Josephs Vocational Training Center in Kharotoum, Sudan, youth receive instruction in computer training, wiring, masonry, carpentry and welding.

An educational program in Tonj which consists of a primary school for 1,200 students and educational centers in the villages seeks to make education more easily accessible to children. Currently there are six such village educational centers with plans in place for more. Another essential service in Tonj is a Salesian-run health center which cares for approximately 250 out-patients every day and is the only medical facility available within 125 miles.

In Wau, a Salesian vocational school trains youth in general mechanics, carpentry and plumbing in addition to promoting agricultural projects essential to the town.

These programs are examples of the many operated by the Salesians in nations throughout Africa and the entire globe, from orphanages and feeding centers to training institutes. Connecting the newly formed nation of South Sudan with the East Africa region and the world in meaningful ways, will be essential to its future.

South Sudan must also reach out to its other neighbors, Ban Ki-Moon wrote in his New York Times editorial. Across the globe and in Africa, especially the trend is toward regional partnerships. South Sudan will be strengthened by becoming an active participant in the regional organizations of East Africa and developing durable trade and political ties throughout the continent.

For more news articles like this one, visit MissionNewswire.org.

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A new partnership between Fiat and the Salesian Don Bosco Technical Institute in India will fulfill two essential needs for the South Asian economy job training for at-risk youth and skilled workers for the auto industry.

The program launched a few weeks before the World Bank reported one million additional jobs will be needed each month for the next 20 years to sustain growth and reduce poverty in South Asia equivalent to a 40% increase in the global labor force.

In its Sept. 23 report “More and Better Jobs in South Asia,” The World Bank notes that the region will be the largest contributor to the global workforce over the next two decades and states that reforms will have to be accelerated if the region is going to meet the challenges of providing better jobs for its workforce.

South Asia’s key asset is its people. It has a young population and the second lowest female participation rate in the labor force. The demographic transition will result in more than 350 million people entering the working age population over the next two decades, says Isabel Guerrero, World Bank South Asia vice president. Creating jobs for them will contribute to growth, equity, and peace in the region.

According to the report, South Asia created nearly 800,000 jobs per month between 2000 and 2010 but the region remains home to the largest number of the worlds poorhalf a billion people. The World Bank defines South Asia as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The report also highlights that education is the key to labor mobility.

Its not only the quantity of jobs but the quality of the jobs being created in the region that is relevant, says Kalpana Kochhar, chief economist for the World Banks South Asia Region.

In addition to a region-wide view, the report recommends reforms for individual countries. One recommendation for India, Nepal and Sri Lanka is to realize that any actions to encourage job creation in the formal economy must also include programs for formal and informal sector workers so that they build a future for themselves through increased earnings potential. The report concludes that building incrementally on existing schemes is likely the best way forward.

The new Diksha program aims to do just that — by providing vocational training and on-the-job experience for at-risk youth at the Fiat automobile factory in Ranjangaon, India (three hours from Mumbai). Fiat and Don Bosco Vyawasaik Prashikshan Kendra in Pune, developed the training partnership which will have accreditation from the National Council for Vocational Training in New Dehli.

The Diksha educational program will give students a chance to gain expertise in the automobile industry, where the types of jobs are available that are being recommended in the World Bank report jobs that require skill and that will provide a future to these youth and their families, says Father George Menamparampil, procurator at Don Bosco Technical Institute in New Delhi, India.

The program will include both a four-month and a two-year option. In addition, there will be a train the trainer component, so that teachers will be able to incorporate the latest engine technology into the school curriculum.

Father Menamparampil also explains that Ranjangaon is an industrial belt with a concentration of rapidly expanding automobile factories that will provide additional job opportunities. Some in the industry have predicted that with the pace of industrialization, there will be an acute shortage of skilled technicians by the year 2015.

As India grows and changes, our vocational programs are growing and changing too. The Diksha program teaches our students to become experts in the automobile industry,” says Father Menamparampil. “But we also have programs around India that focus on computer technology and mass media skills.

The Salesians are widely considered the globe’s largest provider of technical and trade education — with ore than 3,400 youth education and trade schools that provide hope and opportunity to nearly 3 million young men and women from 135 countries.

ABOUT SALESIAN MISSIONS

Salesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, and is part of the Don Bosco Networka worldwide federation of Salesian NGOs. The mission of the U.S.-based nonprofit Catholic organization is to raise funds for international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. The Salesian missionaries are made up of priests, brothers and sisters, as well as laypeopleall dedicated to caring for poor children in more than 130 countries and helping young people become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain employment. To date, more than 3 million youth have received services funded by Salesian Missions. These services and programs are provided to children regardless of race or religion. To date, more than 5 million Americans have contributed financially to this work. Salesian Missions is a is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and all donations are tax deductible. For more information, go to http://www.SalesianMissions.org.

For more articles like this one: MissionNewswire.org

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Related Don Bosco School Press Releases

More than 75 metric tons of food will be distributed by Salesian Missions and its Swaziland-based partner, Manzini Youth Care, through a grant recently awarded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Food for Peace as part of its 2011 International Food Relief Partnership Program.

According to the World Food Program, more than 400,000 of a total population of one million Swazis are now dependent on some form of food aid double the number in 2006. World Food Program statistics also reveal about 63 percent of Swazilands 1 million people live below the poverty line, subsisting on $ 0.60 (US) a day.

Both severe poverty and high rates of HIV/AIDS makes it critical to support food programs in Swaziland. Even when HIV treatment is available, effective treatment requires that the medication be taken with food. If there is no food, the treatment is ineffective, says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco headquartered in New Rochelle, NY.

USAID reports that with an estimated adult prevalence of 26.3 percent, Swaziland has the worlds most severe HIV/AIDS epidemic, posing a serious challenge to the countrys economic development.

The Salesian Missions/Manzini Youth Care program will focus on developing new feeding programs for at-risk youth, while supplementing several existing programs. Food aid will reach more than 23,000 marginalized youth and adults in Manzini and its surrounding urban areas, including approximately 21,500 children in scholarship schools.

Many families are breaking up because of economic or health situations, and as a result, children are taking on the responsibilities of adults, says Fr. Hyde. Feeding programs are one way to encourage children to attend school, because for many of the children, it will be their only meal of the day.

World Food Program statistics show that there are more than 80,000 orphans in the country and that children head 15 percent of total Swazi households.

Manzini Youth Cares free primary school targets young people over the age of 10, who have not previously attended primary school or have dropped out due to poverty. Home visits ensure that the families genuinely could not afford mainstream schooling.

With poverty increasing, demand for the school is rising. Currently, there is no feeding program at the school, and teachers report that students are frequently hungry and unable to concentrate by mid-morning, says Fr. Mark. He adds that not surprisingly, the schools closest to the areas where scholarship students live are generally the poorest in resources, yet highest in number of single or double orphans. Goals of the feeding program include increasing enrollment and attendance rates, improving grade point averages and increasing body weight of the students.

According to the “Swaziland Annual Vulnerability Assessment & Analysis Report 2009″ published by the Swazi Vulnerable Assessment Committee, Manzini and its surrounding urban areas are one of the worst affected zones in terms of food insecurity. A survey of the communities conducted by Manzini Youth Care shows that the average household consists of 6.7 people and that 28% of the households have no means to buy food and very little means of cultivating their own food.

Many people move from rural areas hoping to find a job, but end up unemployed. They have to search for something to eat every day, because there isnt space or opportunity for a garden, says Fr. Hyde.

Rural areas in Swaziland already feature a fairly high number of non-governmental organizations that are providing food aid to vulnerable communities. Manzini does not as it is often assumed that food insecurity isnt as big of a problem in the city, explains Fr. Hyde.

The Salesian community in Manzini established Manzini Youth Care as a non-governmental organization in the 1970s. It provides services to marginalized youth, including free primary school for children who have dropped out of school due to poverty, two vocational training centers for older youth, residential care to former street children and a drop-in school for street children when they first leave the streets. Manzini Youth Care also works in the communities surrounding Manzini to help local people improve living standards, sanitation and food security. During the past five years, it has coordinated the work of international volunteers and local community members to build two residential homes, which provide the daily feeding program.

To make a donation, the public can go to SalesianMissions.org and click on “Donate Now.”

For more articles like this one, go to MissionNewswire.org..

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Find More Don Bosco School Press Releases

An Oct. 21, 2011 press release entitled Salesian Missions Responds to Transfer of More than 60,000 Somali Refugees in Kenya from Dadaab Camp to Kakuma Camp, Calls on Public for Donations contained inaccurate information about the transfer of refugees. The reporting of the transfer of refugees from Dadaab to Kakuma was inaccurate. No such transfer occurred.

Salesian Missions apologizes for the publishing of the inaccurate information and is looking into the matter to make sure it does not happen again. The press release contained information provided by a Salesian news agency in Rome and the source of the original reporting is being researched.

The Salesians are viewed as one of the most reliable organizations working in this field, says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions. We are extremely grateful for our partners such as the UN Refugee Agency, and we sincerely apologize for the publishing of the inaccurate press release. We are working to assure our partners and supporters that this will not happen again.

Currently, Salesian Missions is working to raise funds to support the aid efforts of Salesians in the Horn of Africa (Kenya and Ethiopia). A Famine Relief Fund has been created to assist with the care of refugees at the Kakuma Camp in northwest Kenya. The camp population is 84,381 according to an Oct. 31, 2011, report from UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency). At the refugee camp, Salesians provide food, water and educational opportunities.

Salesians work around the globe in more than 130 countriesproviding food, shelter, educational opportunities for youth and disaster relief, when needed. Salesian Missionsheadquartered in New Rochelle, N.Y.is the U.S. development arm of the global Salesians of Don Bosco. More information is available at SalesianMissions.org.

ABOUT THE SALESIANS WORKING IN THE HORN OF AFRICA:

The Salesians were working in the Kakuma refugee camp years before the current drought and famine crisis. Working to improve the lives of those in the camps, the Salesians operate a training school serving more than 1,000 students.

In Kenya, the Salesians are distributing food and water in the most destitute areas such as Turkana, Korr, Nzaikoki and Marsabit, according to a statement from the Salesian Info Agency. Volunteers are also distributing maize, vegetables, cooking oil, sugar and salt.

In the city of Jijiga, Ethiopia, a partnership between Salesian NGOs is currently providing about 10,000 to 12,000 liters of water daily using two water carriers. Jijiga is the region most affected in Ethiopia and Salesian food supplies have reached a new orphanage created to help the huge increase in the number of orphans in the area. At a refugee camp in Dolo Ado, Ethiopia, the Salesians are feeding 11,500 people affected by the famine and drought a number of them refugees from Somalia. The Salesians have been asked by local authorities to continue the food distributions for at least the next six months. The Salesians operate 11 centers in Ethiopia, where they are working to distribute life-saving aid such as multi-vitamin and multi-protein products.

The Salesians are part of the international Catholic response to the crisis, reaching approximately one million people currently.

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