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By Silas Isenjia
Accra, 10 November, 2022 / 11:20 am (ACI Africa).
Members of the Religious Institute of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) are helping young people who previously lived on the streets “recover” from this challenging lifestyle, equipping them with means “for a brighter future”.
At the St. Dominic Savio Youth Center that is located in Ghana’s Tema Newtown in Accra Archdiocese, children who struggled to make ends meet on Ghanaian streets are also receiving shelter and rehabilitation services as well as “mainstream education”.
In a Tuesday, November 8 report, SDB officials say the centre that was started in 2003 “provides a place for children to seek shelter, live comfortably and access mainstream education at nearby schools.”
The youth at the centre “receive a range of support to help them recover from their life on the streets and prepare for a brighter future,” Salesians officials further say in the report.
They add that the recovery process involves having a structured day where the “youth have literacy lessons in the morning followed by a hot meal prepared by the center’s cook. After lunch, the youth return to class.”
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After the students have gone through the literacy lessons and have shown signs of readiness, the Salesian officials say they are enrolled in mainstream education at nearby schools.
“The center provides scholarships for mainstream education for those who cannot afford to pay the school fees and for the learning material. This helps poor children without family support as well as children from poor families,” they say in the report.
As part of the rehabilitation process, staff members at St. Dominic Savio Youth Center take the youth on excursions twice a year to places in Ghana including Akosombo Continental Hotel, Ada Crocodile Island, and Treasure Island, SDB officials say.
They organize meetings between Salesian staff and the guardians of the youth at the center and also monitor family visits, all in view of ensuring that the rehabilitation process is bearing fruits, SDB officials say.
“The goal is to encourage guardians to be involved in the reintegration process and support youth in their academic pursuits,” they say in reference to the meetings between Salesian staff and guardians of the youth.
In the November 8 report, the Director of Salesian Missions, Fr. Gus Baek, is quoted as saying, “Salesian missionaries in Ghana and around the globe are working to support street children and restore their childhoods.”
“At Salesian centers, youth have their basic needs met and access the supportive services they need to start the rehabilitation process and begin schools and skills training,” Fr. Baek adds.
Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.
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