DR Congo - 116 street boys and girls graduate from Salesian school in Bukavu
Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo - March 2023 - Every year, the "Tuwe Wafundi" vocational school at the Don Bosco Center in Bukavu welcomes about 100 young people between the ages of 17 and 22 who are street children and offers them 13 months of free vocational training in carpentry, auto mechanics, assembly welding, and masonry. A year and a half ago, they welcomed over 150 young people - among the estimated 5-6 thousand living on the streets of Bukavu, of whom a thousand are girls. They were boys and girls living in the streets, with interrupted schooling and little hope for the future. When they arrived at the Don Bosco Center, these young people underwent two months of literacy or remedial education, eight months of practical training in a trade, and then three months of work experience with craftsmen on a construction site, in a workshop, or in a small business. On Sunday, March 5, 2023, those who completed the course, 116 in total, received their professional certificates (delayed due to the relocation of the Don Bosco Center). Many of them are already working, because those who had them in internships appreciated them and hired them. It is noteworthy that 24 girls participated in the courses: 23 completed and passed the course, and it was a girl from the masonry course who got the highest grade in the whole school.