In 2016, the Foundation helped over 450 children and obtained access to employment for 80 young people. But beyond the numbers there are real stories that help to better understand the work of these social inheritance guardians of Don Bosco.
Mary is the fictitious name of a 23-year-old girl from La Orotava. She had no education and no job and was living in the house of her boyfriend’s parents together with her three-year-old daughter. The Social Services sent her to the Don Bosco Project. There she began a training course and now she is working in a hotel.
Mohamed is another fictitious name. He is a young man aged 25 from the Sahara. He arrived as a child in the Canary Islands, aboard a barge. He lived in a centre for minors, but at the age of 18 he found himself living on the street and ended up in trouble with the law. Eventually he came to one of the "Don Bosco Apartments”. He trained as a waiter and is now working as a waiter, with a permanent contract. His life has changed.
The protagonist of the third story could be called Pablo. He is a five-year-old boy from Tenerife. He did not talk to anyone, barely uttered a word: his mother had been the victim of violence. Three months after his arrival at the Foundation, he smiled for the first time. Now he has integrated and participates in activities like all his peers. He has regained his speech and his smile.
Another area of action is the "Second Chance Schools" (E2O), which offers an original pedagogical model to young people aged 15 to 29 who have no job and no education. Here they receive innovative training and practical experience in relation to business and support specific to the actual needs of the participants.
The Don Bosco Foundation Project does a lot of work with children and young people, and above all it gives them a chance to change their lives.
Source: El Día
