"If you want to educate a man, educate a child. If you want to educate a village, educate a woman," says an African proverb.
This is why the Salesians and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) accompany them with many projects, in and across many countries.
- In Foué, Benin, for example, they are engaged in the construction of a water well that will allow the women of the village not to have to walk kilometers just to drink and wash, and, moreover, will launch the start of a small agricultural project involving 25 women, specially trained in agronomy.
- In Nairobi, at the unhealthy shantytown of Dagoretti, the "Mamma Margherita Project", carried out by the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), in 5 years has changed the lives of 300 female heads of families, who have managed to find a dignified occupation and to independently provide for their own children and grandchildren. The secret, here too, lies in vocational training courses: crafts, tailoring and dressmaking, courses for beauticians and hairdressers, etc.
- At Abobo, in Ethiopia, the health center promoted by the Salesians and led by two doctors, Teresa and Maria, provides special care for women. It achieves an average of 40 maternal vaccinations a week and delivers 30 babies a month.
- In Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, dozens of vulnerable young girls and single mothers receive hospitality, protection, and support at two Salesian structures specifically dedicated to them: "Maison Marguerite" and "Foyer Annuarite".
- Again in DRC, but near Mount Ngafula, near the capital, Kinshasa, another agricultural project sponsored by the Salesians offers the families of the area food self-sufficiency, a project that always, and here too, starts with the direct commitment and involvement of the local African women.
Wherever they are need, the Salesians and the FMA provide similar projects of formation across the globe. To mention one more example, one of the many active, the "Don Bosco Development Society" periodically organizes vocational training courses for women in the slums of Mumbai, India.
For more information, please visit: www.missionidonbosco.org