The country's current situation is tragic: the 2017-2018 Amnesty International report indicates there are at least 2.4 million people who are dependent on humanitarian aid; government control is practically limited to the capital city alone, Bangui; and everywhere there are militias of all sorts that target civilians and humanitarian workers.
In this context there are still those who want to work for the future, focusing on young people and education. They are the Scouts and the Salesians.
For over 100 years, through international meetings such as the so-called "Jamboree" and the activities organized locally every week, Scouting seeks to be a vehicle of lasting peace throughout the world. But Scouting is a living and unique pedagogy that can only be offered if its supervisors are adequately trained. Having a national training center is therefore a key element for the development of Scouting and its values in a given country.
This is why the Don Bosco Foundation of France decided to provide human, logistic, technical and financial support to the Bangui Scouts. The Foundation is committed to supporting the rehabilitation project of the national training center for Central African Scouting, through fundraising for the reconstruction of the center's training classrooms and multi-purpose activity areas.
Moreover, the reconstruction of the center is also associated with the erection of a water access point for the villages on the outskirts of the center - another fundamental necessity for the local population.
The first impact of the project will be on the young people of Bangui and nearby; but "by 2020-22, thanks to the rehabilitation of this reception center, we expect to have a wider range of action and greater diffusion in other cities", explained the Foundation's managers.
Today there are 15,000 young people ready to participate in Scouting activities and thus become messengers of peace in the Central African Republic.
More information is available on the website: https://www.fondationdonbosco.org/
