(ANS – Santa Cruz) – Access to education and opportunity is the key to fighting the child labour epidemic, which effects the world’s most vulnerable children in some of the poorest places on the planet. With hundreds of colleges and vocational training programs in more than 140 countries, the Salesian Family is truly on the front lines. A good example of what they are doing is the work of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians at Casa Main in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Started in 1992, the Casa Maín girls’ home in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, provides shelter, nutritious meals and schooling for girls and young women with little access to education and those who were once living on the streets. Currently, there are more than 160 girls living and being educated at the home. Casa Maín is comprised of three houses and the girls are divided among them by age.

The youngest girls, attending elementary school, live together in one house supported by several volunteer students from the secondary school. A second house provides shelter and peer support for girls attending secondary school while a third house is for young women attending the local university.

The university students enjoy a setting that allows them to finish their degrees in higher education in a stable environment while learning how to live independently. In addition to academic classes, the young women and girls at the home learn skills in communication and conflict management.

Additional classes in dance, gymnastics and crafts are provided in the evenings and on weekends. Most recently, the organization offered a three-week technology workshop to teach the girls basic computer skills including typing, word processing and drawing, to benefit them in their current studies and help them prepare for future employment

“Young girls that are able to gain an education are empowered and can lead a life of financial independence, often marry at an older age and tend to make better and healthier choices that affect not only their lives but their families and communities as well.” says Fr Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Published 16/06/2015