(ANS – El Obeid) – It is not only Syria. There are many countries where young people do not have access to education because of wars and violence. Sudan, for example, has both the largest number and the highest rate of out-of-school children in the entire Middle East and North Africa region.

Some 3 million children between the ages 5 to 13 are out of school, including 490,673 five-year-olds who should be in pre-primary (50 percent), 1,965,068 primary school aged children (37 percent) and 641,587 lower secondary school aged children (40 percent).

The joint report released by UNICEF and UNESCO also states that 15 percent of primary school children are at risk of dropping out before the final grade of primary school. At particular risk of being excluded from school are: girls, children affected by war and IDPs (internally displaced persons), children in rural areas, poor children, and some ethnic and religious groups.

To meet the needs of the millions of out-of-school youth, Salesian missionaries in Sudan are working to educate poor youth and offer them a path out of poverty. The Salesian-run Don Bosco Technical School in El Obeid, the capital of the state of North Kordofan, has been providing services and educational opportunities for poor youth since 2001. Since its inception, more than 1000 youth have received education, training and workforce development services. Don Bosco Technical School offers a variety of degree programs to best meet the needs of the youth it serves.

Soon after the school opened, one-year intensive training programs began in auto-mechanics, general mechanics, welding, electricity, building, carpentry and plumbing. These programs trained students to become qualified professionals, ready to join the workforce. And with career counselling and job placement services provided when students complete their studies, close to 70 percent of the more than 600 graduates of these programs have found stable employment in their chosen fields. Approximately 1,200 youth currently study at the school.

“Access to education provides opportunities to youth they may never have imagined possible,” says Fr. Mark Hyde, executive Director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian programs are able to meet the diverse needs of students, allowing them to focus on their studies while gaining life skills that help them make better decisions and find future employment.”

Published 23/04/2015