DON BOSCO

EMPOWERING YOUNG AT RISK DON BOSCO IN INDIA DEDICATED TO EDUCATION OF LESS PRIVILEDGED

Bosconet is the Resource Mobilization unit of Don Bosco India. Don Bosco (DB) has been empowering youth since 1906 through education, livelihood skills, right based gender equality with presence across 350 districts, 186 cities, and towns, with beneficiaries in over 30,000 villages in India. Their multifaceted projects have created sustainable impact towards lives of ten lakh marginalized children, youth, and women.

DB Young at Risk (YaR) forum, which has rehabilitated over 45,000 children, from the slums, rural communities. BOSCO was honored by the Government of India with the “National Award for Child Welfare” and recognized by Ministry of Women & Child Development for its “Quality Brand Award” for its outstanding services rendered to the vulnerable children. Till date, over 1.75 lakh missing children have been rescued. They also offer integral education through 257 schools in the cities, towns, and villages, adding a new spring of life to 2.4 lakh students under their care. 120 DB technical institutes and 129 youth centers have skilled over 8 lakh youth belonging to below poverty line families, Scheduled Tribes, women who are ensured employability through their 52 job placement centers. After being recognized by Government of India as the largest non-governmental technical education provider, they now have the mission to train 22 lakh youth in livelihood skills by this year 2020.

Empowering a woman is empowering a family. Believing the same spirit, they have enabled the socio-economic upliftment of over 82,500 women through more than 6,600 Self Help groups. Over 1.5 lakh women have been sensitized about Human Rights while 45,000 have been financially included in the economic structures through credit institutes.

All Don Bosco technical institutes take young people from the poorer sections of society and offer them not merely skills for a job but also transform them into responsible, hardworking citizens. Catering to the skilling and employability needs of the

youth, Don Bosco technical institutes in India have given skill training to thousands of young people. Don Bosco vocational training institutes offer government certified diploma courses. Non-formal technical institutes offer certificate or diploma courses for those who have not completed school education. Don Bosco technical institutes in India have well equipped work- shops with state of the art machines. The government of India has recognized the Salesians of Don Bosco as the largest non-governmental provider of technical education in the country. The 120 Don Bosco technical training centres in India provide skill training to 24,878* young people every year.

Empowering the youth, especially the poor and the marginalized, through ca- reer guidance and job placement is one of the most important interventions of the Salesians of Don Bosco in India. The services offered by Salesians in India are on Career guidance services,Job placement & job training services,Self-employment & entrepreneurship training Skill based training & need based training,Hostel facilities for rural boys,Articles and books publishing on career & employment issues,Residential job-oriented training,Weekly motivation programmes for the rural poor youth.

The Youth Centres all over the country are involved with Programmes of social inclusion, Programmes for health education, Programmes of child Life quality, Programmes of formation of volunteers, Programmes of education in leisure time and values,Programmes of training and advice for employ-ability for young people, Programmes of training and advice for employ-ability for women, Programmes of promotion of volunteers.

Bosconet also carryout programmes which are organized to emancipate rural women,dalit women and other poor women through the Women centres and participatory interventions in organizing Self Help Groups, Associations and federations, Women associations for socio-economic development, Widows welfare group,Empowerment centre for women, Entrepreneurship training centres for young women, Income generation programme training centres and Job placement cells for women.

Don Bosco India through its social development organisations have concentrated on social justice for all.Don Bosco Centres have laid emphasis on justice for women. They have also ventured to promote Equal rights for women, Education to girl child, Work against domestic violence, Unite women against gender based violence,Eradicate exploitation of women, Fight against child marriage. .

Women are given livelihood training in agriculture, food processing, tailoring, handicraft and other similar products.15,000*Women are linked with credit institutions to scale up their economic ventures.1,50,000*Women are provided with social awareness programmes,35,000*,Women are enrolled in banks to save and use their income profitably,12,500*Women are trained to participate in the village and Panchayat( village council) administrative structures.

The Don Bosco service centres in India focus on sustainable development models for their interventions. The young people are formed in such a way that they promote and protect nature. They are trained not to exploit nature in its essence.The young people are guided to find solutions for their socio-economic problems,motivated to embark on efforts that will sustain them for life, directed to choose means and methods that do not affect society,Counselled to make right decisions in life. They are also trained to work in collaboration with all Skilled programmes to earn a living and empowered to change and transform society.

The Don Bosco India is also involved in organizing specialized innovative and need based services implemented through novel ventures to cater to the socio -economic needs of the various most disadvantaged target groups . They are the HIV/AIDS prevention and rehabilitation centre, Home for aged, Residential care home for leprosy patients, Social welfare programmes for the Adivasi federations, Prison ministry for young convicts, Welfare centres for the differently abled, Refugees rehabilitation.

Bosconet is playing a stellar role to do what visionary educationist John ‘Don’ Bosco had done almost two centuries ago which .is the Resource Mobilization unit of Don Bosco India. The Don Bosco Solidarity Covid 19 Relief The Don Bosco Solidarity Covid 19 Relief campaign brought together the entire Don Bosco family with one mission: to save and sustain the vulnerable impacted by the pandemic.

In India, the Don Bosco Network reached out to over one million people in need. Due to the sudden lockdown announced in India on 25 March 2020,there was a sudden poor and vulnerable sections of people and migrant labourers had to find a way for safety that The Don Bosco Solidarity Covid 19 Relief was formed. The Bosconet represent 11 Don Bosco planning and development organizations across 29 states and 354 NGO’s were involved to take care for the homeless poor, responded to people wherever they were in the country.

In India, the Don Bosco Network reached out to over one million people in need. The Don Bosco Solidarity COVID 19 Relief work in India, they had distributed over 145 thousand Grocery kits, feeding persons of over 345 thousand , distribution of meals to poor people were over 437 thousand, masks to over 410 thousand, medicine personal protection Equipment and sanitary kits were distributed to nearly 48 thousand and more, Sanitizers and nearly 260 thousand litres of drinking water was distributed to the poor and the needy. The volunteers followed safely protocols while reaching out to people . Despite challenges Don Bosco Network appreciates donors coming forward to improve the lives of affected people during pandemic.

Fr. Noel Maddhichetty ,Director, Bosconet India with their motto to Motivate, Educate and Build Skills, the task of coordinating and mobilizing resources for Don Bosco works in South Asia, who has enriched them while pioneering and founding many works of Street children, Higher Education institutions and synergizing the national networks in Andhra Pradesh and other states of India in education and skill mission for an all round development and contributing towards nation building. Bosconet has demonstrated and set an example of outstanding acts of kindness, compassion and education to the less privileged youth of India and women entrepreneurs.

DOMINIQUE “MRSGIJANE” WILLIAMS: HEADING FOR THE BRIGHT LIGHTS

“Do what moves your spirit. “

DominiQue “MrsGiJane” Williams is a blossoming actress. She’s from Cincinnati, Ohio which she describes as a “fun little city full of wishers and dreamers that sometimes gets the opportunity to give their ambitions life.” The Isley Brothers, L.A. Reid, and Katt Williams all have roots in the city. DominiQue looks at herself as continuing the lineage of stars who had ambitions beyond the city limits. They were headed for the bright lights! DominiQue admits that Cincinnati “is not known as a place where stars are born,” but she is definitely proud to call it home.

I’m trying to give my audience the “ truest version of myself as the character that I am playing at the time. I embody that technique and truth into my artistic work. “

She does not describe her developing career as an actress as a learned skill or even work. “As an actress, I don’t categorize what I do as a craft. I am who I am,” she explains. “I am who I have been called to be. Acting embodies my persona.” Self-care is important to DominiQue. She’s always working on herself. She says that it is important for her “spiritual side” to be taken care of as well. This is how she performs her best when she’s on screen. “I am channeling my most inner emotions into the roles I play,” she explains. “I’m trying to give my audience the truest version of myself as the character that I am playing at the time. I embody that technique and truth into my artistic work.”

DominiQue Williams makes her debut on the big screen in Warner Bros’ Shaft (2019) with Samuel L. Jackson, Regina Lee Hall and a cameo by Richard Roundtree (the original Shaft). The new film is the fifth in the series and the sequel to the 2000’s film of the same name. It premieres at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) this summer in Miami and will be in theaters nationwide on June 14. She has a number of projects in the works but is playfully reluctant to share the details on those. She believes the suspense will keep the fans wanting more. “I could tell you more, but where’s the fun in that? I have to leave you with something to stay tuned for.” And just like that, we are left to guess the magnitude of her next projects. We have a feeling they’re going to be fantastic!

To learn more about DominiQue “MrsGiJane” Williams, follow her on IG @mrsgijane.