Salesian-run programs empower youth through education and skills training that will help them reach their full potential. At the Salesian-run Foyer Magone, at-risk youth are able to go to school and gain an education to prepare for the workforce. Youth take workshops in subjects like carpentry, motorcycle mechanics and welding.

Salesian missionaries also operate three accelerated learning schools focused on youth who have left the state-run schools or dropped out of the educational system altogether. Missionaries try to reach youth where they are while living on the street. The Salesian-run organization Foyer Maman Marguerte operates in the market of Cotonou, helping minors who are working instead of attending school and those who have been exploited into human trafficking.

Through these programs, vulnerable youth are given opportunities that would not otherwise be available to them to build a better future.

Salesian missionaries around the globe are working to end the horror of child trafficking and other abuses. From identifying traffickers and holding them accountable to educating families about these predatory practices, missionaries are working to change local laws and strengthen legal protections for youth.

A recent documentary called “No Estoy en Venta” (“I am Not for Sale”), produced by the Salesian Missions Office in Madrid, exposed the child trafficking that occurs in Benin and in other countries. Trafficking kills children’s hope, explains Marc Tsanda, a child psychologist who works on behalf of rescued youth at the Don Bosco Center and is featured in the documentary.

Homeless children have support at the Foyer Don Bosco, a home for abused and abandoned children in Kandi, thanks to the support of Salesian Missions donors. Foyer Don Bosco serves boys and girls in very complex situations, including those who have been abandoned by their families, victims of abuse and those who are victims of forced marriages.

Through the funding provided by Salesian Missions, Foyer Don Bosco had the ongoing support it needed to facilitate several initiatives, educating more than 3,700 people on the rights of children and the child protective systems.

Directly for children and families, with the Salesian Missions donor funding, Foyer Don Bosco was able to care for 77 children at the home, including 22 young girls; reinsert 50 children between 15 and 17 years old into the programs; and reintegrate 50 children between the ages of 12 and 17 years with their families.

Thousands of youth live on the streets, where—in addition to rampant violence and exploitation—they are vulnerable to chronic malnutrition and treatable illnesses that should not be fatal, but often are. And the cycle of poverty and despair remains unbreakable.

Salesian missionaries serve these vulnerable children through a wide range of programs. At Don Bosco Foyer in Porto-Novo, the capital city of Benin, youth who have been abandoned by their families, victims of abuse and forced into marriages find a safe place to begin a new way of life.

Salesian missionaries also operate Foyer Magone, which is another residential facility for youth who have stabilized after spending time at Don Bosco Foyer. In addition, the Saint Joseph Center, run by Salesian Sisters in the city of Parakou in northern Benin, operates with financial assistance from UNICEF and offers children refuge from the cycle of poverty and exploitation. There, children receive nutritious meals and enroll in nearby schools, providing the essential support their families cannot.

The Don Bosco Center, also in Porto-Novo, cares for more than 200 victims of child trafficking, many who have been sold into slavery by their parents for the equivalent of $30 or less. Nearly 40,000 girls and boys are forced into agricultural or domestic labor each year within the country of Benin alone.

In 2014, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) produced “A Global Report on Trafficking in Persons,” which offered the first global assessment of the scope of human trafficking. Close to 80 percent of human trafficking is for sexual exploitation with the victims being predominantly women and girls, according to the report.

Through the Salesian-run Vocational Training Center Laura Vicuña, young girls, many of whom have been victims of trafficking, have the opportunity to build a future they once thought was impossible. Salesian Sisters are providing shelter, education and training in skills and trades.

Thanks to a long-established Salesian presence in Porto Novo and throughout Benin—where missionaries run schools, youth shelters, outreach programs, vocational training centers and more—delivery of life-saving meals are guaranteed to make an impact for those most in need.

In February 2016, volunteers from the Spanish nonprofit Ayuda Contenedores (Help Containers) and the Salesian-run Youth and Development Center joined together in Pamplona, Spain to load a food container sent to Benin carrying 23,000 kilos of non-perishable food. Salesian students, staff, volunteers and members of local parishes donated and collected the food, tools and other items shipped to Salesian programs in need.

Children at Foyer Don Bosco, a home for abused and abandoned children in Kandi, have received food support thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions. The funding provided food support for 36 children, as well as cleaning products and medicines for the infirmary. Ten girls and boys also benefited from the purchase of toolboxes for various trades.