The Manzini Youth Care operates two vocational training centers for older youth, residential care for former street children and a drop-in school for street children when they first come in off the streets. Manzini Youth Care also serves the communities surrounding the city of Manzini to help residents improve their living standards, sanitation and food security.

Manzini Youth Care was established in the 1970s and provides services to marginalized youth. Services include free primary school for children who have dropped out of school due to poverty, two vocational training centers for older youth, residential care for former street children and a drop-in school for street children when they first come in off the streets. Manzini Youth Care also serves the communities surrounding the city of Manzini to help residents improve their living standards, sanitation and food security.

Young girls in Eswatini are among those most at risk for dropping out of school and becoming victims of sexual exploitation and prostitution. Salesian missionaries in the country provide education and social development programs to help youth, particularly girls, have access to the shelter, healthcare and nutrition they need to complete their education.

The Salesian Zekhele Shelter in the city of Manzini cares for 14 girls between the ages of 8 and 21. The Shelter provides safe living accommodations as well as education. Girls in the program are able to focus on their studies, break the cycle of poverty and live a healthy, productive life.

With 63 percent of the country’s population living below the poverty line, the risk of food insecurity is high. According to the World Food Program, nearly 25 percent of Eswatini’s children suffer from stunted growth as a result of malnutrition.

In Eswatini, Salesian food programs provide meals to students during the school day and serve as an incentive for families to send their children to school. In 2018, bars of soap and close to 300,000 rice-meals were provided to youth and their families across 14 programs facilitated by the Salesian-run Manzini Youth Care, thanks to the ongoing partnership between Salesian Missions and Rise Against Hunger. The rice-meals and soap were provided to Salesian primary schools, orphanages, vocational schools, child and youth development programs, a community empowerment program and an elder care program. The meals helped ensure that all those taking part in Salesian programs had the proper nutrition both to help their health but also to enable them to have the energy to fully take part on the programs.

Masekwene Care Point and Soup Kitchen was also a recipient of the rice-meal donation. The Salesian organization provides education and a feeding program that offers morning and lunchtime meals to more than 400 disadvantaged children. Close to 80 percent of the participants in the program are from single parent households.

In addition, donations from Rise Against Hunger to Manzini Youth Care continued into 2019. In the second and third quarters of 2019, close to 800 youth taking part in Manzini Youth Care programs received rice-meals provided at a Salesian vocational training center, primary schools, two soup kitchens, an orphanage and communities around the city of Manzini.

Manzini Youth Care was established in the 1970s and provides services to marginalized youth. Services include free primary school for children who have dropped out of school due to poverty, two vocational training centers for older youth, residential care for former street children and a drop-in school for street children when they first come in off the streets. Manzini Youth Care also serves the communities surrounding Manzini to help residents improve their living standards, sanitation and food security.

Salesian Missions sent new shoes to youth in the Salesian-run Manzini Youth Care Center thanks to an annual shoe drive held at the Academy of St. James in Totowa, N.J.

Salesian Missions has supported this shoe drive since its launch in 2015. Roberto Callegari, who was a third-grade student at the Academy of St. James back in 2015, came up with the idea to send shoes to Africa. With the support of his father Orlando Callegari and the Academy of St. James School, he was able to launch this program, now in its fourth year.

In 2018, 79 pairs of new shoes from the shoe drive were sent to the Manzini Youth Care Center. The shipment to Eswatini also contained 20 pallets of rice-soy meals from Rise Against Hunger, more than 75 pairs of second-hand shoes donated by Swazi Legacy, liturgical items, PediaSure®, fabric, soccer balls, school supplies and second-hand soccer cleats and clothing.