Don Bosco Foundation received 1,200 boxes of rice-meals thanks to Feed My Starving Children donation.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (Sept. 6, 2022) Youth attending Salesian educational programs supported by the Don Bosco Foundation of Cambodia had access to proper nutrition in 2021 thanks to a partnership between Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, and Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit Christian organization committed to “feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit.” Don Bosco Foundation received 1,200 boxes of rice-meals that sustained the food program for nearly 400 children and older youth.

Don Bosco schools are providing primary, secondary and technical education for poor youth. Those in technical training are studying subjects including electrical, mechanics, welding, automotive, electronics, computer and information technology, printing, media communication, hospitality, and tourism. After students graduate, they are qualified for jobs that offer a decent salary, allowing them to support themselves and their families and break the cycle of poverty.
“Salesian students in Cambodia are grateful for the nutritional support provided by Feed My Starving Children,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions. “Youth who received healthy nutrition are able to concentrate in school and focus on their studies. The food program helps to ensure that students have a baseline of good nutrition while they are in school.”

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cambodia was a world leader in economic growth and poverty reduction. It sustained an average growth rate of 7.7 percent between 1995 and 2019, and graduated to a lower middle-income economy in 2015, according to the World Bank. The government has implemented policies to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on businesses and people’s incomes and to support economic recovery. Still, the poverty rate rose to 17 percent as a result of the pandemic.

While Cambodia achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving poverty in 2009, the vast majority of families who escaped poverty were only able to do so by a small margin. Around 4.5 million people remain near-poor, vulnerable to falling back into poverty when exposed to economic and other external challenges.

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