Don Bosco Child Protection Center provides shelter and support for at-risk children.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (April 1, 2024) Children who live at and visit the Don Bosco Child Protection Center, in Onipetesi, Lagos, Nigeria, have fresh, clean water thanks to donor funding from the Salesian Missions “Clean Water Initiative.” Salesian Missions is the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. With the funding, the center was able to construct a borehole and tank stand, as well as provide maintenance for an old well.

The project is providing safe water for the 20 children who live at the center as well as the 80-100 children who visit it each day. Other members of the Onipetesi community who visit the center and Salesian staff at the center also benefit.

Salesians report that there are upwards of 100,000 children who live on the streets of Lagos. The center is a refuge for abandoned and homeless street children who have nowhere else to go. Some of the children are orphans while others have been physically abused or accused of witchcraft and sorcery. Salesians provide them shelter, meet their basic needs, and give them psychological and moral support.

A Salesian noted, “We are working in collaboration with social workers, lay collaborators, and the Lagos State government to provide protection to children, offering them an educative and sane environment to grow. The Child Protection Center also has a youth initiative program open to other children who visit the youth center for recreational activities and educative programs.”

One of the challenges for the center has been the lack of consistent potable water capable of serving the growing needs of the children, educators and Salesians who visit the center each day. The old well did not produce adequate water and constantly broke down. The new borewell will alleviate these issues and ensure that those at the center have the water they need.

Salesian missionaries in Nigeria provide a range of social development and educational programs for poor and marginalized youth. The goal is always education, but Salesians know that youth often need extra support. Youth centers, feeding programs, health clinics and other programs help to ensure that youth are healthy and have their basic needs met so they can focus on school.

About 64% of households in Nigeria consider themselves to be poor while 32% of households say their economic situation had worsened over a period of one year, according to UNICEF. Poverty still remains one of the most critical challenges facing the country and population growth rates have meant a steady increase in the number of people living in conditions of poverty.

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