Salesians working to identify and nurture the talents of young people.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (April 8, 2025) The Salesian Technical and Vocational Training Center and Oratory in the Dominic Savio Community in Kubwa, Abuja, Nigeria, has new basketball and volleyball courts thanks to funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The new courts will benefit more than 200 youth, families who visit the center on the weekend and the broader community.

With the new courts, Salesians will identify and nurture the talents of young people while encouraging them to engage with their peers through sports and physical activity. Sports will also help provide youth with life skills by promoting leadership, teamwork, discipline and communication. Further, the center will offer youth the opportunity to socialize and build stronger ties to their community.

Salesian missionaries in Nigeria provide a range of social development and educational programs for youth who are poor and marginalized. 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.

According to UNICEF, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the ninth most populous country in the world. By United Nations estimates, Nigeria will be one of the countries responsible for most of the world’s total population increase by 2050. While Nigeria has the second strongest economy in Africa, it also has extreme rates of poverty with 100 million people living on less than $1 a day.

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.

###

Contact: media@salesianmissions.org