Funding provides food, water and electricity.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY (Aug. 15, 2023) Top of FormSalesian missionaries in Lilongwe, Zambia, had the funding they needed to support day-to-day living thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Donor funding was used to provide food, help maintain the house and pay for utilities, while also supporting the repair of a damaged borehole that provides clean water to the community.

Father Joseph Czerwinski, superior of the community, said, “The Salesian community includes a technical school and the pre-novitiate house, where three pre-novitiates are preparing for the next phase of Salesian training. There are 25 people who live in the community and we really appreciate the donor support we received from Salesian Missions.”

Salesian missionaries came to Lilongwe in 1995 and began to work in the densely populated part of Lilongwe called Area 23. In 1996, the Don Bosco Parish was officially opened by the Archbishop of Lilongwe. Today, the parish serves 16,000 to 18,000 Christians.

In 2000, the Don Bosco Technical School started providing technical instruction to 150 youth. Students could take courses in auto mechanics, carpentry, accounting and tailoring. Today, the school has developed into a large technical college with more than 1,000 students in more than 12 departments. It is one of the biggest Salesian schools in southern Africa.

In 2016, the pre-novitiate was started and there are 18 pre-novices from three countries preparing for their novitiate. Additionally, the community has youth from the Salesian South African Province and Asian provinces.

Poverty is widespread in Zambia with 64% of the total population living below the poverty line. For those living in rural areas, the poverty rate rises to 80%, according to UNICEF. Over the past three decades, incomes in Zambia have fallen steadily, and people do not have enough money to meet basic needs such as shelter, nutritious food and medical care.

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