PERU: Salesians improve learning environment for students – missionnewswire.org

Report on Infrastructure Enhancement at Bosconia Center, Piura, Peru

Project Overview and Objectives

A project funded by Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, has successfully enhanced the educational infrastructure for vulnerable youth at the Bosconia center in Piura, Peru. The initiative directly addressed environmental barriers to learning, thereby advancing several key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The primary objective was to improve the learning environment, which was previously compromised by extreme heat, hindering student and staff concentration. The project’s key outcomes include:

• Installation of two air conditioning units in the auditorium to create a conducive learning atmosphere.
• Construction of a protective covering over the facility’s swimming pool to mitigate health risks associated with excessive sun exposure.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This initiative makes a direct contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by addressing interconnected goals related to education, health, poverty, and inequality.

1. SDG 4: Quality Education: The project’s core achievement is the significant improvement of the learning environment. By mitigating the extreme heat, the new infrastructure enables students to concentrate better, directly enhancing the quality and equity of the education provided.
2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: The installation of a pool covering directly protects students from harmful sun exposure, preventing sunburn and promoting physical well-being. The air conditioning also reduces heat-related stress, contributing to a healthier educational setting.
3. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: The Bosconia center provides vocational training, such as the storage operations course attended by a 22-year-old student, Luis Angel Bregante Andrade. By improving the conditions for this training, the project supports the acquisition of job skills necessary for securing decent work and achieving economic self-sufficiency.
4. SDG 1: No Poverty: The project serves a community with a high poverty rate. By facilitating quality vocational education, it equips youth with the tools to secure stable employment, support their families, and break the cycle of poverty.
5. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The initiative specifically targets vulnerable youth in a socio-economically challenged region. Improving their educational facilities helps to reduce the inequality of opportunity they face.
6. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: The project is a successful example of a global partnership, realized through the collaboration between Salesian missionaries in Peru and donor funding from Salesian Missions in the United States.

Socio-Economic Context and Impact

The project is situated within the broader context of Peru’s significant socio-economic challenges. According to the World Bank, the nation contends with high levels of income inequality and a poverty rate affecting over a quarter of its population. These issues are compounded by a lack of job skills and educational opportunities for vulnerable populations.

The impact of the infrastructure improvements was articulated by student Luis Angel Bregante Andrade, who noted the previous difficulty in concentrating due to intense heat. He stated, “Now with the project complete, we are happy… This has provided us with the cool air we need to concentrate. We will be able to learn and fulfill our dreams.” His testimony underscores the project’s direct positive effect on student learning and aspiration, which is fundamental to achieving long-term sustainable development.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article highlights issues and interventions that are directly connected to several Sustainable Development Goals. The project’s focus on education for vulnerable youth in a high-poverty area, aiming to improve their learning environment and job prospects, touches upon goals related to poverty, health, education, decent work, and inequality.

• SDG 1: No Poverty – The article explicitly mentions that Peru has “more than a quarter of its population living in poverty” and the project supports a student from an area with a “high poverty rate” who hopes to get a job to “help support his family.”
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The project addresses health and well-being by mitigating environmental health risks. The installation of a pool covering was a direct response to students who “got burned from the sun because there was no covering,” thus limiting sun exposure.
• SDG 4: Quality Education – This is a central theme. The project’s primary goal was to “improve the learning environment” at the “Bosconia center” by installing air conditioning so students could “concentrate” better. The center provides vocational training, such as the “storage operations course,” to equip youth with relevant job skills.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – The article connects the education provided at the center to future employment. The student is taking a vocational course and “hopes to find a good job after graduation,” which aligns with the goal of promoting productive employment.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The project specifically targets “youth who are vulnerable” and live in a “challenging economic situation.” By providing them with skills and a better learning environment, the initiative aims to reduce the inequalities they face in accessing quality education and future economic opportunities.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the specific actions and context described in the article, several SDG targets can be identified:

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  • Target 4.4: “By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.” The article directly relates to this target by describing the “storage operations course” at Cetpro Bosconia, which provides a student with vocational skills to “find a good job after graduation.”
  • Target 4.a: “Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.” The project’s core activities—installing “two air conditioning units” to combat distracting heat and adding a “covering around the pool to limit the sun exposure”—are direct upgrades to the educational facility to create a more effective and safer learning environment.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  • Target 8.6: “By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training.” The project supports a 22-year-old student, a member of the youth demographic, by providing him with education and training specifically designed to lead to employment.

• SDG 1: No Poverty

  • Target 1.2: “By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.” The project targets youth in a region with a “high poverty rate” and aims to provide them with skills for employment, which is a key strategy for poverty reduction.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  • Target 10.2: “By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.” The initiative focuses on “vulnerable” youth from impoverished backgrounds, empowering them through education and skills training to achieve economic inclusion.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article mentions and implies several qualitative and quantitative indicators that can be used to measure progress:

• Indicators for SDG 4 (Quality Education)

  • (Implied) Student concentration and comfort levels: Progress can be measured by student testimony. The student’s statement that “it was difficult for us to concentrate because the heat was very strong” versus the outcome where the project “provided us with the cool air we need to concentrate” serves as a qualitative indicator for an improved learning environment (Target 4.a).
  • (Mentioned) Upgrades to educational facilities: The specific deliverables of the project, “two air conditioning units” and a “pool roof,” are direct indicators of facility upgrades (Target 4.a).
  • (Mentioned) Enrollment in vocational training: The existence of students like Luis Angel Bregante Andrade in the “storage operations course” is an indicator of youth participating in programs that provide relevant job skills (Target 4.4).

• Indicators for SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being)

  • (Implied) Reduction in sun-related health incidents: The article states that students “got burned from the sun.” A reduction in the incidence of sunburn among students using the pool would be a direct indicator of improved health and well-being.

• Indicators for SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)

  • (Implied) Employment rate of graduates: The student’s hope to “find a good job after graduation” implies that a key success indicator for the program is the rate at which its graduates secure employment (Target 8.6).

• Indicators for SDG 1 (No Poverty)

  • (Mentioned) Poverty Rate: The article cites the World Bank statistic that “more than a quarter of its population living in poverty,” which serves as a baseline indicator against which the long-term impact of such programs can be measured (Target 1.2).

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

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