Up to 30 youth will live at center while completing education.
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (July 21, 2025) Salesian missionaries in Tbilisi, Georgia, are working to establish a vocational educational center and residence for youth who are vulnerable thanks in part to funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The center will offer education for 60-100 students older than age 16 who are working to gain employment skills. Up to 30 youth will live at the residence center while they complete their education.
A Salesian explained, “The vocational courses will be short and oriented to students engaging and completing an internship. They will have the opportunity to live in the residence center for up to five years. Our goal is to ensure that poor and vulnerable youth are able to gain the skills for employment so they can become self-sufficient.”
The construction is still underway. With the funding from Salesian Missions, Salesians have installed an elevator to accommodate individuals with disabilities, made several significant improvements in the yard, installed a fire reservoir with a pumping station and piping, and put in place a sewage system and storm drainage system. Once the construction of the vocational education center is completed, the Salesian community will need to secure funds for furniture and equipment.
Georgia borders Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia and gained its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. The country’s transition to a free-market economy allowed for persistent growth between 2010 and 2015 and a considerable reduction in poverty rates.
In 2022, Georgia’s poverty rate was at 15.6%, the lowest in its history, but those in poverty are still suffering. The World Bank reports that there are limited high-quality jobs and a third of the population still relies on low-productivity agriculture for income. Many youth are not able to access secondary education.Only 50% of rural students and 43% for students from poor backgrounds complete their education, leaving them few opportunities for a stable future.
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About Salesian Missions USA
Salesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, and is part of the Don Bosco Network—a worldwide federation of Salesian NGOs. The mission of the U.S.-based nonprofit Catholic organization is to raise funds for international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. The Salesian missionaries are made up of priests, brothers and sisters, as well as laypeople—all dedicated to caring for poor children throughout the world in more than 130 countries and helping young people become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain employment. To date, more than 3 million youth have received services funded by Salesian Missions. These services and programs are provided to children regardless of race or religion. For more information, go to SalesianMissions.org.