2700 N. Military Trail, Suite 240 PO Box 273908 Boca Raton, Florida 33427-3908 1-800-914-2420 Don Bosco Catholic Technical School Scholarships Educating the youth of Tala Caloocan City, Philippines PROJECT 0148 All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children s peace. Isaiah 54:13 WWW.CROSSCATHOLIC.ORG
Project Synopsis Description Provide scholarships for poor and stigmatized young men and women, from the Tala Leper Colony to attend a Catholic technical school. Purpose To enable hard-working young men and women, who are discriminated against because of their parents or grandparents leprosy, get a quality education, find jobs and support their families. Location Caloocan City, Philippines Cost $33,000 provides tuition, supplies, room and board, and other fees for 26 students. Highlights Leprosy (also called Hansen s disease) is still a reality for the poor in developing nations, where fear and misunderstanding lead communities to shun not only the leper, but also the leper s family. The stigma of leprosy prevents the diseased from going to school or finding jobs, even after their leprosy has been cured. As a result, they are resigned to live in poverty. The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary provide full scholarships for young men and women from a Filipino leper colony to attend a Catholic vocational school. Though healthy, these young people face the same stigmatization as their parents. At Don Bosco Technical School, scholarship recipients receive 15 months of classroom and on-thejob training, usually leading to a good career in fields such as electronics and automotive repair. With their new jobs, the young men and women can support their poor families and re-integrate into society. In addition to teaching students a trade, Don Bosco Technical School emphasizes healthy living and Catholic values, incorporating spiritual retreats, recollections and daily prayers into the program so these poor, stigmatized young people can know their value in the eyes of Christ. 1
Shunned by Neighbors Two thousand years after Jesus commanded his disciples to cleanse the leper, the ancient plague still lingers among the poorest of the poor in developing nations. Another lingering problem, despite medical advances making leprosy (now called Hansen s disease) treatable, is the stigma of those who contract it. Misunderstandings about the danger and mechanism of infection lead communities to shun not only the diseased individual, but also the person s family even after the leprosy has been cured. Any feelings of compassion are drowned out by a deep-rooted fear of contracting the withering illness, which causes skin lesions, muscle weakness, numbness and is commonly believed to make limbs fall off (in truth, hand and foot deformities come from injuries due to the lack of sensation). As a result of the stigma, the children and even grandchildren of lepers are isolated from their peers, deprived of educational opportunities and discriminated against in the workforce. Parents try to hide their symptoms, in order to protect themselves and their loved ones, but the progression of the disease makes it impossible to keep it a secret forever. In the Philippines, lepers and their families move to the Tala Leper Colony, a safe haven built around a hospital that specializes in leprosy treatment. For them, the colony represents both hope and despair hope, because they have access to antibiotics that will cure them; despair, because the colony separates them from the rest of society and marks them as outcasts. Even if they recover, they will always be labeled as lepers, forced into severe poverty and unable to live the normal lives they desperately wish for. 2
Scholarships for Youth: Restoring Lives In the same way Jesus walked among the outcasts of his day, the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary are reaching out to the Tala Leper Colony. They want to ensure the children of lepers can access quality education, because those with career skills have a better chance of finding employment, supporting their families, and ultimately being accepted into society. As a much-needed incentive, the sisters offer full scholarships to hard-working young men and women to attend the Don Bosco Technical School, a Catholic vocational boarding school for the poor. Don Bosco s 15-month courses combine theory, handson training and five months of on-the-job experience at selected industrial companies. Students choose one of several fields, including automotive repair, mechanical engineering, refrigeration and electronics. The scholarship recipients are no less capable than other students except they happen to be related to lepers. Though geared toward the poor, the school does not cut corners on education. Its top-notch program gives these marginalized youth the ability to compete in the workforce. Eighty percent of graduates land jobs within three months of completing the course, and an additional 10 percent are employed within a year. But Don Bosco Technical School is much more than a place to learn a trade. Founded by the Salesians of Don Bosco, the school gives boys and girls a distinctively Catholic education, incorporating spiritual retreats, recollections and daily prayers into the learning experience, as well as providing opportunities for sports and other co-curricular activities. The students feel accepted, valued, loved and at long last free from the undeserved stigma of their parents disease. When they graduate, they will enter society as well-rounded human beings, equipped with confidence, social skills, physical health and a strong sense of moral values. Students live at the school for the duration of the course and are fed three nutritious meals per day. The scholarship covers tuition, fees, supplies, and room and board, so that parents already struggling to care for their children while fighting leprosy do not have to worry about an additional expense. Students know they have to study their hardest, because their scholarships are lifelines to their families. They need to succeed, and they need to believe they can have lives beyond the colony. 3
Touch the Unclean Through vocational school scholarships, the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary are bringing career opportunities, social acceptance and the love of Christ to the people of the Tala Leper Colony. Without this financial help, the children and grandchildren of lepers may never get a chance to pursue advanced education or realize their full potential, and they might never lift their families out of their pit of isolation. In order to provide these full scholarships year after year, the sisters depend on the support of compassionate Catholics living out the spirit of Christ s command to cleanse the leper. You can make a difference in the life of a marginalized Filipino family by joining Cross Catholic Outreach in our efforts to educate the poor and the outcast. Our Promise to You! 100 percent of the proceeds of this appeal will be used for this project. In the event that we receive more than needed to fund this project, additional gifts will be used for other urgent needs in the ministry. 4 [Ucm1301] [Ubb1103] 2700 N. Military Trail, Suite 240 PO Box 273908 Boca Raton, Florida 33427-3908 1-800-914-2420 2013 Cross Catholic Outreach. Cost effectively written, designed and printed in-house.