ASIA/PAKISTAN - The Salesians celebrate the 25th anniversary of missions in Pakistan with a special focus on Akash Bashir

Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - In the rural areas of Punjab, Pakistan, there are many peasant families who live off what they produce, who have only an agricultural income and many children. These families, including Christians and Muslims, are united by the problem of poverty. Often they cannot finance the education of their children, especially that of girls, who are culturally discriminated against and often prevented from completing their education or from taking up vocational training. This is the situation that the Salesian missionaries found themselves in when they arrived in the central region of Pakistan 25 years ago and decided to open a mission there. This is how an institution was born that is now very appreciated in the region and very popular with boys and girls, as the first Salesian priest ordained in Pakistan, Father Noble Lal (48), director of the "Don Bosco Technical Vocational School", tells us today. The institute, which opened in Lahore in 2000, has trained more than 8,000 boys and girls in the 25 years of its activity, in a country where there are still many illiterate people, especially in rural areas.
The institute in Lahore, which employs teachers, volunteers and employees of the Salesians of Don Bosco, also employs Father Noble Lal and Brother Piero Ramello, a missionary from Piedmont and originally from Italy. The institution, which has been structured over the years, is now at full capacity: the "Don Bosco Educational Society" offers educational opportunities in the field of both school education ("New Don Bosco Higher Secondary School") and vocational training ("Don Bosco Technical Centre"). In the complex in Lahore, which has the typical facilities of the Salesians of Don Bosco's educational project, such as the theater and a playground, "various educational programs are carried out according to the needs of the community, all of which aim to combat the problem of youth unemployment," reports the Salesian priest. The global "Don Bosco Education" project in Pakistan aims to reach marginalized communities in remote areas. The school fees charged by the Salesians are low because most of the families of the children who attend the institute are very poor and need support or scholarships to finance the school or vocational training that will make them independent members of society. The institute offers training in metalworking, electrical work, carpentry and automobile sector. "Since the institution opened in 2000, we have trained thousands of young people between the ages of 15 and 22 in various technical professions. This has helped many of those who had dropped out of school to find jobs," explained the religious, recalling that Pakistan is a country with a low average age, "which therefore has a high percentage of children and young people."
Particular attention is paid to girls "to try to reduce school dropouts," explains Father Lal. In fact, many girls abandon their education long before the end of compulsory education to take care of the family, or because of the prevalence of early and arranged marriages by families (another widespread cultural custom in the Indian subcontinent). This happens in rural village communities, but also in the outskirts of urban centers such as Lahore. The Salesians in Pakistan are aware of this cultural and social phenomenon and are involved in social promotion initiatives and educational programs on women's rights to promote awareness and empowerment of young girls. "We encourage girls to continue their studies; we also maintain relationships with their families of origin to ensure that they do not abandon their studies," explains the director. Vocational training courses (for example tailoring) are also organized for them "so that they can learn a trade, which contributes to the emancipation of girls," he notes.
In addition to the educational center in Lahore, the Salesians are also active in Quetta, the capital of the Pakistani province of Balochistan, the other city where the Salesians of Don Bosco were the first "to develop a model of joint education for boys and girls in our school. Since then, others in Pakistan have followed our example," reports the religious.
Today, the educational and vocational training work of the Salesians is "very much appreciated by the population, who show us much gratitude, but also by the civil institutions, who recognize our social commitment and our openness to young people of all religions and cultures, Muslims, Christians and other minorities".
There is another area in which the Salesians are making an active contribution to the Catholic community in Pakistan: the institutional collaboration in the beatification process of the Servant of God Akash Bashir, for whom the Diocese of Lahore has opened the diocesan phase of the process. Akash was a student at the Salesian School in Lahore. On the occasion of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the missions of the Salesians in Pakistan, which took place in Lahore these days, a book on Akash Bashir was also published. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 15/2/2025)

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