The SOL Foundation assists Jugend Eine Welt – Don Bosco Entwicklungszusammenarbeit with a pilot programme in conjunction with The Salesians in Kerala, to teach children and youth football and other sports, for making these institutions as a model for youth empowerment in India. Main aim is to promote the physical and mental health, the ability to work in a team and the personal development of the young people.
Jugend Eine Welt – Don Bosco Entwicklungszusammenarbeit
India
2025-2027
In brief
Problem to be tackled
India has the world’s largest young population. However, its youth are severely challenged in realising their aspirations because of depressed economy and unemployment, lack of varied opportunities, and their unique psychosocial issues. The situation is a fertile breeding ground for increasing varieties of addictions, antisocial and extremist activities. The number of youths indulging in antisocial activities like terror outfits, political and religious extremism, and drug abuse is increasing day by day in the states of Kerala and Karnataka (nearly 70% of Kerala’s schoolchildren and students were vulnerable to narcotics abuse).
Local partner
The “Sports For Change – Indian Football Programme” is designed as a pilot programme, a unique and impactful initiative in the context of India’s evolving sports landscape using sports as a way to empower and develop skills for children and youth, who are excluded or disadvantaged, through: a) youth empowerment to develop self-confidence, leadership skills, and a sense of belonging, b) social skill building to learn valuable social skills such as teamwork, communication, and conflict resolution; or c) prevention of negative behaviours; so, a constructive outlet for energy to prevent anti-social behaviours and harmful addictions.
Beneficiaries
The Don Bosco Sports Hubs welcome both, boys and girls, from marginalised communities of the surrounding villages of Don Bosco Institutions, as well as sports talents specially selected in the Don Bosco Community Sports Hubs who have limited access or opportunities for physical education. Special attention and tailor-made training are offered to children with special needs or children in precarious situations. The activities are inclusive and welcome youth/children of all genders and backgrounds, regardless of caste, creed, or religion.
SOL’s contribution
With the support from The SOL Foundation, Jugend Eine Welt will be able to launch a pilot programme to channel the energy of marginalised youth positively through sports, providing youth with opportunities for skill development, mentorship, and empowerment in specific Don Bosco Sports Hubs in India.
Project partner
Based in Austria, Jugend Eine Welt’s fields of activity include project work, development policy, education and campaigning, emergency aid and reconstruction.
Jugend Eine Welt supports, without denominational and ideological boundaries, projects for vulnerable children and adolescents all over the world. Main partners, the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Don Bosco Sisters, have been implementing social projects with well-trained experts for decades and are currently working in over 130 countries worldwide. They run schools, social centres, homes for street children, vocational training centres, courses for school dropouts, and support sustainable development programmes in favour of the most vulnerable sections of the population.
