Academic education and technical training
The Don Bosco Gambela school offers academic education and technical training, ensuring that young people receive a well-rounded education that prepares them for life.
Combined primary and secondary school
The school has 11 grades, attended by roughly 845 pupils and students. They come from a range of backgrounds, including many from poor families and refugee communities. The school follows the national curriculum while also integrating Salesian values, ensuring that students receive not only an intellectual education but also moral guidance.
Vocational secondary school
The vocational school prepares its students for specific professions such as welding, IT, plumbing, mobile-device maintenance, car mechanics, agriculture, poultry farming and hairdressing. In addition, the school also offers short-term courses. These programmes aim to equip young people with practical skills, increasing their chances of finding employment or starting small businesses.
WHO ARE THE PUPILS AND STUDENTS AT DON BOSCO GAMBELA?
The children and young people the school educates are among the most vulnerable in the region. Many come from families living in extreme poverty, while others are refugees who have fled the conflict and instability in neighbouring South Sudan. Despite these challenges, the students of Don Bosco Gambela show remarkable resilience and a strong desire to learn and improve their lives.
In addition to the lessons themselves, the school provides — in support of their education:
▸ school supplies for those who cannot afford them
▸ tuition-fee waivers for students who cannot afford them
▸ counselling and mentoring, so that students can cope with trauma and build their self-confidence
The aim is not only to educate the mind, but also to form the heart — to shape young people who are responsible, compassionate and ready to make a positive contribution to their communities.
CHALLENGES THE SCHOOL FACES
The Salesian school in Gambela faces challenges that are closely tied to the problems of the wider region in western Ethiopia.
Limited resources: Many pupils and students do not have basic school materials such as books, pens and uniforms. The school itself needs constant support for teaching aids, didactic resources and technology.
Poverty and hunger: Some students arrive at school on an empty stomach, which makes it hard for them to concentrate. Ensuring proper nutrition is a constant struggle.
Access to quality education: Gambela is one of the regions with a shortage of qualified teachers, overcrowded classrooms and limited resources.
Support for refugee children: A significant share of the students are refugees whose education has often been disrupted by conflict and subsequent displacement. The Don Bosco Gambela school tries to offer them stability and hope through basic and vocational education that will help them make their way in life.
Despite all the obstacles, the Salesian school in Gambela believes in — and works to fulfil — the mission that every child, regardless of background, should have the opportunity for an education and a better future.
The regular-support programme Adoption of children in Ethiopia helps the school and specific children from poor backgrounds on their journey to an education.
