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Celebrating Don Bosco
Founder
Don Bosco was a young Italian priest who chose the boys everyone else had written off. He founded the Salesians of Don Bosco in 1859 a movement built on love, not punishment, now active in over 130 countries. In 1896, five of his missionaries stepped off a steamship in Cape Town. That is where our story begins.
“You catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than with a barrel of vinegar.”
Don Bosco, 1815–1888
TIMELINE
130 Years of Showing Up
Don Bosco formally establishes the Salesians of Don Bosco in Turin, Italy — a congregation dedicated entirely to the education and care of disadvantaged youth. The movement begins to spread across Europe and South America.
Bishop Leonard of Cape Town writes to Don Bosco requesting Salesians for South Africa. The need is urgent, a generation of poor, orphaned, and neglected youth with no education and no safety net.
Thirty boys are now in training at the Institute. A brass band is formed and begins performing at public functions across Cape Town, the first sign that something remarkable is taking root.
After years of fundraising, including a "Carnival of Venice" in the Drill Hall, the Salesians construct a permanent four-story building at 2 Somerset Road, Green Point, designed to accommodate 100 boys. It is built on land that was once a cemetery. It has been our home ever since.
The Salesians celebrate 25 years in South Africa. By now, 600 boys have been educated and trained in trades. Many have built lifelong careers. A community of proud former students is active and growing.
The Institute is officially recognised as a technical high school, and becomes the only school in the country offering printing training at high school level. Graduates are actively sought by industry. Vocational education, done well, changes lives.
As apartheid tightens its grip on Cape Town's communities, the Institute transforms, first into a hostel for social welfare teenagers, then in 1990 opening its doors to street children of all backgrounds, ages, and genders. No conditions. Just an open door.
For young people too old for children's shelters and too young for adult night shelters, the Don Bosco Hostel opens — offering safe accommodation, structure, and a real pathway to independent living and employment.
With support from a USAID matching grant, the YES programme launches — intensive eight-week courses that place 80% of graduates directly into employment. It is proof that the right intervention, at the right moment, changes everything
The Western Cape Education Department officially recognises Learn-to-Live as an independent school of skills, the only one of its kind for at-risk youth in the province. A milestone that validates decades of work and opens the door to thousands more students.
From five men and 15 boys to four accredited programmes, a recognised school, a wellness centre, and over 1,400 young people served every year. The address has never changed. The mission has never changed. And we are not done yet.
130 Years of Giving Hope to Cape Town's Youth
Since 1896, we have worked hand in hand with our partners, donors, and communities to do one thing, give vulnerable young people a fighting chance. Through education, skills training, outreach, and care, we have walked alongside thousands of young men and women who had nowhere else to turn. Their futures are our greatest achievement. And we are just getting started