(ANS-Cotonou) - On 30 August, the "Improving the care of street children in Cotonou (Benin)" project was completed. The "Mamá Margarita" house in Cotonou keeps its doors open to young vulnerable people living in the streets.
(ANS - Tournai) - Saidi is 14 years old and a year ago he left his home in Kabul, Afghanistan. He did everything to escape the Taliban. He traveled thousands of miles and crossed the sea. He did not ask himself about where to go. Today Saidi is being assisted by the program for unaccompanied minors of the Don Bosco Institute in Tournai, Belgium.
Freetown, Sierra Leone - August 21, 2017 - Salesians working in Freetown visited the flooded areas and hospitals and offered their complete support to help the government in the emergency. The disaster has recorded more than 492 deaths, 600 missing, and over 3,000 displaced persons. Since Friday, the local Salesians have hosted more than 300 children and numerous mothers nurturing their babies.
Villarrica, Paraguay - August 2017 - The young animators of the Don Bosco Oratory of Villarrica, Paraguay, are engaged in the activity of the "traveling oratory." Thanks to this initiative, they visited the chapel dedicated to San Biagio and took care of the neighbourhood's needy children.
(ANS - Rome) - "Giovannino's Dream" is the first e-color book created by the "Salesians for Social Work - SCS / CNOS Federation", a proposal for young children to read and color. The story is divided into 8 illustrated tables and reflects the dream St. John Bosco had at the age of 9 which would later become the guideline for all his life with and for young people.
(ANS - Vatican City) - "Syria is beautiful, marked by coexistence. This is characteristic of Syria: coexistence." Despite six years of war, there is still solidarity and attention to one’s neighbour, regardless of differences. So says Sister Carolin Tahhan Fachakh, Daughter of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) and a "courageous woman" - as evidenced by the international prize that she received from the US State Department. On the margins of a meeting organized by the "Women of the Vatican" in Rome, Sister Carolin spoke of her mission in Damascus.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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RMG – “Do Elderly Salesians have a role in the Digital Culture?”The answer in the letter “Sharing wisdom and hope in digital culture” from the General Councillor for Social Communication
(ANS – Rome) – In view of the current digital reality, and due to the presence, especially in some regions of the Salesian world, of a large number of elderly Salesians, the General Councillor for Social Communication, Fr Gildasio Mendes, has decided to dedicate a special letter to them, entitled: "Sharing wisdom and hope in digital culture". Here is how he explains to ANS readers today the origins, significance and perspectives of this document.
EDITORIAL
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Myanmar – Tragedy of Innocent Children in the midst of Armed Conflicts(ANS – Naypyidaw) - Myanmar finds itself immersed in profound grief and anguish as innocent lives, particularly those of children, continue to be mercilessly lost in the enduring armed conflicts. Families are left devastated by the tragic loss of their loved ones while the relentless violence shows no signs of abating. This week, a heartfelt plea from Myanmar reached our community, shedding light on the heart-wrenching death of a young girl Juliet in a military airstrike, prompting a unified call for prayers and action.
EVENTS
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Italy – "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of protection and prevention models": PGS conference with UPS(ANS – Rome) – The synergy between the Salesian Youth Sports Centres (PGS) and the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) in Rome gave rise to the conference on "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of models of protection and prevention", which will take place on 13 April, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., at the UPS facilities in Rome.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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Latin America – Strengthening Vocational and Educational Commitment Today: 30 Years of the Salesian School in Latin America(ANS) – Since the first meeting in Cumbayá (Ecuador), 30 years ago, educational processes on the continent have found a collaborative epicentre which has given rise to the Salesian School in (Latin) America – ESA, in Spanish – as a forum for reflection and a common path. Many Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) and other groups of the Salesian Family (SF) have enriched this synodal journey, focusing on young people and their integral development. What are today's demands of us in the educational field? How are we building the Salesian School of the future? Can we further strengthen this great Salesian educational network in America? Some FMAs and Salesians who were at the first meeting in 1994, share their experience and their vision of how this journey has allowed a growth in the understanding of the youth reality, in the strategic decisions within the Provinces themselves and in the challenges that emerge for Salesian education.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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I’M A SALESIAN AND I’M A BOROROTHE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB
Diary of a Happy and Blessed Missionary Day
Dear friends , I’m writing to you from Meruri in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. I write this greeting almost as if it were a journalistic report, because it has been only 24 hours since I arrived in the middle of this Brazilian state.