(ANS - České Budějovice) - Salesians and their collaborators in České Budějovice, Czech Republic, are preparing three summer camps for young Ukrainian refugees. After their extraordinarily painful experiences over the past four months, this is not a luxury, but a necessity.
(ANS - Bratislava) - The time of summer is getting closer and closer and so, all those activities that under various names - GREST, oratory or summer center, or camp - are about to start, activities that throughout the Salesian world mean a time to grow together for: religious, volunteers, animators and animated. This year, following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, in many realities throughout Europe specific activities are already being organized for Ukrainian refugee children abroad. This is the case, for example, of the "Mary Help of Christians" Province of Slovakia (SLK).
Tijuana, Mexico - July 2021 - Under the motto "With hope we transform our reality", for three weeks the complex of works of the "Proyecto Salesiano Tijuana" brought together more than 900 children, adolescents and young people in the city's six Salesian centers. This year's program of the "Happy Holidays with Jesus" initiative (VAFEJE, in Spanish) was spiced with joy, games, sports and moments of spirituality. On the last day, Friday 23 July, all the participants gathered to close this experience together. Subsequently, the more than 100 activity animators gathered for a day of evaluation and sharing on the initiative, culminating in a Eucharist presided over by Fr Agustín Novoa, Director of the "Proyecto Salesiano Tijuana".
Vienna, Austria - July 28, 2021 - The week of summer activities of the Salesian Czech-speaking Cooperators in Grossarl ended with great satisfaction on the part of all. Children and young people managed the special situation – due to the anti-COVID-19 health regulations - with maturity and optimism, and each of the 50 people collaborated to ensure that everything went well.
(ANS - Vilnius) – Again this summer, despite the great limitations due to the containment measures of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Salesian oratory in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, wanted to offer children and young people an intense educational and leisure for the summer months. The Summer Day Center held for a few weeks at the "St. John Bosco" church in Vilnius attracted great interest, with the registration of more than 350 children, many of whom came from various parts of the city.
(ANS - Vatican City) - On Friday 30 July 2021, the adventure of the Youth Summer Camp in the Vatican ended after six weeks, a second edition dedicated to the theme of Ecology, following the reflections proposed by the booklet "Sei dei nostra!" (Elledici publishing house). Again this year, the initiative took place in environments not designated for educational and play activities for children, but the transformation of places such as the "Paul VI" Hall for papal audiences proved to be a wonderful solution that favored a exceptional climate of interaction and education.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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Italy – A Salesian on the front line of the war in Ukraine: "Being close counts, words come later"(ANS - Rome) - As he tells with a gentleness that does not seem to come from horror, he is "resting a little bit" in Rome these days. Fr Oleh Ladnyuk is a Ukrainian Salesian priest who is a military chaplain at the front, among the soldiers who fight in defence of their country and among the civilians who for over two years have seen their lives wiped out. He brings humanitarian aid where the missiles fall and from those places he helps with the evacuation of young people and adults - so far at least 500 people, but there are probably many more. These days the Salesian – who carries out his ministry in Dnipro and teaches History in a state school in the city – is in Rome to take part with two other priests and a dozen lay people from his country in the "Accompanying when Trauma Hits" course hosted by the Pontifical Salesian University in collaboration with the Faculty of Educational Sciences, with the DON BOSCO NEL MONDO Foundation and the Don Bosco Network. A project that aims to provide theoretical and methodological tools to deal with the traumas caused by war.
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.