Bolivia – “Don Bosco makes us Family”: “Hogares Don Bosco” gather hundreds of Adolescents and Young People

16 February 2017

(ANS – Santa Cruz) – “Educate the children and it won’t be necessary to punish the men”. This statement of Pythagoras assumes a special meaning when dealing with children and adolescents. Salesians in Bolivia have been working for generations to educate children, adolescents and young people in the “Hogares Don Bosco” (Don Bosco Homes), a network of reception centres that at present numbers 32 places.

This year, “Project Don Bosco” (PPB) of the city of Santa Cruz organized and held the 46th Encounter of the Hogares (Homes) of Santa Cruz. About 1,300 children, adolescents and young people were hosted in the 32 centres. The theme of the encounter – “Don Bosco makes us Family”, referring to the Strenna of the Rector Major for 2017 – served to promote the family spirit among those little ones whom life has deprived of a natural family, but who found another one with the Salesians.

Project Don Bosco proposes to provide help and service to vulnerable children, adolescents and young people who are at high social risk. “During these years we worked to offer an integral education to our beneficiaries, the poor and abandoned in Bolivia – stated the Salesians who work in the reception centres –. Thanks to their hard work, the great majority of them have become professionals, fathers and mothers of families and, above all, persons who do good”.

The encounter held in Santa Cruz commenced with a cheerful welcome ceremony, together with music bands, clowns and jugglers, and was then followed by the celebration of the Eucharist. All the centres presented a popular homage to Don Bosco and the jury later awarded the prize to the dance group “Don Bosco en los Barrios” for the performance of the “Tinku” dance.

Project Don Bosco accompanies about 2,000 children in the process of a regular and vocational education. Besides, it offers a vocational training to another 16,000 young people, first of all to those belonging to the Hogares Don Bosco network, even though now it is open to all.

The encounter of “Hogares Don Bosco” in Santa Cruz allowed many children, adolescents and young people to meet again many of their friends, cousins, school-mates, and to share with them a special day, with the awareness that the capability to meet others is a way to be educated to healthy relationships.

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ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

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