India – "Youth Involve" celebrates its tenth anniversary and commemorates the Bicentennial of the Dream at Nine Years of Age
Umiam, India – September 2024 – "Youth Involve", an initiative of the Bosco Institute in Jorhat, celebrated its tenth anniversary and commemorated the Bicentennial of the Dream at Nine Years of Age, giving rise to an event held from 17 to 19 September in Siloam, Umiam, under the theme "Live your dream". Twenty-six young social entrepreneurs, leading as many projects and social initiatives from Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland, and their Salesian and lay mentors, gathered for three days to share experiences and insights and learn from successes, failures and challenges, through presentations, exhibitions, conversations, reflections and group activities. One of the main moments was the pilgrimage to the Don Bosco Shrine, in Sohra, where the young people came into contact with Don Bosco's dream and reflected on how the Saint of the Young left a mark on their lives. The three days of celebrations ended at the "Pool of Siloam", where Don Jerry Thomas, initiator of "Youth Involve", urged the group to let go, symbolically, into the pool what wounds and paralyzes them and to take what would reinvigorate and nourish them in their journey. He finally invited young people to see what hurt them not as cracks, but as windows that can help them look inside, feel connected to each other and supported.