On the occasion of the International Day of Education (24 January), Salesians for Social reaffirms their commitment to offer children and young people concrete help for both school and extra-curricular activities, involving teachers but above all families. To date, there are about 2,000 beneficiaries of these projects, which involve 160 educators distributed in different regions of Italy: Piedmont, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Lazio, Campania, Puglia, Calabria, Sicily.
"Educational poverty is no longer an emergency, but a serious and structural phenomenon in Italian society, which involves over a million children and compromises the growth of the young generations. Faced with this reality, it is essential to refinance the national fund to combat educational poverty and adopt systematic policies that strengthen educational and social services to support minors and young people in difficulty, "says Salesian Fr Francesco Preite, national president of Salesians for Social. In the last budget adopted in December by the Meloni government, for the first time in 8 years the fund, which was fed by banking foundations that were granted a tax credit, was not renewed. In recent years, the fund has raised 800 million euro and involved 9,500 Third Sector entities.
Almost 600 thousand minors have been reached. "Educational prevention" Fr Preite explains "not only reduces costs for the State, but offers better and more lasting results for the identity and growth of children than repression alone. Every day, an army of educators, social workers and psychologists, together with families and schools, work to create an educational environment based on trust, hospitality and personal accompaniment. Following the Don Bosco Preventive System, we promote knowledge and skills, helping children and young people to pursue their aspirations and build a better future through study, creativity and the development of their skills."
Salesian commitment to Social translates into concrete actions such as "School neighbours: territories and schools together to combat school dropout", which provides for activities developed with a flexible teaching model, adaptable to the various school contexts and based on the co-design and co-programming of teachers and educators.
There are also numerous projects at the local level: in the Giostra district of Messina, Salesians for Social has launched the "An educating Giostra" project aimed at 600 children and young people between the ages of 6 and 17. The initiative is aimed at minors, families and the community, for the development of a generative welfare . The "Scuola Libera Tutti!" has been activated in Venaria Reale (Turin), Macerata, Rome, Cisternino (Brindisi) and Palermo, to prevent school dropout and improve the well-being of students, with study support activities and recreational moments that involve children also in their free time. In Pedara and Viagrande, in the province of Catania, the "Scuola Casa Comune" project has started, to promote the inclusion in the socio-educational services and in the recreational and cultural activities - offered by the project and by the territory - of 300 children between the ages of 5 and 10 in conditions of economic fragility. The project aims to help families in particular, supporting them through inclusion in a network of parents, teachers and educational figures.
Source: Corriere della Sera
