A two-hour drive from the main city Lagos, the Salesians are opening a new work in a populous area called Ijebu Ode. The local bishop has entrusted them with the running of the parish, with a church that has only the perimeter walls: no roof and of course no interior decor.
The head of the mission is Fr Italo Spagnolo, a Salesian priest, a native of Biella. He is in no way afraid of the challenge. Along with two other Sons of Don Bosco he is committed - literally - to put a roof over the heads of the many Christians who celebrate the Eucharist daily between four cold, hard, bare walls. The fundraising is already well underway.
But Fr Spagnolo has another dream - the construction and the opening of a Vocational Training Centre in the village. This is an area where the phenomenon of migration to Libya and then to Italy as a gateway to Europe, is deeply rooted. A Vocational Training Centre would be an important first step to create the conditions on the ground that young people would no longer consider emigration as the only possibility for the future.
In Nigeria there are many European companies seeking skilled labour. If the Salesians manage to give professional training to young Nigerians, they will not have to seek fortune far from home, risking their lives in the journey through the Sahara and then the trip on an unsafe boat across the Mediterranean - not to mention the oppression and violence of all kinds to which they are subjected by the human traffickers. Instead they will be able to build a future for themselves nearer home.
The Salesians have decided to invest in this project, always trusting in Providence, which never fails to offer assistance when it is invoked with faith.
