by José Carlos Martínez
Founded in May 1912, the year the first Salesians arrived in the city, the "San Juan Bosco" Salesian College in Granada has helped make the history of this great colonial city. The first Salesians spread their love for Don Bosco and Mary Help of Christians.
Today, besides primary and secondary school education, the college offers an oratory for children, adolescents and young people. Hundreds of young participants, including those from neighboring areas, arrive in the Salesian Community Center and are assisted by Salesians with catechism, education and accompaniment.
Within the context of formation, pupils are taught values such as altruism, generosity and especially solidarity; for this occasion, young people prepared cookies, candies, games, notebooks, colored pencils and other teaching materials they donated to the pupils of the special needs school "San Vicente de Paúl" on the morning of August 22. Visiting were several student representatives accompanied by Fr Augusto Gutiérrez, SDB, the center's Head of Pastoral Care, as well as teachers and the pastoral team who lent their support.
In the last week of August, the students of "San Juan Bosco" organized and celebrated a party with the special needs students.
And so it is that as part of the Salesians' commitment to the most needy, a second solidarity campaign was promoted, once again highlighting the importance of collaborating with those in need of material and spiritual help through gestures and actions that fill hearts with cheerfulness.
Solidarity is the human act of helping one's neighbor, one that contributes to social development; spreading it in schools, "educating towards solidarity," wrote Pope Francis, "thus means educating ourselves to humanity."
