Brussels, Belgium - March 2018 - On 15 March in Brussels, the President of the PGS-International, Georg Leibold, met the heads of the European Commission in the field of Sport: Mr. Szabolcs Horvath, Councilor of the European Commissioner, Tibor Navracsis (Education, Youth, Sport and Culture) and Mr. Michal Rynkowski, head of the Erasmus+ Sport program of the European Union. The aim of the meeting was the presentation of the experience of the Salesian European Games and the search for forms of cooperation and support from the European Commission to this Salesian initiative, undertaken in 1990. The meeting was fostered by the work of Don Bosco International, based in Brussels.
Ahmednagar, India - March 2018 - In preparation for the 13th edition of the national event "Boscoree", a gathering of all the Scouts and Salesian guides of India, scheduled for December 2018, a preparation meeting for the Salesians, from prenovices to trainees, was held in Ahmednagar from 6 to 11 March. Four master Scouts from Chennai formed the training team and organized two training camps with theoretical and practical activities across several sessions.
Palermo, Italy - March 2018 - On March 10 and 11, about 200 members of the Salesian Cooperators Association of Sicily met in the house of Palermo Ranchibile to celebrate the annual Salesian Cooperator Day together. The assembly was an opportunity for meeting and formation on the theme "Artists of listening and accompaniment" revolving around the figures of Nino Baglieri and Fr Pino Puglisi, with an incisive report by Antonio Boccia, ASC World Councilor for the Region of Italy, Malta, Middle East. The theme was then developed and discussed with five workshops on Youth, Families, Mother Margherita, Civil Society, Local Centers. The assembly was animated by a group of 20 young ASCs and aspirants who, as usual, met the previous day to experience the Youth Camp with Fr Paolo Caltabiano, Provincial Delegate of ASC Sicily, on the theme: "Discernment: style of action and reflection". They also visited the sites of Blessed Giuseppe Puglisi in the Brancaccio district of Palermo. Also present: Fr Giuseppe Ruta, Superior of the ISI Province, who celebrated the final Mass.
Quito, Ecuador - March 2018 - "Speak Lord, as your servant listens to you" was the theme chosen for the 2018 Vocations Week which took place from 5 to 9 March with the aim of providing young people of the parish, oratories and students from the ESC, of the Sierra and the East regions, a space to discover their life as a vocation, to live according to the style of Jesus and in the Salesian charism. In each Salesian center a team was set up to carry out the activities, composed of a Director, a pastoral animator and coordinators (animators and catechists), with the support of prenovices, postnovices and young missionaries.
Freetown, Sierra Leone - March 2018 - 52 young people who were living on the streets of Freetown were welcomed on February 12th at the Salesian "Don Bosco Fambul" by the coordinator of the Center for Assistance for street children, Joe Conteh, and Salesian Fr Jose Valiplacckel. The 52 beneficiaries are following a five-month rehabilitative program.
New Rochelle, United States – March 2018 – The annual March Salesian Leadership Retreat took place March 2-8 at the Don Bosco Retreat Center in Haverstraw, N.Y. Participants included 136 students, youth leaders, and chaperones from the SDB and FMA schools of the Eastern U.S. and Canada as well as staff of the province offices of youth ministry. This retreat was special because it included participants from two FMA schools in Florida who had not been able to come to the fall leadership retreat in October 2017 after their schools were affected by Hurricane Irma. Due to the hard work and flexibility of everyone involved, this retreat was a beautiful experience of God’s grace.