Bangalore, India - August 2024 – In response to the devastating landslide in Wayanad, Don Bosco College Sulthan Bathery, with the support of BREADS Bangalore, has been actively involved in relief efforts. To date, essential supplies worth ₹13 lakhs have been distributed to various camps. Seven students and four teachers participated in the initial rescue operations. Over 100 students are currently volunteering in different camps, providing much-needed assistance. Door-to-door trauma counseling and psychological first aid have been carried out in collaboration with the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) by 12 Master of Social Work (MSW) students. Psychosocial support for affected students in camps is being provided by 65 students, while 60 students are stationed at the college's collection point for organizing and distributing relief materials. Faculty from the psychology department are also offering psychosocial support. In the grim task of identifying deceased individuals, six MSW students have been actively involved. Additionally, four students are engaged in data entry tasks, and ten vehicles have been deployed to support logistics. The relief efforts are a collaborative initiative, also involving the District Legal Service Authority, district administration, Health Department, and District Child Protection Unit.

Santiago Sacatepéquez, August 2024 - The first meeting of the lay people with governance roles at provincial level in the Divine Saviour Province of Central America took place from 31 July to 2 August, with great enthusiasm and a profound sense of mission. The event was held at the Verbite retreat centre in Guatemala, under the motto "With Don Bosco, united in mission, growing in vision", and brought together more than 40 participants from Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. The gathering was led and accompanied by the CAM Provincial Council, led by Fr Julio Navarro, Provincial, together with Fr René Santos, Gabriel Romero and Edward de la O. The purpose of the meeting was to promote common formation for collaborators in the Salesian mission and to encourage lay management processes in the Province. The participants not only shared experiences and strategies, but also had moments of recollection and relaxation, spiritually accompanied by the Salesians, and strengthened the bonds between the laity in the Province and also their commitment to the Salesian mission.

Rome, Italy - August 2024 - A compelling testimony on the communication of the three most recent pontificates (John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis) rounded off the morning of the fifth day of the World Communication Conference "Shaping Tomorrow". The speaker was Vaticanist Valentina Alazraki, who has been closely following the Popes since 1978. Alazarki highlighted the great media openings of Pope John Paul II, from his first greeting on the day of his election to the free display of his physical decline, through the countless public gestures he made that were perfectly 'newsworthy' for the media. The pontificate of Benedict XVI was then examined, a Pope with a great human trait and a profound word, but often misunderstood or even attacked by the media, due to prejudices towards the 'Theologian Pope', to the more shy and reserved nature of the Bavarian Pope, and to a different management of the communication dynamics of that period. Lastly, the communicative novelty brought by Pope Francis, with his search for direct and personal contact with the people and his unexpected and spontaneous gestures, amidst related challenges and opportunities, was also explored. In conclusion, the speaker emphasised how in all three Popes the Holy Spirit was seen in action: “all three different, each with his own charisma, but all united in the service of the Church”.