48 people connected online, provincial leaders of Education and Pastoral care, belonging to the groups of the Salesian Family of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), of the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and of the Daughters of the Divine Savior; in the countries involved, they manage hundreds of educational centers that educate thousands of children, adolescents, young people and adults.
The meeting began with a moment of prayer prepared by Fr Wladimir Acosta, SDB, Delegate for Youth Ministry of Ecuador (ECU), then continued with the presentation of the participants, and the greetings of the Referents for the Salesian School of America (ESA), Sr. Ivone Goulart Lopes, FMA, and Fr Claudio Cartes, SDB.
The representatives for the Andean Region, namely Sr. Bertha Vivas, FMA, and Fr Luis Tórrez, SDB, presented the meeting's objectives: to share the challenges of this time of pandemic and post-pandemic, to foster the network of the Andean Region and CINAB, share good practices in the implementation of the axes identified in the IV ESA meeting.
The General Councilor for Youth Ministry of the FMA, Sister Runita Borja, in her speech, expressed her approval for the option of taking the pandemic situation into consideration in planning the meeting.
The program continued with the intervention of Sr. Patricia Parraguez, FMA of Chile, who presented the work carried out by the ESA Central Commission in 2020, while Sr. Brígida Pillajo, FMA of Ecuador (ECU), coordinated the presentation of the good practices carried out in the Provinces in relation to the axes of ESA IV.
On the second day, two formative moments were proposed: “The challenges of education in times of Covid and post Covid starting from the Salesian identity” with the presentation of Fr Tarcizio Morais, of the SDB Youth Ministry Department, and “Working in a network, do you accept the challenge?”, from Sister Parraguez.
Fr Miguel Angel Garcia, General Councilor for SDB Youth Ministry, held the formative moment on the last day, on the theme: “Keys to Salesian accompaniment in times of pandemic”. Among the aspects mentioned in his speech is the invitation to the “pedagogy of silence”.
“Pastoral care also means accompanying the processes of building personal identity, encouraging the person and giving him the strength and guidance necessary to use his personal potential and interpersonal resources in the most effective way. The pedagogy of silence is also important, to encourage and foster calm, silence ... To seek within what is present in every young person.”
In addition to the various presentations, the participants had the opportunity to work in groups to share the strongest challenges in this time of pandemic, especially in relation to the accompaniment of children, adolescents and young people, educators and families in the different realities of America.
All presentations are available online.
https://www.infoans.org/en/sections/news/item/12246-rmg-meeting-of-salesian-school-of-america-andina-cinab-region#sigProId5c9e7802e3
