At the work in Bacău - a city in the north-east of the country with about two hundred thousand inhabitants, and an Orthodox majority - there was practically everything except a school: the Salesians already run an oratory, a youth center, a day center for minors and a vocational guidance center; they run specialization and advanced training courses, courses for parish animators; and they run an important summer camp that brings together many children, young people, and after-school activities every year.
Now, starting from the after-school experience, the new school has been launched and available enrolments have been entirely completed in a short time. The environments in which the lessons will take place are the same ones in which already today, on weekday afternoons, about 110 children gather to play sports and grow together making good use of their free time. And they are fully-equipped environments: five classrooms, a multifunctional room, room for festivities, laboratories and workshops, a library, sports field, and games room.
"We built them several years ago, thanks to funding received through a European project, and we inaugurated them in 2013," Fr Iosif Ilieș, Rector of the Salesian community of Bacău, told ANS.
For the Salesians, who have been present in Romania since 1996, with their Motherhouse in Constanta, and active there since 2000, the new school is an important step. "It's a project that people have been waiting for and we've been working on for two years, setting up the rooms and obtaining all the necessary documentation. We want to offer something different, based on Christian values and Don Bosco's preventive system. But it will still be a school open to all, regardless of religious or social affiliation, with a family environment," adds Fr Ilieș.
The inauguration of the school is scheduled to take place on the school's first day of operation, Monday, September 5, 2022, the date when classes begin throughout the country.
But the Salesians are not so focused on their projects that they are losing sight of what is going on around them. In fact, Fr Ilieș said the community also remains attentive and active in providing relief to Ukrainian refugees who have fled the war. "Bacău is a city of passage; few stop here and the city's facilities so far manage to cover the needs. But we help with the service of volunteers where there is a need and through collections of materials for refugees. And we've already said we're willing to welcome and involve Ukrainian children in the summer activities, which are about to begin," concludes the Rector of the Salesian work.
