It is for them, in fact, that the Salesians have started the project of Italian classes for migrants and refugees, which take place in the premises available to the Sacred Heart Parish, and which benefit a total of about 100-130 people for each cycle of courses – but only because more cannot be received, given that demand consistently exceeds supply.
These are courses offered totally free of charge by a composite team of volunteers, where lay people mix, above all – including boys and girls from the Universal Civil Service and young university students from the nearby Faculty of Educational Sciences at Roma Tre University; but also Salesians, members of the Salesian Family and religious from other spiritual families – all united by an experience of service that leaves something, first and foremost, with those who do it.
Following an ancient Salesian practice (also praised by Pope Francis), the courses are of short duration, in this case quarterly, and at the Sacred Heart they are staged in an almost continuous cycle: every working day afternoon from Monday to Friday, with two "longer sessions" on Tuesdays and Thursdays, where lessons from two and a half hours can extend to five hours.
"There are different levels, based on needs: basic, medium and advanced course" explains Fr Enrico Lupano, a past guide for groups in the Salesian Places in Turin, and now coordinator of the project . "On the other hand, it must be considered that some of these young people are also illiterate in their mother tongue."
Fr Lupano, with his knowledge of the original places of Don Bosco, identifies some significant suggestions. "Our experience is a bit like that of Don Bosco's wandering oratory, or of the very early days in Valdocco, when there was still not much stability. Here too we are forced to move in spaces that are still constantly evolving, due to the renovation work, and certainly these are the kind of young people most loved by Don Bosco. In addition, they literally come from all over the world into the heart of the Congregation, and with their presence they keep us faithful to the charism, so that then from the centre we can give energy back to all the presences scattered throughout the world. It is like a double movement: from the world to the Sacred Heart and from the Sacred Heart to the world."
The young people who attend it represent a cross-section of today's multi-ethnic and global society, even if limited to the weakest groups. In the classrooms where the courses are held, we met Tenin, the only girl and the best in the class, who, however, due to her shyness, does not feel like presenting her experience. Then there is Mamadou, 23 years old from Guinea Conakry, who learned about these courses by playing football with a volunteer; or Bernard, 25 years old from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who has been attending the course for a month and who hopes that in a short time, continuing to learn, he will be able to make himself well understood and find a job to support himself; or Suleyman, who arrived from the Gambia three months ago: he looks like a smiling young man like many others, but if you ask him how he arrived in Italy he quickly mentions the crossing of North Africa, the many who remained in Tunisia and the boat trip, except to then hide behind his lowered gaze and words that are impossible to forget: "It's a long story... And if I tell it to you, then I'll end up crying."
In fact, the Italian school, although it cannot issue official certificates, is a springboard for many of them to a broader and more virtuous path: the Salesians and the volunteers who accompany them, do not stop at the language, but offer help all round: to write a curriculum vitae, to search for work and even a home; they offer driving lessons to start them towards greater autonomy; and as far as possible they also help in facing bureaucracy, challenges with residence permits...
For children and young people with stories of great suffering behind them and a present that involves misunderstanding – including linguistic – and marginalisation, it is no small feat. And many also return later to give back something of what they received: some, in the teaching of the language, others in the various services available at the Sacred Heart. For everyone, however, there is an experience of being offered something for free and service that impresses them, and that in more than one circumstance has also led them to faith or revived their faith.
"They are young people who have a great desire to learn. They know that it could be their only opportunity and for this reason they all show great attention and kindness", testifies Cristina, a young woman who grew up at the Salesian oratory in Macerata and is now an active part of the project as a volunteer. For her, this experience also represents a first approach to what she hopes her professional life can be, which she intends to develop precisely in the education of foreigners, but there is much more: "It is giving me many tools to learn more about their lives, their stories and how we can really make a home for them... It's not just Italian or the service you do for them: every day gives you an extra chance to understand their lives and their situation here in Rome and in Italy, amid daily difficulties and challenges."
