The house takes in children without parents or deprived of parental care, children from dysfunctional and low-income families and today, unfortunately, also children orphaned by war and who have fled from the areas most affected by the conflict such as Odessa, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.
The children and young people at the family home go to school with their peers and the older ones attend the Vocational Training courses at the Salesian centre; they also participate in a wide range of extracurricular activities including: English, singing and football courses at the Salesian football school.
During this summer period, normal school activities are suspended, but of course these children who do not have the same opportunities for leisure or holidays as many of their peers can still have fun.
The goal of the Salesians in Lviv is to allow these children to return to school next school year with photos and memories of a carefree and cheerful time, far from the stress of everyday life marked by war.
“The Ukrainian Salesians ask us for support to guarantee a period of vacation and serenity to the Ukrainian children and young people from the family home, distancing them from the context of war from which they come. In this way, they will be able to experience a brief period in which to forget the nightmare of sirens and shelters, the anguish of war, the fear of bombing” Missioni Don Bosco, the Salesian Mission Office in Turin, says.
Even before the war, the Salesians organised short summer stays at the sea to help the vulnerable children from the family home to detach from everyday life and regenerate physically and psychologically, but they were financially independent. Today, due to the terrifying war, everything has changed and the Salesians can no longer cope with the numerous expenses related to travel, food and accommodation, small excursions, educational materials and games.
For summer 2024, the project plans a summer camp in Pula, Croatia, from 15 to 25 August. The Salesians need help to bring 65 children between the ages of 6 and 18-19, fifteen of whom come from the areas most affected by the war, as well as 10 leaders who will accompany them, together with Fr Mykhaylo Chaban, a Ukrainian Salesian, Superior of the Greek-Catholic rite Mary Help of Christians Vice-Province of Ukraine.
For more information, visit: www.missionidonbosco.org
