In this area to the south of Calabria, there are many families who for years have suffered the lack of essential educational services. The Salesian Oratory represents an alternative to the negative patterns of behaviour proposed by the 'Ndrangheta, but for many it was difficult to get to the Oratory. In many districts, in fact, the supply of electricity supply is interrupted in the evening and the roads become unsafe.
Then they got the idea of the Don Bosco Bus, a bus that would bring the children to school every day, then to the oratory and back home again in the evening. Fr Madonna says: "It started as a way to go to look for the young people even in the most scattered districts of Locri, to bring them to the oratory where they could play, take part in training and participate in formative and religious activities. This was how the Salesian Oratory in Locri decided to give a concrete response to the needs of the area."
However, they did not buy the bus. Fr Madonna says: "The idea of the bus was not to have our own means of transport, but to build up a network. By renting the Don Bosco Bus we managed to involve an honest and loyal local company and to create public interest around this medium which already offers a service to the citizens of the place, accompanying the elderly from the hospital in the centre of Locri. Our goal is to create a network."
Until 30 April 2017 the Don Bosco Bus can be supported through a special campaign called “crowdfunding”: www.salesianiperilsociale.it/crowdfunding
