(ANS – Port Moresby) – Fr Maria Arokiam Kanaga, Councillor for South Asia region, has ended his extraordinary visit to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands (PGS). He commenced his visit on 17 April and concluded it on 16 May, 2016. He visited all eight Salesian communities and interacted with Salesians, students and the lay collaborators. He was most appreciative of the piety of the people in this area, a key province of Oceania and one that is open to much development.

(ANS - Namugongo) - Victor Oche, Ugandan candidate for the Nobel Prize for his commitment against violence, once stated in an interview: "Young people are not a tool for war, but for peace." Bartlomiej Ciok is a young man working as a volunteer with the Salesians at Namugongo, Uganda. His stay in Africa has led him to change his view of life and of the world and confirmed the idea that Uganda "has been my home for a year" and that "this home at Namugongo is salvation for Ugandan youth."

(ANS - Asunción) - According to research "Latin America and the Caribbean are facing a slowdown in economic growth that could scupper all the progress made over the past decade, such as the reduction of the poverty rate, progress on equality or, a key issue, the adoption of a quality education system." It is certain that the educational reality in Latin America has not changed much in recent years. The governments have not invested in education and this is why there is a malaise in educational policies and government budgets in the field. Paraguay is no exception. In recent weeks its educational situation has been around the world. The Minister of Education, Enrique Riera, has declared an educational emergency.

(ANS - Guwahati) – On 10 May last, the Councillor General for the Salesian Missions, Fr Guillermo Basañes, spoke to the teachers of the Azara Campus of Assam Don Bosco University (ADBU). His theme was "Fighting the globalization of indifference with service”. Fr Basañes is currently doing the Extraordinary Visitation to 28 works of the Province of Guwahati in the states of Assam and Meghalaya.

(ANS - Manta) – A month after the earthquake that occurred in the north of Ecuador, in the area of ​​Manta, the situation has not changed much. Reconstruction is slow, it is difficult to have to start from scratch. The dead number 661, while 33,757 people were injured and there are 10,924 fallen or damaged buildings, according to data of the National Secretariat for Risk Management. Many families are living in tents and makeshift houses and many have stories to tell.