The meeting took place at the Savelberg Retreat Center in Nairobi with a total of 55 participants, some of whom connected via the web due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. The assembly was an opportunity to present the annual plans of the DBTA and the activities of the Vocational Training Centers of all the Provinces of the Africa-Madagascar Region.
Among this year's participants were representatives of the Youth Ministry Department, Don Bosco Tech ASEAN, the NGO "Don Bosco Mondo" from Bonn, the Institut de la Francophonie pour l’éducation et la formation (IFEF), and exponents of “SAAM - Supporting Alliance for African Mobility” project, the European mobility project with Africa.
The assembly was opened on March 22 by Fr Alphonse Owoudou, Regional Councilor for Africa-Madagascar. He expressed his profound gratitude to all the participants for having taken part in this crucial meeting and thanked the guiding team of the DBTA for the numerous goals already achieved. Afterwards, Fr Patrick Anthonyraj, from the Youth Ministry Department, took the floor and explained the role of the Youth Ministry delegates in the Provinces in relation to the DBTA. Fr George Tharaniyil, Executive Director of the DBTA, said “Let us make use of this opportunity to build the network, its capacities and ultimately to direct all our efforts to the young people in the training Centres.” He subsequently set out the agenda of the presentations and discussions scheduled for the week.
Steffen Gross, the Project Manager of "Don Bosco Mondo", also had the opportunity to speak to participants of current programs and future projects. Mr. Gross highlighted the importance of creating a strong strategy, involving the Vocational Training Centers, to create more opportunities for the benefit of young people.
Furthermore, during the assembly, the delegates of Youth Ministry were able to present their current activities in the sector of Vocational Training Centers.
Finally, the DBTA team described the projects they are carrying out. This session then resulted in a series of side meetings between the central team of the DBTA and the various Provincial Delegates to ensure that everyone was focused on the same goals and objectives, that is, to support the most vulnerable young people.
At the end of the meeting, Fr Anthonyraj recalled that one of the priorities of the Congregation is Vocational Training for the benefit of the poorest young people; finally, several orange trees were planted in memory of the recent Environment Day in Africa and as an incentive to increasingly promote ecological practices.
