On October 24, 2018, the Salesians of the two Provinces of West Africa - Francophone and (AFO) and Anglophone (AFW) - opened a missionary presence in the diocese of Banjul, Gambia, in one of the poorest areas of the country, its greatest wealth being its many young people.
In this way Gambia has become the 136th country in which the Salesian Congregation goes on mission, to continue the missionary commitment with the style of Don Bosco: to evangelize by educating and educating by evangelizing.
"Don Bosco, with his heart and the Preventive System, has arrived in this area, to stay with these people and walk together in the construction of the Church and a more humane society," said the Salesian missionary Fr Juan Carlos Valdiviezo.
Gambia is a country that has lived 22 years of dictatorship under the regime of former President Yaya Jameh. In January 2017, the country returned to democracy, a democracy that is still fragile and in a stabilizing phase. Young people are victims of economic, social and structural poverty, educational and professional opportunities are scarce; illegal emigration has become endemic.
The spiritual Sons of Don Bosco, even in their brief stay, are bringing a new fresh wind of hope to the Church of Banjul and the Gambian society. The Salesian experience in the field of education and pastoral charity is a gift of God for these young people and for the Salesian missionaries themselves, who thus share their pilgrimage in the faith.
"The Salesian presence of 'Kunkujang Mariama' in Gambia has a special mark because it is not only international, but also intercontinental; we are four Salesians: a Pole, a Nigerian, an Indian and a Peruvian," said Fr Valdiviezo.
https://www.infoans.org/en/sezioni-eventi/item/7212-gambia-one-day-with-don-bosco-in-a-most-salesian-work#sigProId9deeb812e6
