Posted January 30, 2008
India - Bosco Gramin Vikas Kendra NGO for sustainable rural development
(Ahmednagar) - With concerns over 'global warming' and 'climate change' taking centre stage today, there has been a renewed interest in programs aimed at conserving and regenerating the environment. The Government of Maharashtra has been quick to address this crisis. To revive the rapidly deteriorating environment in the State, the Government has launched the Hariyali Program under the aegis of the Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP). To execute this program, the Government has selected some 20 NGOs that have played a prominent role in environmental projects. Among those selected is Bosco Gramin Vikas Kendra (BGVK), Ahmednagar.
The Government of Maharashtra has assigned BGVK the district of Nashik for the implementation of the Hariyali programme. The first meeting between BGVK and the Government representatives took place on January 9, 2008. A detailed Action Plan for achieving the goal of a more sustainable society was discussed. This will help build up a strong people's movement for the protection and care of the environment.
BGVK has been active in the field of sustainable Rural Development since 1988 through its Watershed Program. It has already implemented Watershed Development Programs in 20 villages in the Ahmednagar and Beed districts.
India - FOSS in Government Curriculum for Printing Technology
After the approval by the Government’s Directorate of Technical Education in Tamil Nadu, South India, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) has been officially included in the curriculum for the Diploma in Printing Technology. The new syllabus must be put in place in all polytechnic colleges in Tamil Nadu by June 2008.
The case for including FOSS, along with proprietary software, in the syllabus of polytechnic colleges was argued by Fr. P. T. Joseph, S.D.B., Vice-Principal of SIGA Polytechnic College, who is a member of the Government’s Syllabus Committee. “The Government should not be seen as promoting only certain proprietary software companies,” Fr. Joseph argued. “It should welcome FOSS as an alternative for students in its institutions,” he said. The new syllabus was finalized during the meeting of the Syllabus Committee that took place at the Salesian Institute of Graphic Arts (SIGA) Polytechnic College in Chennai at the beginning of January 2008.
The Salesians of Don Bosco have been in the forefront of technical and vocational education in India for many decades now. With over 120 technical institutes, they are regarded as the largest non-government organization in the field of technical training in India. The Salesian technical institutes concentrate on the middle and lower levels of technical training, thus making training accessible to some of the poorest students. They believe that promoting the use of Open Source Software is, as the Rector Major, Fr. Pascual Chavez said in his writings on communications (AGC 390), “a way of moving towards democratization of information and culture, and of overcoming the digital divide between the rich and the poor.” Many individuals and organizations, including governments, worldwide have begun testing open-source software to cut costs and eliminate dependency on individual companies. The Dutch government, for instance, has set a soft deadline of April 2008 for its agencies to start using open-source software.
Edited from: http://www.donboscoindia.com/english/bis/default_ms.php?newsid=1609&pno=1
Russia - The Russian Church’s representative delivers Christmas presents to children in the Moscow Catholic orphanage
Moscow –After a delay occasioned by a serious medical isolation period in the orphanage the Department for External Church Relations (DECR) of the Moscow Patriarchate’s secretary for inter-Christian affairs Fr. Igor Vyzhanov presented Christmas presents to children in the Moscow Catholic orphanage.
The DECR cooperation with the orphanage under auspices of The Salesians administer the orphanage andthey were able to secure the gifts from the DEHC thanks to the efforts of the Members of the Orthodox-Catholic working group . It was seen as a good faith gesture in moving toward reconciliation between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Roman Catholic Church. Notice of this fact was posted on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Rome – Human Rights
(Rome) – “The human rights situation at world level is somewhat gruesome. Evert minute, every second great and terrible violations of human dignity are being committed regarding rights and basic freedoms. No society or country is immune.” Carola Carazzone, the chief of the Human Rights office of the International Volunteer Movement for Development (VIS) and adviser to the Economic and Social Research Institute began her talk at the Spirituality Days of the Salesian Family with this strong message.
The talk drew from the Strenna of 2008 and on Salesian tradition and presented the content and methodology for a real education to human rights. “The challenge for us is especially focused on prevention, on breaking the vicious circle which perpetuates the constant violation of the rights and dignity of people, on promoting a culture suffused with human rights, able to escape from the offices of the jurists and philosophers of rights, and become instead the heritage of human beings,” Ms. Carazzone said. “The challenge is to educate young people to participation and individual and social commitment to human development, to become active as responsible citizens of the world.”
The Salesian charism can indeed make a fundamental contribution to spreading a culture of the dignity of life and of freedom, of a commitment to responsible citizenship and to prevention and to an education to human rights which ought to include at least the cognitive (knowing, thinking critically, forming opinions, making judgements), affective (trying, experiencing, empathising) and active behavioural aspects (making choices, acting on them, behaving appropriately).
Following this keynote address there were two briefer presentations in which the speakers showed how educating for knowledge of and respect for human rights can mean getting personally involved and responding to the needs in one’s own locality. Lillina Atanasio, a Salesian Cooperator, spoke about her experience in the Providenza Family Home which she, her husband, and other volunteers have been runing for over 25 years. “To accept and be accepted becomes a key point, and as such, the chief objective of our family home.” Lillina said- “If we don’t succeed in involving young people in decisions around and about him or her, no educational project can be set in motion and we are limited to tasks of repression or guarding over them. This is far from the thinking of Don Bosco.
Argentina – Preparing for Perpetual Profession
(Junín de los Andes) – For the first three weeks of January 2008, 19 Salesians from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Paraguay, Perú and Uruguay participated in a special formation course in preparation for their Perpetual Profession.
The course provided an inter-province experience in preparation for their definitive commitment to Salesian life and demonstrated that the Salesian Charism is not limited to only one culture or time. The young Salesians taking part are accompanied by the formation personnel from the various provinces in the America South Cone Region.
During the course they were paid a visit by Bishop Pedro Gabrielli,S.D.B., from Méndez, Ecuador, accompanied by Fr. Ernesto Ankuash Tiwi, the first Salesian Shuar priest.
Congo - Democratic Republic of the Congo – Theological Study Center celebrates 20 years
(Lubumbashi) – Saint Francis de Sales Institute, the Salesian formation center also known as the Theologicum, celebrated its 20th anniversary on January 19, 2008.
The celebrations began with Mass presided over by Fr. Joachim Tshibangu, Provincial of the Salesians in Central Africa (AFC). This was followed by a conference Fr. Etienne Kazadi, the Bishops’ Secretary of the Ecclesiastical Province of Katanga. He spoke about the next Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to be held in Rome in October 2008: The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.
The Theological Study Center was established in 1988 in response to the formation needs of the Salesians in the region. Most of the students are Salesians preparing for the priesthood from French, Portuguese and English speaking Africa. Thanks to the daily commitment of the staff, the Center promotes the development of a Christian theology that takes into account the special features characteristic of African culture.
Cambodia – Safety campaign for young motorcyclists
(Sihanoukville) – The Salesians in the Sihanoukville house are preparing to start a safety campaign to prevent road accidents by young motorcyclists.
In Cambodia, many students and youngsters use motorbikes as their usual means of transport. There are no laws regarding safety measures when riding a motorcycle, at least no enforced laws. It is not even obligatory to wear a helmet and often a single motorocycle transports three or more people.
Through a road safety campaign, the Salesians hope to respond to the problem following a series of accidents involving young people, in some cases leading to death. Recently Suaung Sophoan, a 23 year old man, a past pupil of Sihanoukville, died in a motorbike accident. Two other students and a teacher from the Salesianschool also died in accidents this past year.
South Korea - Don Bosco Youth Ministry Center in Korea opens
(Seoul) – Fr. Marcelo Baek Kwang Hyun, S.D.B., provincial delegate for Youth Ministry and recently appointed as the first director of the Don Bosco Youth Ministry Center (DBYMC) in Seoul, has announced the first official Center program: the 2008 Youth Ministry Academy Program. The program is open to anyone interested in youth ministry.
The Center is part of the new Provincial House Complex in Seoul. The two year youth ministry program is divided into four semesters and has space for 40 participants. Topics covered include: catechetics, youth culture and pedagogy, liturgy and sacraments, youth social welfare, youth communications, and the Preventive System. The faculty includes Salesians of Don Bosco, Salesian Sisters, Diocesan clergy, and lay instructors, all of whom have been involved in youth ministry.
The members of the Korean province have long sought to share the Salesian Charism of living for and with young people not only in school, camp, youth at risk and youth movement settings but also through the formation of youth ministers.
At present, the entire Korean Church is seeking new models for youth ministry. They are struggling with the problem of many youngsters leaving Church life, particularly Sunday Mass and Sunday School, for other activities. Many who work with children and youth catechesis expressed their belief that the Church has been unable to understand the values of the younger generation today. There is an earnest desire for a radical change in approach and method. It is within this context that the Salesian System seems to fit the needs of the Korean Church. The Youth Ministry Office of the Archdiocese of Seoul has shown considerable interest in the new Center and the programs it plans to offer.
Togo – Meeting of the Salesian Family
(Lomé) – The different branches of the Salesian Family met in early January 2008 at Maison Don Bosco in Lomé, the capital of Togo, to spend a family day together. The group of one humdred participants included Salesians, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Salesians-Cooperators, Volunteers of Don Bosco and members of the Association of Mary Help of Christians.
After the celebration of the Eucharist, the group divided itself into smaller discussion groups and considered the Rector Major’s Strenna for 2008: Let us Educate with the Heart of Don Bosco.
Angola – SYM Camp
(Dondo) The National Camp of the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM) took place January 6-10, 2008 in the town of Dondo, anout 120 miles from Luanda, the capital of Angola was held. Participation in the Camp was diverse and included over two hundred lay collaborators, 16 Salesians, 5 Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, and a handful of religious from other congregations.
Five topics were considered during the Camp: education to life and to values, the family, the causes of poverty and strategies to overcome it, citizenship, and human rights. Special emphasis was placed on the rights of children and to a commitment to combat violence against juveniles.
Thailand – A new award for the Director of Skills Development Center for the Blind
(Bangkok) – Fr. Charles Velardo, Director of the Pakkred Skills Development Center for the Blind has received an award, Outstanding Person in the Field of Disability, recognizing the significant contribution he has made to the betterment of the quality of life of the disabled of Thailand. Fr. Velardo is an Ialian Salesian who has worked as a missionary in Thailand for many years. In 2006 Fr. Velardo was presented with the Gold Medal of the Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhnor for his energetic leadership of the Pakkred Center.
Fr. Velardo is only the third person to receive this award.
Solomon Islands – A Voice at the service of the local churches
(Honiara) – In an effort to improve communication within the church community, the Salesians have collaborated with Catholic Communications Solomons , the commnication center of the diocese of Honiara, and re-launched the quarterly magazine Voice Katolika in the Solomon Islands. While a relatively small publication (only 1,600 copies of the first edition), it is hoped to be the beginning of a new movement in producing Catholic information on this troubled island. The editorial team is led by Fr. Ambrose Pereira S.D.B., the Director of the communication center in Honiara. And this new periodical has already begun to be recognized as a high quality publication by the Catholic Press Associations of the region
Voice Katolika will periodically deal with a great variety of issues, reporting on events and topics connected with the local, diocesan and worldwide church, health education and the environment, and the youth scene.
Fr. Pereira is a pioneer in journalism in the Solomon Islands since his arrival in 1999. In addition to publishing Voice Katolika, he teaches seminars in communications and media training for lay people, priests, religious and young people; runs Radio Boscom FM89.9, the only community radio transmitter in the Solomon Islands; and manages a religious bookshop.
Chile – New center of spirituality dedicated to Laura Vicuña
(Renca) – On January 22, 2008, coinciding with the memorial of Blessed Laura Vicuña, a new center of spirituality dedicated to this young student of the Salesian Sisters opened.
The center is next to the Sanctuary dedicated to Laura Vicuña at Renca, in the north west of Santiago. Fr. Natale Vitale, S.D.B., the Provincial of the Salesians in Chile presided at the Mass for the opening which was concelebrated by several diocesan and Salesian priests. A good number of the faithful and pilgrims from various parts of Chile took part in the event which was also broadcast live on Radio Maria-Chile.
Before the Mass, Fr. Vitale blessed the new center of spirituality called it “ ... is a set of lungs of spirituality” for the young who will benefit from its activities.
Sr. Graciela Pinto, F.M.A. Provincial of the Salesian Sisters in Chile thanked all those who had made the new center possible.
Back to Salesian World News » |
