(ANS - Bari) – Educational poverty is the lack of education that adds to the economic poverty that affects more and more children in Italy,  particularly in the South.  For this reason, the Salesians in Bari have decided to collaborate in a campaign for a brighter future organized by the NGO "Save the Children."

Educational poverty exists wherever educational services and training opportunities for children and adolescents are few and inadequate. This is often seen in an insufficient number of kindergartens and full-time schools, few libraries, few opportunities to play sports, to learn about art or use the internet and, conversely, a high dropout rate from school.

The Light Point in Bari is a project designed to combat educational poverty. The project is the result of collaboration between three educational institutions in Bari that are interested in promoting the integral good of children and young people: the Salesians of Don Bosco, Foundation with the South, and Save the Children.

The Salesians are present in Bari in the Redeemer Institute in the Liberty district of the city.  For more than a hundred years (since 1905 ) they have been working to harness  the resources of youth as a force for development. They try to promote cooperation and dialogue between educational institutions and associations interested in working for the all round good of the children and young people in the area.

The Salesian Institute of the Redeemer in Bari, with the help of the Finis Terrae project, funded by Foundation with the South, has upgraded and renovated indoor space for educational activities. It has reached agreement with Save the Children, which has further enhanced the campaign with additional outdoor publicity, transforming the existing Light Point project.

The Bari Light Point project welcomes young people aged between six and seventeen.  It works in collaboration with the Redeemer Oratory and Youth Centre of the Salesians, in the district with the largest and youngest population in Bari, the capital of Puglia.

Within Light Point there is an association calledHappy Mama which works for families in need.  They plan to expand a number of existing activities and develop new programmes that offer parenting support, especially for families that adopt children or offer foster care.

Published 19/05/2014