(ANS - San Paulo) - Just outside the Arena Corinthians stadium in  Sao Paolo, where World Cup 2014 opened, there is the poor neighborhood of Itaquera. About 500,000 people live there, out of a total of about twenty million inhabitants of the entire metropolitan area of ​​the city, one of the largest in the world. "When I arrived in 1981, this was all countryside, streams and favelas," says Fr Rosalvino Morán Viñayo, a Spanish Salesian missionary.

When he arrived in Itaquera, the drug lords put a gun to his chest. Many others had left because of death threats but Fr Rosalvino did not. "I told them to let me work because I would help to ensure that their children have a future."

"We will not change”, they answered, “because we are traffickers. But you can help our brothers and our children." And so they agreed to let him work in peace.

Since then, along with his collaborators, Fr Rosalvino has built professional training workshops, a schools of gymnastics, an orchestra and a modern centre of graphic design.

Now the children of the drug lords are athletes, actors, musicians, bakers or mechanics while the Don Bosco Centre in Itaquera is an example of how you can transform the world through education.

The Salesian Centre houses, among others, young people released from prison on bail and prepares them for reintegration. A psychologist, a lawyer and a social worker accompany this process, which lasts at least seven months.  The young ex-offenders join the  other students in the school. There are also many disabled young people and many others who do a round journey of up to twenty kilometres a day to attend classes.

The success of the Salesian project can be seen as soon as you enter the centre. Hundreds of young people of different ages greet the visitor. The refectory provides 7,000 meals a day.  There is a huge number of workshops - computer labs, hairdressing saloons, shoemaking shops, training centres in electronics, sewing, physical education and music.

The government has sought the help of the Salesians to combat crime, hunger and problems of school dropouts in the city.  The São Paulo City Council has signed a deal worth 90,000 reais to support the workshops where the Salesians help more than 12,000 young people. The centre offers hope and a goal in life to young people who otherwise would most likely end up in drugs, prison and early death.

Published 17/06/2014