Don Bosco Boys’ Town began after the war to care for the thousands of orphan boys victims of the Second World War, called “shoeshine boys” because that was the part time work they nearly all took up, as was wonderfully described by Vittorio De Sica in his film with that name in 1946. Today Don Bosco Boys’ Town is for many youngsters at risk a house, a school, a work-shop which provides a variety of educational opportunities.
In recent years more and more Italian and foreign youngsters from the city outskirts have been experiencing problems of various kinds: dropping out of school, becoming involved in petty crime, being abandoned by their own families, conflicts between locals and immigrants, marginalisation and social exclusion. Many of these frequently end up in the juvenile courts beginning an endless downward spiral of good resolutions followed by disappointing lapses.
Services available at Don Bosco Boys’ Town include: a vocational training centre, a Day Recreational Centre with Special Summer Activities, a work preparation Centre, a reception centre for minors (Family Home), an organisation for Families, a Psycho-Pedagogical Advice Centre for teenagers, group accommodation for young adults.
The Boys’ Town is located in the Centocelle district, described by the Home Office Ministry as one that is “at risk”, in that there is such socio-cultural and environmental decay that it is a potential cause for deviance among the youngsters living there.
The Salesian centre offers psycho-educational support and rehabilitation and catching-up classes, through individualised programmes aimed at helping each youngster with a special course taking into account individual experiences, needs and capabilities. In particular there are courses in literacy, coaching for the middle school certificate, basic courses to prepare mechanics, electricians, assistant cooks, shop assistants, waiters and so on.
Don Bosco Boys’ Town also has a special feature: a Family Home which accommodates a limited number of boys and girls with particular personal or family problems that are affecting their growth and development. They live in the community for a limited period of time as they are helped by the staff to prepare for the next stage of their lives – return to their family, to a foster family or are adopted - during which they also follow them up.
There is also a video describing Don Bosco Boys? Town – “Roma, il Borgo degli Sciuscià” – as usual made by Don Bosco Missions -Media Centre in Turin and available on the platform http://www.donbosco-humanrights.org
Published 16/01/2009
