(ANS – Rome) – The extensive educational heritage of the Preventive System of Don Bosco, the experience of over 150 years in the reception of minors  and the "good practices" developed in various contexts have been summarized by SCS - Salesians for Welfare, in the "Identity Card for residential services for children", presented last October 25th , in Rome at the Pontifical Salesian University.

This document is the result of the work of housing communities and of Salesian Family homes for children, situated in Italian territory. It represents the educational proposal of the Salesians, dedicated especially to the poorest and marginalized children; and at the same time, intends to offer people working in residential services for children a specific identity, because – as written in the text – they can feel "proud to be educators in the spirit of Don Bosco".

The Identity Card starts with the conviction that "the educational experience of Don Bosco is a concrete way to make the 'God project' for children and, at the same time, 'a journey of the teacher towards God' "; to remember that the basis of the Preventive System is the ability to raise the inner freedom of the young.

Later, moving from these principles in the concrete of operational realities, concrete criteria by which the Salesian educational style is implemented are listed:

• to create a family and communal atmosphere among educators themselves;
• to recognize the contribution particularly of gender specificity and to value it from the educative point of view;
• to extend the concept of openness to the territorial reality, in the knowledge that you don’t only educate yourself and educate always in a concrete environment.

The educator – following the example of Don Bosco is called to be a father, brother, friend – is called to create and work towards a family climate, based on trust and dialogue, making the home an educational environment and a community on the move, that takes care of people's growth, by accompanying each one and by adapting the proposal to the concrete conditions of the people.

The boys, however, are described in the first place as subjects of rights to be recognized and respected, and their daily activities in their rule-breaking must be aimed first and foremost at acting responsibly (empowerment) and at resilience (overcoming upheavals and strengthening of self-esteem).

The Salesians in Italy welcome children in distress through 28 residential facilities for minors, spread over 11 regions and differentiated into two types:

• educational communities for children, where many educational figures (professional educators) operate, alternating cover over the 24 hours, offering residents an atmosphere of familiarity and sharing
• family communities for minors, in which the family is firmly committed to bearing witness to the possibility of experiencing strong and enduring emotional relationships and to live parenting in a broader sense.

Alongside these works, there are 7 other structures – the services for autonomy – aimed at youths coming of age in difficult situations.

Published 14/11/2012