(ANS - Bangui) - A few days before the Pope's visit to the Central African Republic, we share the testimony of the Salesian Fr Desiré Adjeckam, Director of the Salesian Training Centre and the Don Bosco Institute of Secondary Education in Damala, Bangui. He speaks about the activities of the Salesians in the country, activities that have been made possible in large part thanks to the support received from the campaign "Spaces of Peace. Schools for reconciliation in the Central African Republic".

Since early September 2015, 250 children in vulnerable situations, some of them former combatants, were sent by UNICEF to the Don Bosco Training Centre in Damala, as part of the programme for their recovery and training. The group includes 91 former combatants - 66 boys and 25 girls.

They have started the first phase of training, which consists in literacy education, with four teachers accompanying them, one for literacy, one for art, one for religious and moral education and one for sport. It should be noted that, prior to their training, all were undergoing medical treatment for communicable diseases to prevent an epidemic. There is also a health plan for the psychological support of each young person.

They are very happy to receive this training. Some say that the reason they joined the armed groups was that they did not know what to do in life and they felt compelled to take up arms. But there are those who hope that, later, they will have a profession and become good citizens.

Many of them regret what they have been through and are committed to helping families and children who are in the same situation. Others say they were manipulated and sometimes forced to act by "local leaders".

The young people in the first phase of training will finish on 30 November. Those participating in the second phase, from 1 December 2015, will concentrate mainly on learning a trade.

The teachers have already prepared courses for the different areas of training. However, they must also organize an orientation test to help the young people to choose between the different courses offered by the Don Bosco Centre: carpentry, agriculture and livestock, mechanical, driving school, electricians, masonry, tailoring and computer science.

The first conclusion to draw is that they are happy to receive this training. The proof is that they are always on time, arriving even half an hour before school every morning.

Published 19/11/2015