(ANS- Piura)Bosconia is located in the north of Peru, where sand and heat are part of life of the inhabitants of Piura. The Salesian house was founded in the middle of the sand under the trees of Algarrobo. The Salesians started the Social Work called Bosconia in the same place. The work is dedicated to the education of children, adolescents and young people at risk.

Bosconia is located in Piura which is one of the most populous cities of Peru. There is a lot of drugs and crime. Many young people live with little or no hope of a future. When the work started a few years ago it was given the name Bosconia in honour of the saint of youth.

Each week the leaders are involved in offering young people education, recreation, and moments of prayer and personal encounter with God. On important feasts hundreds of Oratorians gather in the Oratory. On 8 December, the celebration took place around a historical figure in the life of Don Bosco: Bartholomew Garelli.

The participants in this meeting come from various Oratories – from the Ceferino Namuncurá Oratory in the district called "New Hope"; from the Bartolomeo Garelli Oratory together with the children of "Villa Kurt Beer"; from the Oratory of Mary Help of Christians with the children of the areas around Kurt Beer: from the  Dominic Savio Oratory and those who belong to the neighbourhood  of Rosa de Guadalupe.

Fr Pedro Dabroski welcomed more than 500 young people gathered in the chapel of St. John Bosco, saying: "I ask you, dear leaders and catechists, to persevere in this beautiful apostolate of proclaiming Jesus and Mary to children and young people as Don Bosco did. This is the most beautiful gift we can give them."

At the end of the day the playground was empty but the hearts and faces of those who had had this experience remained full of life.

Published 29/12/2015