(ANS - Cochabamba) - Don Bosco gave a mandate to his spiritual children: "Do you want to do something for the youth? Educate them." Pope Francis said that "in the annals of the Church Don Bosco is the saintly educator and pastor of the young". The Salesians of Bolivia continue to be enthusiastic educators. The Don Bosco Schools in Bolivia now educate some 80,000 boys and girls with 3000 teachers in 230 educational establishments.

The Don Bosco Schools were founded with the sole purpose of raising and educating the younger generation. Their mission is to help the state education system of Bolivia, making room for the most disadvantaged sectors of society and providing continuity and validity in the work of education. They seek to counter the socio-economic factors that impact negatively on education: low wages, politicization of educational guidelines, high rates of absenteeism and dropout form school.

A national meeting of directors of educational units of the Don Bosco Schools was held at the Salesian House in Cochabamba-Fatima on 24-25 February 2016. It was attended by over 100 managers and 30 technicians of the regional areas of the Don Bosco Schools. One of the objectives of the meeting was to make an assessment of the situation of the different educational units and the network of existing conventions. At the same time it developed a programme for three major areas of work: pastoral work, Schools for ​​Families and pedagogical work.

The meeting also provided an opportunity for formation on important issues for 2016, such as a reflection on the special Jubilee of Mercy, the presentation of the Rector Major’s Strenna for 2016 and the World Youth Day to be held in Krakow next July.

Published 02/03/2016