Taking part in the meeting were about forty people directly involved in voluntary service, Salesians and lay people from Africa and other countries such as the United States, Poland, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy. Salesian volunteers are working in the Salesian Provinces of Angola, Burundi, Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The purpose of the Congress was to reflect together on the role of international voluntary service in Africa and the promotion of local voluntary service.
Leading the work were Fr Dominic Sequeira, from the Department for Youth Ministry, Fr Stanislaw Rafalko, from the Department for the Missions, Massimo Zotera and Fr Franco Fontana from VIS.
A considerable time was given to the sharing of experiences by volunteers and Salesians and the reflection on the possibility of promoting local voluntary service in Africa and the best ways of doing so. The experiences of voluntary service already to be found in some African countries are a sign of the vitality of the Salesian charism becoming a sign of hope and encouragement for other Provinces. The importance of collaboration between Salesians and the volunteers was confirmed in Nairobi
In the course of the Congress two visits were made: to the “Kibera”, slum in Nairobi, perhaps the largest in East Africa, where about a million people are living; and a second, which brought the meeting to a close, to the Salesian “Bosco Boys” which takes in street children in Nairobi. Here at the end of Mass, the youngsters entertained the guests with a performance of dancing, acrobatics and singing.
Published 19/01/2010
