During a Salesian Rectors’ Meeting on 16 and 17 March, a DVD was presented and distributed  which describes the commitment of the  “Saint Gabriel Archangel” Province of Chile to street children in the Don Bosco Foundation, the “Laura Vicuña” Community Centre in Puerto Montt – CENLAVI and the Don Bosco Youth Centre in Lo Cañas. The video draws its inspiration from the V key issue of the 26 General Chapter (GC26) the “New Frontiers” of the Salesian mission, already examined in the Provincial Chapter of 2007.

The documentary is part of the project “The Mission of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Chile... a look at the work on the New Frontiers”, drawn up by the Communications Department of the Province for which Fr Juan Bustamante is  responsible. Work on the video which began in January 2009 and was completed in March 2010, was a collaboration between TVA, a television production company, and Pablo Ortega, a student at the Audiovisual Technical Institute. It was financed by the Missions Office in Turin.

The first filming took place in March 2009, at the “Mamma Margaret” House, the Project and Special School of the CENLAVI Foundation in Puerto Montt.

In order to make the best use of the limited time available there was  an intense work programme starting at 6 in the morning and the filming of the return to the house of the children during the day, interviews with people and recording the three separate operations of the foundation in Puerto Montt. In two days there were 23 interviews with staff and youngsters in the project.

Between April and May filming took place at the three reception centres of the Don Bosco Foundation: “Don Bosco Acompaña” in the  Santiago-Centre community, “Albergue Miguel Magone” in Estación Central, and the “Don Bosco Acoge” Residence near La Florida. There were 24 interviews this time.

Finally in October and November, filming took place at the Youth Centre in Lo Cañas, Santiago, which involves pastoral work and social development programmes for young people and adults. In two days 13 interviews were recorded.

Post-production continued guided by the phrase - “Life accompanying life” – expressed by the teacher Alejandrina Núñez, at the “Don Bosco Acoge” Residence recalling the deceased Fr  Rodrigo Carranza, one of the founders of the Don Bosco Foundation.

The DVD contains three videos on the Centres and also a short promotional film. On the site of the Salesians in Chile it is possible to see some extracts.

Published 17/03/2010