(ANS – Ciudad Juárez) – The frontier city of Ciudad Juárez, in the State of Chihuahua, recently at the centre of media attention on account of the spiral of violence there, was also the location recently for the annual “Inter-Salesian Oratory Games “ attended by about 500 youngsters from Salesian oratories around the country.

Held between 1 and 3 May they brought together teams from Oratories in Tijuana, Mexicali, Nogales, Huatabampo, Los Mochis, Nuevo Laredo, Irapuato and San Luis Potosí, as well as three from Ciudad Juárez.

During the three days of competition the Salesian centres of Ciudad Juárez: “Dominic Savio”, “Don Bosco” and “Our Lady of Guadalupe” has a significant increase in the numbers of youngsters attending. In spite of the many hours spent travelling ¬– for some  even 18 hours – the youngsters were in very good spirits and impressed the locals by their friendliness, their faith in God and their joy of life. As the youngsters who were put up by the local families in the city were able to see, the local population are good people, but constantly sorely tried by the criminal activities of the clans competing for control of territory and of the city itself.

During the games there was a festival and generous atmosphere as was also seen in the spontaneous dancing of the youngsters while they waited their turn at the basket-ball, volley-ball, and football.

The youngsters from the oratories were also able to take part in some coaching sessions provided by a group of instructors giving them the opportunity to cultivate some circus skills.

Published 10/05/2010