INDIA: Salesians open new synthetic football pitch at the Don Bosco Center
INDIA
Pitch made possible by contribution of family of young football fan
(MissionNewswire) The Opera Don Bosco Onlus Foundation recently launched a new synthetic football pitch at the Don Bosco Center in Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The new pitch was made possible by the generous contribution of the family of Riccardo, a young Italian boy who died prematurely and who was a great football fan.
Stefano Arosio, coordinator at the foundation who went to India for the inauguration, said, “For almost ten years, the foundation has been collaborating with Salesians in Tamil Nadu to carry out various projects on behalf of the youngest and poorest. The occasion of this visit took the form of a particularly significant moment for us.
In a country like India, where cricket and hockey are the most popular national sports, football is experiencing growing popularity, especially among youth. Many youth at the Don Bosco Center play it with passion.
To celebrate the opening and dedicate the new playing pitch to the memory of Riccardo, the boy’s mother and aunt also came to India, accompanied by photojournalist Enrico Mascheroni, a collaborator at the foundation. The ceremony, which lasted an entire day, opened with the blessing and ribbon-cutting ceremony and ended with the first edition of the Riccardo Trophy, a tournament that showcased the competition of 16 teams from schools and youth centers.
At the entrance to the field, a bilingual plaque commemorates the young man with these words: “Dedicated to Riccardo, a boy with a good heart, who loved football and dreamt of a kinder world. This pitch is his smile that lives on.”
In the days after the opening of the new pitch, Arosio visited several Salesian centers throughout Tamil Nadu. The Salesian centers are not only educational centers, but provide social programs where street children are welcomed, orphans and HIV-infected minors receive care and support, and where at-risk youth have the opportunity to attend professional training so they can find and retain stable employment.
In the region, Salesians also promote micro-credit projects for women in rural areas, sustainable agriculture initiatives with educational farms, environmental education and ecological awareness programs.
Arosio noted, “Everywhere we have been, we have found the same warm welcome and the same educational passion. What is striking is the ability of Salesians to look beyond caste or religious differences, always putting the person at the center. It can truly be said that in Tamil Nadu Don Bosco is for everyone and helps everyone.”
The Opera Don Bosco Onlus Foundation will continue its commitment to support these missions in the future thanks to the generosity of the many donors who share the same vision of hope and solidarity.
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Sources:
Salesian Missions – India
World Bank – India
