Don Bosco’s Day celebrated by hundreds at training center

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries in Tigaraksa, located in Tangerang Regency, Indonesia, operate a training center called Balai Latihan Kerja for poor youth in the region. The center is unique because about 93.7% of the 150 current students are Muslim and 95% of the teaching staff are Muslim.

A Salesian missionary explained, “The students came to know Don Bosco through the presence of Salesians, and they even called themselves the Bosconian Youth. It is certainly a unique thing to see Muslim youth wearing a headscarf and claiming themselves to be Bosconian youth. For them, Don Bosco is a great man and a good person who is loyal to helping the small, weak, poor, marginalized, and disabled young people in the world. Don Bosco’s presence among Muslims in this area has changed the paradigm of local youth to see universal human values. We are all different in ethnicity, race and religion, but because we are humans, love is everything. The human person is very valuable because it is a creation that deserves attention.”

Hundreds of students and alumni recently attended events for Don Bosco’s Day, which is celebrated the first week of February every year. Father Advent, the director of the center, noted that the theme of the day was in line Rector Major’s Strenna “The dream that makes you dream.” Don Bosco’s Day event was filled with modern and traditional dance, drama, games, and live music.

Father Andang, rector of the Salesian Don Bosco Community of Tigaraksa, invited students and alumni to dream together to achieve a better future. He reminded them that Don Bosco’s first dream at the age of 9 had opened a wide path for him to become the father, teacher and friend of youth throughout his life.

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed 2.76 million more Indonesians into poverty, bringing the country’s poverty rate to the highest level since March 2017. Due to job loss and business closure, there are 27.5 million people living below the poverty line as of September 2020. This is up significantly from 24.8 million a year earlier.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS) 

ANS – Indonesia – Muslim students dreaming with Don Bosco

Salesian Missions

World Bank – Indonesia