Young people give signs of hope and commitment

(MissionNewswire) This summer, 40 youth will engage in a volunteer missionary experience in different parts of the world, thanks to the “Missionary Way 2024-2025 – Bearers of Hope” project, promoted by the Salesian Youth Ministry Center in Milan, Italy, and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. The Opera Don Bosco Onlus Foundation in Milan is also collaborating.

A Salesian noted, “At a time marked by humanitarian crises, wars, poverty and growing inequalities, it is young people who are giving a concrete sign of hope and commitment.”

Youth will be headed to various missions including Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in El Salvador and Salesian centers in Ethiopia* and Sri Lanka. Some youth will remain in Italy at a reception center for unaccompanied foreign minors in Cammarata, Sicily.

Barbara, one of the participants, explained, “I made the choice to leave this summer for a missionary service experience in Sri Lanka. I choose to give my time to this experience to become aware of others, and to recognize that love is a selfless, necessary and human act.”

This year’s program brought together youth from different backgrounds all united by a common desire to get involved and live an experience that will leave a mark on them and in the communities that will welcome them. Before leaving, they engaged in months of meetings, moments of reflection, workshops and sharing that have enabled them to be prepared for the volunteer experience ahead.

Looking to the future, the Opera Don Bosco Onlus Foundation intends to continue and strengthen this path in the next pastoral year, involving an increasing number of youth and a growing number of Salesian missions where they can volunteer.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Italy – ‘A different summer’: 40 young people on a mission to respond to today’s humanitarian crises

Salesian Missions – Italy

World Bank – Italy

*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.