PARAGUAY: Don Bosco Róga Children and Youth Symphony Orchestra celebrates 21st anniversary
PARAGUAY
Concert benefits educational center which supports over 2,000 youth
(MissionNewswire) The Don Bosco Róga Children and Youth Symphony Orchestra in Paraguay celebrated its 21st anniversary with a concert entitled “In symphonic key: 21 years of transforming lives.” The event took place at the Tom Jobim Theatre at the Brazilian Embassy Cultural Center under the direction of Maestro Elio Fleitas. The concert was held for the benefit of the Don Bosco Róga Educational Center. There were several special guests in attendance, including prominent national artists.
A Salesian said, “The performance was a tribute to more than two decades of commitment, dreams and transformation. Over the years, the orchestra has been a space of artistic and personal growth for hundreds of youth, who have found that music had a way of transforming their lives and showing them the way to hope and self-improvement.”
Don Bosco Róga is an educational center located in Asunción that provides support to more than 2,000 youth in situations of vulnerability. One of its projects is the Don Bosco Róga Children and Youth Symphony Orchestra for 250 young people. The project is led by a staff of 27 educators and professionals and is aimed at youth ages 8 to 25.
Teachers provide lessons on 26 instruments including violin, cello, flute, oboe, bassoon, trumpet and symphonic percussion. There are also singing, dance and theater lessons offered from Monday to Friday in the afternoon and on Saturday mornings. While the lessons focus on music, there are many life skills taught in the program.
One Salesian said, “Our goal is not to train exceptional musicians, but to be a tool for saving human lives.”
Salesian missionaries have been working in Paraguay since establishing a church in Asunción in 1896. Paraguay is among the poorest countries in South America. According to UNICEF, almost 23 percent of its population of 6.5 million people lives in poverty, earning less than $1 per day. The gap between the small upper class and the large lower class is extreme and offers virtually no social mobility.
Conditions of poverty drive youth into early labor and a lack of literacy, in addition to a weak educational foundation, compounds the problem. Those in poverty face overcrowding, low-quality housing and a lack of access to basic household services. Paraguayans who only graduate from primary school are twice as likely to live in poverty as those who have access to and complete secondary school.
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Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
UNICEF – Paraguay
World Bank – Paraguay
