T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E S A L E S I A N F A M I L Y
DON BOSCO TODAY
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He’s My Brother 4
It’s Good to be Here 6
Making a Difference 7
Lost and Found 8
Children’s Section 9-12
Young Carers in Lourdes 13
God doesn’t care what you wear 14
Who Cares – Rachel does 16
We Remember 18
Order Form 20
Editorial
The front page of this magazine reads Don Bosco Today – Young People
Today. To understand Don Bosco today you need to understand young
people today, for the charism of Don Bosco is not a thing of the past, it is
a living reality responding to the needs of young people as they are
today. Don Bosco is remembered as a priest who dedicated his life to the
service of abandoned young people. Over 150 years ago, he challenged
the way young people were treated in the desperate poverty that existed
at that time in the city of Turin, Italy. He was driven by first-hand
experience of the effects of dreadful poverty and hunger on the young
people he came across, he was determined to change their condition.
Others were inspired to follow him in responding to the needs of the
young. Don Bosco created a congregation, a Family, in the Church,
called the Salesians. Don Bosco was always optimistic about young
people:
They constitute the most vulnerable yet precious section of our
human society. We base our hopes for the future on them, and they
are not of their nature depraved. Were it not for struggling parents,
idleness, mixing in bad company, it would be so easy to inculcate in
their young hearts the principles of order, of good behaviour, of
respect, of religion, because if they are ruined at that age, it is due
more to carelessness than to ingrained malice. These young people
truly have need of some kind person who will take care of them,
work with them, guide them in virtue, keep them away from vice.
Today, in almost every country in the world, the Salesian Family tries to
understand young people, tries to see the good in them, tries to help
them in their many needs. This issue of Don Bosco Today is an attempt to
open our eyes to two important aspects of young people today, problems
they face, the good they do.
To understand is to forgive, if only we understood the difficulties so many
young people face today perhaps we would be more forgiving. Don
Bosco said that young people were the most precious and vulnerable
part of society. In Rachel’s Story, you can see both of those elements
woven into a challenging situation. Her dedication and commitment is
echoed thousands of times around this country. She stands in need of
support certainly, but she also stands as a beacon that challenges the
prejudiced views of young people in some newspapers as destructive
and dangerous animals. Rachel is much closer to the
truth than the tabloid headlines. The name Rachel
means little lamb and her tenderness and
determination are the antidote to the negative picture
of young people being pedalled by the modern media.
Today we hear people lamenting the bad news about
young people, but when you get to know them, you
soon realise the good they are capable of doing. Let’s
celebrate that goodness.
2 3
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Websites Worth Visiting
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Bosconet
Youth Outreach
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4 5
As a seventeen-year-old
High School student,
relationships (whether
pre-existing or just
starting out) play a big
role in your school years.
In my experience,
building relationships was
never an extremely hard
task; I was always very
personable with my
elders and had a way of
relating to my peers.
I have built up many strong relationships, but the
relationship that is definitely strongest is due to the
years and years of work put into it. My best friend
Billy and I have been friends since kindergarten.
Billy and I have gone through many scarring events.
No matter what the problem, we always stayed
close throughout and helped each other through
everything. Billy and I were a little too mature for our
age, we never hung out with our age group; for as
long as I can remember our friends were older –
which brought us deeper into problems as well as
deeper into maturity and knowledge.
When Billy and I were younger, I saw our
relationship as just best friends, nothing more,
nothing less – as people who spent a lot of time
together and could confide in one another. As we
grew up we went our separate ways, which in most
cases would break people apart. We however grew
closer, which was the point when I realised our
relationship was important. Billy had a very strange
life, although in the beginning growing up he lived
in a normal household in a normal town. Billy’s
father was a cop for some twenty odd years, and
was married to Billy’s mother Helen – who had
already been married once before and had one
child. Billy had three older siblings, his two older
brothers (one from the prior marriage), and his
sister. Normal children with normal parents in a
normal town. What I didn’t know was that his father
was charged with 24 counts of child abuse, this
was start of Billy’s problems and our struggle to
remain the closest of friends.
Billy’s father was sentenced to near-life
imprisonment in Trenton State Penitentiary; his
mother lost his father’s pension and became a
severe alcoholic, and lost her job. The family began
moving from town to town because of their
reputation. The only time we talked were the couple
times a week I got on the bus to go see him, or the
scarce times that he scrounged up the 35 cents to
pick up the pay phone and give me a call.
Our relationship was now significantly harder to
maintain, but I knew he needed me around more
than ever. His sister, at the age of 16, had become
a full-blown cocaine addict as well as a mother to a
gang lord’s baby girl. His older brother started off
with the marijuana and drinking, and then moved
up to cocaine and crack – which landed him a
combination of a 5 to 7 year sentence that he is
currently serving; and to go along with all that, his
oldest brother was parenting a 6 year old girl that
he had had at the age of 18. I was told many times
to forget him, because he wasn’t good for me, but
he was my best friend and I was not about to
disown him because of his family.
The one person to whom I entrusted a lot of my
information about us was my old middle-school
teacher, who told me millions of times that Billy was
in need of a good friend, and I was just that. She
defended my attempts to support our friendship no
matter how hard it got. I really did believe that for
some reason I was put in Billy’s path to set his life
straight, even when I couldn’t help change his bad
decisions. I knew I was there to help him cope with
the consequences. This is what I now set my
standards on as a true friend. And our relationship
never really fell short of those standards, as we
were always going out of our way for one another
no matter how severe or how little the task. Billy and
I stayed together through blood, sweat and tears
mainly because somehow I knew it was God’s plan,
and I think he saw it that way, too. I learned a lot
about faith over the years in our relationship
together and I learned a lot about life especially
being around all the losses.
Billy and I grew up together surrounded with a lot of
drug use, trafficking and gang associations due to
our circumstances. We befriended many of these
people despite their baggage, but we lost a lot of
them along the way – one of the reasons why
together we started to rethink life, and how short it
really was.
One of our friends who we spent a good portion of
our teenage years with, either partying or hanging
out, had gotten into a big drug trafficking ring. We
told him he was in over his head. As much as we
told him to get out of the game, and if he wouldn’t,
then to stop what he was doing on the side,
because one day his protection would fail – and it
did; He was shot multiple times in the chest, and
once in the head. A 19-year-old kid making wrong
decisions was disposed off. Billy and I realised it
could have been us. We focussed more on each
other to find ways of making each other better. I
had questioned my faith, as a child. Faith was
extraneous, something that just didn’t do anything
for me – my religious life was non-existent. But, after
all the hardships I had been through, faith became
more apparent. This was very sad to me that only in
times of need is where faith was really appreciated
or relied upon. Well although it may be sad, it did
bring me to my faith and I’m happy because of it.
My faith grew. From being an atheist, I am now a
believer – someone who entrusted his life into the
hands of a higher being because I needed help.
Billy’s friendship showed me that I needed help, for
the things my friends couldn’t control. I needed that
help and it dawned on me to pray and seek help
and advice – and through prayer, I can honestly say
I came to peace with a lot of my mistakes, and
gained knowledge from them as well.
Building relationships, in particular this one, was the
best thing for me as a person. No matter how badly
it brought me down at times the trouble I got in, it
always seemed to make its way back up. No matter
what I went through I never regretted the path I
chose because I learned and got so much out if it.
And I will continue to learn as I build my
relationships.
Friendships are something I hold really close to my
heart, mainly due to Billy’s and mine. I know now
through his friendship what it is to be real, what it is
to genuinely care about someone and go through
anything for a friend. To be able to be a better
person because of it and carry it through the rest of
my life. I’m proud of it, regardless of how many bad
things happened along the way. I got a lot out of my
experiences and no matter the hardships that went
along with it there were never any regrets.
Don’t ever give up on your gut feeling. Your friends
are your friends for a reason; regardless of the
mishaps, they are still your friends, and I believe in
keeping relationships strong. Don’t ever give up on
those who you’ve befriended, no matter what
people say to you – don’t let them go; it’s your
privilege to keep your friends from their downward
spirals.
HE’S MY BROTHER
Building Relationships
DON BOSCO TODAY DON BOSCO TODAY
6 7
Volunteering, helping others, making a
difference, it all sounds so attractive. However,
for me it wasn’t enough to help out at church or
Guides, I wanted more. With my love for
challenges and adventure, the prospect of
volunteering abroad sounded exciting. It’s
something that’s always been at the back of my
mind, but to actually put it into practice was
another thing entirely. And then in 2005 I met
like-minded people at university, the difference
being that together we actually made it happen.
We spent three weeks volunteering in Montero,
Bolivia and then travelled around South America.
It was somewhere I’d always wanted to go,
partly due to studying Spanish, but also the
culture really appealed to me.
Contacting BOVA (Bosco Volunteering Action -the
vehicle for international volunteering in the British
Province) it became possible to volunteer for Bolivia,
and eventually after the training that is where I headed.
I confess that I didn’t know much about Bolivia, but this
allowed me to come open-minded and without any
expectations to be fulfilled. I fell in love with the people
and their openness, the culture, and the relaxed way of
life and couldn’t wait to come back. So two years on
here I am again. I’ve quickly discovered that spending
three weeks in a country is nothing like spending three
months. You get the chance to become so much more
involved in the culture here, and feel less like a tourist
and more like part of the community. You can build
relationships with people and feel like you’re making a
real difference. But of course it has its down points, like
adjusting to the heat, being continuously dirty, wading
through water-logged roads, and avoiding the rubbish
on the streets and the free roaming chickens, horses,
cows, and pigs!
Along with three Salesian volunteers from the USA, I’m
living in a girls’ orphanage with more than 100 girls. As
the only permanent staff in the orphanage, we play a
big role in the girls’ lives. We have to be friend, parent,
someone to love the girls and someone for them to
love too. The girls here have a lot of love to give and
always want to hold our hands, hug us and chat to us.
I’m mainly with the youngest girls, and with the recent
arrival of three babies it can be hectic. The older girls
are really good though at helping out and playing with
them. We organize games, crafts, go on walks, read
books in the library and generally have lots of fun.
We’ve even managed to get them speaking a bit of
English!
In the afternoons, I teach English at the Kinder (Nursery
School). It’s challenging but so rewarding to hear them
counting in English or say Hello teacher. I didn’t really
know what I’d be doing out here but its amazing how
it’s worked out. As I’m coming to the end of my degree
I’ve started thinking about the future and was
considering teaching French and Spanish to younger
children. Working in the Kinder has given me the
opportunity to try out teaching, where there’s no
paperwork, no syllabus to follow, the chance to learn
from mistakes, and just teaching for the fun of
teaching. It’s actually made me change my future
plans, as I’ve enjoyed this work so much I’m now
considering teaching English to immigrants in the UK.
In Bolivia English can be a life-changing skill, opening
windows to the US and Europe. Language can be such
a barrier, a cause of segregation and racism but by
teaching languages I hope to help break down these
barriers and to give people in the UK a chance to
integrate themselves more into society.
Being in a developing world context can really change
your perspectives on life. It’s made me so much more
aware of the poverty that exists, of how rich we are and
of the differences we can make. It’s such an enriching
experience, and has given me confidence and
encouraged me in my Christian journey. It’s something I
would recommend to anyone and I’m definitely
considering doing it again.
Kathryn Ellis
DON BOSCO TODAY DON BOSCO TODAY
The Provincial, Fr Michael Winstanley SDB
MAKING A DIFFERENCEMAKING SENSE
OF IT ALL
It was a rainy morning in December and as I
stood outside the school chapel under my
umbrella greeting the young people arriving
for school a few of them came across seeking
sanctuary from the elements under my brolly.
The conversation was sparkling, the weather
failed to dampen the young people’s spirits
and as we stood together chatting about
pixies, fairies and invisible hot air balloons, all
fifteen of us getting terribly wet, I was aware
that life here in the midst of these young
people made absolute perfect sense.
For a long time I have been inspired by that famous
story of Don Bosco’s first mass at the newly opened
Sacred Heart Basilica in Rome where he explained his
tears were because life, as it drew towards its close,
finally made sense. Maybe I can hope that one day I
might share in this level of understanding but until then
I have to content myself with snatched moments of
comprehension like the one above. These times of
understanding can be few and far between – I suspect
everyone who works with young people knows the
feeling at the end of a day or week when you collapse
into a chair and wonder why you bother – but when
they happen they are a source of such wonderful, and
often timely, encouragement.
When, as a teenager I found myself on something of a
quest for vocation, although I probably wouldn’t have
called it that at the time, rather a search for meaning of
my life. How I now understand this search can be
explained by Mitch Albom more perfectly than I could
ever hope
So many people walk around with a meaningless life.
They seem half asleep, even when they ‘re doing things
they think are important. This is because they’re
chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning
into your life is to devote yourself to loving others,
devote yourself to your community around you, and
devote yourself to creating something that gives you
purpose and meaning.
It was a moment of understanding whilst on pilgrimage
that gave me the most profound glimpse of
understanding I have ever enjoyed and from this stems
all that which gives me purpose and meaning. It was
during this moment, reflecting on a week spent with
young people, that I first understood that a life in some
way lived for the young was to be what would give me
purpose and meaning.
As a Salesian I have found that it is usually moments
with young people that more than any other aspect of
my life that give me this understanding that I so crave.
It could be a snatched moment of laughter during a
crazy and difficult day, it may be an email thanking me
for something years earlier when I am struggling to see
the value of my life, it might be a shared reminiscence
of a moment long gone that bring joy or it might be as
a proud onlooker as a young person I have known and
loved does something remarkable. In all of these
moments, and so many more examples, there is a
variety of common features. That they are invariably
when I am feeling down and need a boost, they tend to
just happen and cannot possibly be predicted or
sought out and they affirm my life in a way that no other
can – regularly pointing out something precious that I
was unaware of.
Recently I went online and found a message awaiting
me from a young person I had shared an event with
some time previously. This message was one which
simply recalled the experience and some of the other
people involved. She went on to tell me that she had
prayed for me as she remembered these things that
day in thanksgiving for all the help I had been for her.
Before this, I had no idea that I had done anything of
any significance. This beautiful message, out of the
blue, became a source of great encouragement and
joy.
God has called me to Salesian life and how appropriate
it is that God uses young people to affirm my vocation
and gentle encourage me to persevere when things are
a struggle.
Brother Matt SDB
DON BOSCO TODAY DON BOSCO TODAY
8 9
THE BEAR FACTS
Hello Children
It’s summer again! I love summertime:
do you? There are so many things to do
in summer. I go fishing in the river and
swimming in the lake: Bears are good
swimmers, you know? Sometimes I get
sunBEARned ! I play games with my friends like hide
and seek: we hide behind trees and rocks, (it’s hard for
me to hide because I am quite big). It’s easier for
some of my friends like Rio Rabbit, Sugar
Squirrel and Molly Magpie.
I like sport, do you? We play cricket and football and
other games. We have a “BEARfoot League”, but do
you remember how I keep hurting my foot?
In this month’s magazine we have our new children’s
page which we hope you will like. There is an adventure
story about me and my friends and there is a maze for
you to try and puzzle out.
I would love to hear from YOU! What are you doing this
summer? Are you going away for your holidays? We
animals stay in the forest all the time; we’re happy, but
I, sometimes, look at aeroplanes and wonder where
they are going.
If you would like to write to me, or send an e-mail, the
addresses are:
Thornleigh House
Sharples Park
Bolton
BL1 6PQ
Or boscobear@salesians.org.uk
Congratulations to the winners of last time’s
competition. The Rosie goes to Church book and DVD
have been sent to Geraldine Ainsworth of Stockport,
Rianna Charles from Walthamstow, Laura Solari from
Ilford, Franklyn Lobo of Upper Norwood, Catherine
McNally from Millom, Robert Sydenham of Epsom,
Fabrice Gérard from London, Anthony Sydenham of
Surrey, Joyal Davis from Oxford, Callum Patrick Crosby
of Bolton and Mrs Blackwood’s class from St Thomas
of Canterbury School, Bolton.
All the winners rightly pointed out that the word organ
could not be found in the word-search, and apologies
are due to you all for that – sorry
Bosco Bear
LOST AND
FOUND
Fr Albert van Hecke
SDB, Regional Salesian
Superior for Northern
Europe, with Fr David
O’Malley and Fr
Michael Cunningham
M J Cunningham SDB
Michael Cunningham is a Salesian of Don Bosco. He taught Religious Education
for over twenty years. He has been engaged in province leadership and was
provincial of the British Salesian province for six years. After some years with the
Movement for a Better World he has continued to be involved in retreats
internationally. He is currently working with Asylum seekers and refugees in
Liverpool. He remains a loyal supporter of Bolton Wanderers Football Club. His
previous books Within & Without and A Time for Compassion have helped many
people understand their spirituality.
What religion needs to recognise is that spirit can never be contained and restricted. At the heart of the
disillusionment with so much contemporary religion is the sense that it seeks to control and restrict God. Our
God has become too small. At this stage in history, we are no longer spiritual children whose every thought and
experience has to be ratified by higher authority. On Mount Tabor the clothes of Jesus are described as
dazzlingly white; the apostles are lost for words. No human words can ever describe the mystery of God. The
spirit is wild, portrayed in wind and fire at Pentecost, and it is to that wider sense of mystery and search that
many are attracted today. We are rediscovering that religion is not primarily a doctrinal matter or moral matter –
important though these are – but a mystical one. Today the mystical and the prophetic have to become one. Far
from losing religion, this development will help us find its soul.
BOSCO BEAR IS
BUZZING!
One hot, summer’s day, I
said to my three friends:
Rio Rabbit, Sugar Squirrel
and Molly Magpie:
I’m hungry and bears love honey. Now that it’s
summer, there are bees everywhere and bees make
honey - let’s go and find some.
Mmm. Good idea, said Rio.
I don’t want to get stung, said Sugar.
Come on, I said, we’ll be alright.
The sun was shining brightly. There were no clouds
in the sky: it was a beautiful day. We walked towards
the river where there were some brightly coloured
flowers: there were lots of bees buzzing around. I
could see that the bees had made a honeycomb full
of delicious honey, but how could we get near it
without BEEing stung.We tip-toed towards the honey.
The bees were all around us:
I don’t like this, said Sugar. Buzz off.
One bee was buzzing next to my ear,
another one was flying next to my
nose, one was on my foot. Oh no; not
my foot again, I thought. And then…….
Molly had a brainwave!
Look over there, she said.
Not far away some children were
finishing a picnic. They had eaten
jam sandwiches and cream cakes.
Molly flew over and picked up all the bits that were
left. The bees were watching! Molly put the
sandwiches and the cake in one big pile and the
bees zoomed across and tucked in!
Quick, I said. Get the honey!
Later, back in my cave, we were happy and sticky
friends. It had been a sunny, yummy, honey day.
I LOVE RAIN
I’m sure that you know that there are millions of people in
the world, who don’t have enough food to eat and enough
water to drink. In some countries it doesn’t seem to rain
much at all and you have to have water to drink; and you
have to have water to grow a lot of food.
In England we often complain when it rains.
Right now, in Australia there is a drought (which means it hasn’t rained for ages). A lot of people are really worried.
Do you know that spaceships are travelling to other planets, like
Mars, looking for water so that one day people will be able to
live somewhere else as well as on Earth.
What did you have for breakfast today? I usually have a cup of
coffee (and the coffee comes from Brazil) and some marmalade
on toast (and marmalade comes from oranges grown in Spain).
The farmers who grow the coffee and the oranges are poor people who don’t get much money for their work.
We should think of those poor people and pray that they are happy. We should thank God for the great gift of rain
that he sends us and we should be glad that we aren’t thirsty or hungry or poor.
13
DON BOSCO TODAY
12
DON BOSCO TODAY
LOURDES
For over fifty years now, HCPT
has been organising
pilgrimages to Lourdes at
Easter for children with a
variety of special needs.
Some have physical
disabilities; others have
learning disabilities or live in
difficult home situations. As
priest chaplain in one of the
family groups, I look forward
each year to sharing the
experience with both the
children and the helpers,
young and not so young.
Many of the helpers are students at sixth form, or in further or higher education. Very often, they volunteer because
they have heard about HCPT from an enthusiastic friend, but they soon realise the level of commitment expected
of them. They have to raise a significant amount of cash for their own fare and accommodation. They join in fund-
raising for the children. They have to get Criminal Record Bureau clearance. They attend group meetings and
training sessions. They help draw up risk assessments. They visit the families of the children for many weeks so
that they can get to know them and help to give them the best possible care.
All these preparations reach their climax in the week in Lourdes. It always amazes me how quickly the bond
between the children and their helpers develops. Don Bosco knew the value of having young people helping other
young people, that special chemistry which comes from closeness of years and similarity of experience. Who
better than a self-conscious young person to persuade another self-conscious younger person to wear the funny
hat and other regalia so essential to keep the group together in crowds of tens of thousands? Who better than
another young person to communicate by example, as much as by words, that celebrations of faith in the Mass
and other religious activities are real celebrations that can lift their spirits.
And the young helpers are so generous and loving with their care for the children. Although support is always at
hand from older and more experienced helpers, they are the ones who deal with all the ups and downs of daily
life, from getting-up time to bed time, and sometimes middle of the night time, including the emotional and
behavioural glitches which sometimes happen.
It is not all in one direction. The children respond with trust and friendship. The young helpers soon learn how
much the children have to teach them. In our group, we had one boy with particularly severe physical and learning
disabilities. He could not communicate by speech. He needed help with all his basic needs. It was so inspiring to
see the affection shown towards him by the other children. One went to the same special school and spoke with
obvious delight about how he attended her classes. Another would just stand beside his wheelchair and stroke his
hand.
The impression made on the young helpers is proved by the way so many come back again and again. In our
group, there were some who had made their first pilgrimage as sixth formers, but continued on into their university
years.
At the end of the week there is usually a thank you present and card for the chaplain. I am always aware of the
debt of gratitude I owe to these wonderful children and helpers, young and not so young. They convince me that
our faith is alive and well and does have something for the future as well as for the past. They recharge my
spiritual batteries and give me strength for the rest of my year.
Fr Pat Sherlock SDB
AMAZING!
Can you find the path for Bosco Bear and his friends to
follow, in order to reach the honey?
14 15
DON BOSCO TODAY DON BOSCO TODAY
GOD
DOESN’T
CARE
WHAT
YOU
WEAR
Versace, Chanel, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Louis Vuitton.
Are these really the labels that define us? Many people in today’s
society place importance on buying products with designer labels,
but I say we are defined by the inner labels that make up our
personality, labels that don’t cost any money and do not show on
the surface. These are the labels – Courage, Honour, Loyalty,
Kindness, Sincerity, Determination. These are the qualities we
should strive to acquire, not material possessions. I feel we should
reject the ideals of consumerism in order to pursue our own
individuality.
What is consumerism? I would define it as buying products and clothes in order to bring happiness. However, do
we really need to wear designer labels to make us happy? Surely there are more important things in life, such as
those close to us, our friends and family who surround us with happiness every day, regardless of the image we
portray. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that in some way we are all involved with consumer culture. After all, we
all need to purchase goods and should be allowed to buy luxuries with the money we have earned, but what need
is there to buy expensive clothes and products just because they have a label? It could be argued that certain
labels show that these products will be of a high quality. What I am concerned about is the other reasons people
may have for buying designer products.
Many buy brand names as a way of showing they are superior to others. This has a negative effect on our society
as it often leads to feelings of alienation, rejection and humiliation for those who cannot afford these high-priced
products. People become more concerned with their outward appearance; consequently, they become shallow
and judge people by their looks and the clothes they wear or the car they drive. If we choose friends based on
how they dress and in the case of girls, the make-up they wear and the way they style their hair, what foundation is
that for a friendship? I mean, would we ever pick up a Caramac bar if we judged it on the plain, unattractive
packaging? Yet, underneath the wrapper is a sweet and tasty chocolate bar. This same principle can apply to
people. There are far more important things in life, and to judge someone on the products they own and their
surface detail is superficial. We need to look under the surface and the appearances that are quite literally skin-
deep, and focus on the inner qualities which should help us relate to people.
So why do we feel it is necessary to gain material possessions and display designer labels in order to feel better
about ourselves? I feel I could answer this question with two simple phrases: Peer Pressure and Media
Conditioning and the two are linked with each other. Peer Pressure is the idea that we feel compelled to act a
certain way in order to fit in with those around us, and in this case we feel we need to follow fashion trends and
display the name of a designer. Do we have to imitate the way celebrities dress just because glossy magazines
deem them as style icons? Are we sheep? Do we really have a mind of our own? If we blindly follow trends and all
try to wear similar clothes we are indeed sheep, sheep in woolly Moschino coats.
Are we really to blame for getting swept along in the tidal wave of consumerism? To a certain extent - No. This
brings me to my next point - Media Conditioning. We are constantly bombarded with images in magazines and
television of people displaying these products. Although consumerism and fashion seems to be directed largely
at the female audience, it is not solely aimed at women. Just look at the many men who model themselves on the
style of celebrities such as David Beckham, Jude Law, Brad Pitt and Robbie Williams, to name a few. There is
nothing wrong with wanting to look good, but do we really have to imitate famous people in order to do this?
Take, for example, the advertising campaign for Omega watches. Due to the launch of the Bond movie, Casino
Royale, they have decided to have James Bond as the new figure-head for their campaign. This will appeal to
the male audience, as many men would want to imitate the characteristics of this fictional spy. Will buying an
Omega watch really give men the lifestyle associated with James Bond? I think not.
An auction of vintage Omega watches as well as one worn by Daniel Craig in the James Bond movie Casino
Royale fetched a staggering 2.7 million pounds.
Media Conditioning can have a bad effect on its intended market because it can often create negative feelings in
the potential buyer, which then means they feel compelled to buy their products in order to make themselves feel
good. The greatest example of this is when women are continually shown images of ridiculously skinny models,
which puts them under pressure to lose weight, so they can resemble their more androgynous body shapes,
instead of feeling good about their own figures. The advertising campaigns and mainstream media put people
under pressure to buy their products, all for the sake of making the designers rich. In this way, it is no wonder we
feel the need to wear labels and buy products in order to relate to others, which shows the link between Media
Conditioning and Peer Pressure. However, not all media has portrayed consumerism in a good light. Some films
such as Fight Club and The Devil Wears Prada have highlighted this issue and have shown the negative aspects
associated with consumerism. The Devil Wears Prada follows the career of a young female journalist who is
caught up in consumerism as she gets a job in the fashion industry. However, by the end of the film, she comes
to realise that the people in her life that are more important to her, and she should not betray her own identity.
Fight Club addresses the phenomenon that men are now becoming consumers at the expense of their more
basic hunter-gatherer instincts. The protagonist of the movie leads a terrorist movement in which men join
together in an attempt to crush consumerism. However, the extreme measures they resort to in order to achieve
this are radical and violent, and in practice can only make society worse. Aggressive acts of terrorism are
certainly not the answer! However, this does not mean that we all have to accept the ideals of consumerism so
willingly.
I have come to the conclusion that consumerism is not a natural human instinct, but rather an artificial creation of
the media. So please, do not think you need to wear brand names to feel better about yourself. Instead, focus on
the things that truly make you happy in life and pursue your own individuality. Above all, don’t forget the most
important label of all: I am what I am.
Charlotte Wallwork
1716
DON BOSCO TODAY DON BOSCO TODAY
RACHEL CARES
I want to introduce you to a wonderful young person I
know, let’s call her Rachel. She is a heroine, hidden in a
domestic life few adults could survive. Rachel doesn’t live
in a war-torn country, nor is she a victim of floods or
famine. Her struggle happens in a West Midlands town in
Great Britain in 2007, it happens every day and she meets
it alone. This is her story:
My name is Rachel, I am 13 years old and I look after my Mum. She has been bad for a while, she sometimes
wants to kill herself and it frightens me. One day when I was getting the tea ready and she was feeling good she
asked if she could help with the vegetables. I let her get a knife out of the drawer and before I noticed she had cut
her arms with big zig zag gashes. I had to call the ambulance. We were lucky that evening because she missed
the arteries. Now I hide the knives and have to tell my Dad where they are when he comes in from work.
I also have to hide the keys so that Mum can’t lock herself in the house. Once I had to bang on the doors and
windows for hours before she let me and my little sister in. Mum has forgotten how to change nappies for my
sister so I do all that. Last month my sister had grown out of all her clothes so I had to go and buy some more. I
handle the money as best I can but that time I got it wrong and spent too much on some nice clothes and we
didn’t have enough for food or for the milkman. My Dad says I worry too much but he’s never there. When he
comes in from work Mum is always sleeping.
I find it hard to trust my Dad. He works a lot but he doesn’t seem to realise how much Mum needs him. Last week
Mum went out to the cinema while I looked after my sister. I walked down with her, with my sister in the pram and
left her there. Dad was going to pick her up. He never did. I waited until about ten thirty and then put my sister in
the pram and went down to the cinema. She was wandering around lost and confused. I knew she would be. I
was so angry!
I talked to my Dad the next day and he said he didn’t think it was that important. He said he’d had a few drinks
and couldn’t drive and then he said he knew I could cope. It’s like he sat there in the pub and thought to himself,
Should I choose my daughter or more booze?” The booze won. After that, I realised that I was on my own. I went
off for a few nights to stay with my best friend Jess. She calmed me down and I slept so well that I was able to go
back home, knowing I could get away from things when I needed.
The first thing I did was take my Mum to the doctors. I went in with her and the doctor asked me what I was doing
there. I had to tell him all about Mum and how mixed up she was and her attempted suicides. When he just gave
her some more tablets I lost my temper and told him she needed help not drugs. He told me I wasn’t helping so I
told him that without me my mother would be dead! He asked me to leave the room. Later I wrote to his boss and
explained things in a letter more calmly. That doctor has now been moved and Mum was put on a list for therapy.
When the letter came from the doctor there was nine-month waiting list for the therapy and I knew she wouldn’t
survive for nine months. So I rang the centre and arranged for her to go as a private patient. I had some money in
an account for my education from my Gran’s will and I got the money from that. Then she was away in the centre
for a whole month and I looked after my sister alone. I went to see her almost every day. Sometimes she was
frightened because of the people in there but gradually she calmed down and began to cry a lot, which was good,
I think.
When she came home, she was definitely different but still
low in confidence. It took her a long time to be able to go
out for walks and smile again but it is happening. We
changed her bedroom at home and removed all the blue
colour which she said drove her crazy. Last month she got
a job and started working part time. So things are looking
up. Dad is around less and less, when he’s not working
he’s playing snooker. We had a holiday last month, all of
us together. We always play perfect families on holiday,
everyone tries to be nice, but it’s all a lie and it never lasts.
When I grow up, I want to live on my own and maybe look
after my sister because I am ten years older than she is.
I’d like to work in the media industry, doing advertising or
photography or something. I have learnt a lot from caring
for my Mum. I have learnt that shouting at people doesn’t
work. I know that I have to calm down and control my
feelings, breathe slowly, take a walk and things like that.
The most important thing is that whoever you care for, let
them know that you love them every day, let them know
that you’ll be there for them.
Young people in my situation need to have good friends,
people who will just listen and listen and listen with
kindness. They may not be able to understand but they
need to be gentle and patient. People like me also need to
find another adult to talk to either a gran or a teacher who
can help them understand and care for them. Young people like me need friends like Jess who can give them
nights away so that they can sleep and relax in a normal home.
Facts and Figures
• The 2001 Census estimated that there are 175,000 young carers aged under 18 in the UK, but this may be an
underestimation.
• Around three million children in the UK have a family member with a disability
• Around a quarter of a million young people in the UK live with a parent who is misusing a Class A drug.
• 920,000 young people in the UK are children of alcoholic parents.
• The average age of young carers is 12, but they can be as young as five years old.
• 86% are of compulsory school age
1918
DON BOSCO TODAY DON BOSCO TODAY
JAMES PILLING SDB 1925 - 2007
and JAMES GIBBONS SDB
1930 - 2007
It is unusual for us to bid our final farewells to two of our brothers on the same day. It
presents us with a quandary. How best, as we pray, to recall some of the significant
qualities of each of the two Jims. Some things they shared, but each contributed his own
self, and their selves were very different. Our God loves variety.
They were both boys at Shrigley, our junior seminary, Jim Pilling from Lancashire and Jim Gibbons from Durham.
Jim Pilling was ordained in 1952; Jim Gibbons in 1960. Jim, for the first thirteen years of his priesthood, was
provincial secretary. He then took the imaginative step of qualifying as a psychiatric social worker, at the London
School of Economics. After qualifying, Jim came to Blaisdon Hall in Gloucestershire – to the special school we
had there. Blaisdon was his home for 27 years, until the school closed in 1994. These were Jim’s halcyon years
for which he will always be remembered with great affection by countless Blaisdon past pupils and staff. He
carved out a role for himself which had not existed in the school before he came. He introduced a new level of
care for the children and a new level of support for the staff, both teaching and care staff. He was a great support
to parents and to staff, of whom I was occasionally one.
Wednesday was a day we didn’t see Jim, rather we saw a different Jim. He dressed up, he was a natty dresser,
and would go to the Child Guidance Clinic in Gloucester, where he worked one day each week to keep a balance
and receive the support he needed.
When Blaisdon closed in 1994, he developed fresh interests: a new career. He joined the Battersea community He
became a great lover of the Holy Land and spent six months in Jerusalem. He led at least four groups of pilgrims
and studied Hebrew at Heythrop College. He gathered friends into the Salesian Cooperators, until diabetes and
strokes and restricted vision gradually took their toll. He joined the Farnborough community in 2004.
As I was preparing these words, I came across a card in his prayer book. On it there was this saying of John
Henry Newman: The first duty of charity is to try to enter the mind and feelings of others. This was Jim Pilling. This
was also James Gibbons and serves as a natural bridge-over between the two much-loved men.
James Gibbons was a dynamo of activity and energy. His path, after ordination in 1960, lay in schools and
schooling. For seven years, he taught at Shrigley, after that he moved to Bolton. He taught Geography in which he
was qualified and proficient, also
Religious Studies. He loved and
followed sport until his last stay
in hospital. In 1970, Jim Gibbons
came to Chertsey. It was his
home and place of work for the
next 22 years. His halcyon years
were as Head of the Intake Year,
when the boys transferred to the
Salesian School from our feeder
Middle Schools, at the age of 13.
It was not an easy age to deal
with. Jim, of course, was fond of
football. Fond would be an
understatement. He took football
trips to Canada in many a
summer holiday. Parents appreciated his care and interest. In the early 80s the school became completely co-
educational. I have spoken to several women, past-pupils, now in their late 30s who were very appreciative and
spoke of Jim with great warmth. After Chertsey, he returned to become an assistant chaplain to the junior end of
our growing school in Bolton – but illness struck and he had two strokes which sapped his energy, and sadly his
confidence.
The two Jims met up at Farnborough. They were different in their characters and their approach, but they both
responded to God’s call. The charism of Don Bosco shaped both their lives. For both, their active years preceded
long periods of ill health. We could easily forget what they did and what they stood for. We owe it to them and to
ourselves not to forget, nor to pass by too quickly.
I end with that quotation from Cardinal Newman again. The first duty of charity is to try and enter into the mind and
feelings of others.
This could well be an epitaph for both our Jims, and perhaps, for us – a goal.
May they rest in peace.
Fr John Gilheney SDB
SISTER BEORCHIA
DOLORA FMA 1911 - 2007
Dolores, as she was always known, was born at Majina, Udine, Italy and professed, as a
Salesian Sister, at Casanova on 6th August 1932. In 1933 she was sent to England.
For the next 26 years Sister Dolores worked in the linen rooms and laundries of the Salesian houses at Battersea,
Cowley, Farnborough and Chertsey with a period of nine years in the house at Chertsey during the war when, as
an alien, her movements were restricted. She also spent the years 1952-55 in the linen room of the same house
where there was a boarding school. One of the boarders from that time still visited Sister Dolores until recently.
From 1961 onwards Sister Dolores worked in the laundry in Sandrock Hall, Hastings, a home for girls in need of
support. There she helped with the assistance of the girls, several of whom kept in contact with her. Then she
worked in our houses in Liverpool, Cowley Streatham and Chertsey, usually in the linen room, but sometimes
helping in the kitchen. At the age of 80 having suffered great pain for some time, she had a hip replacement and
made a wonderful recovery.
During the years in Hastings and Chertsey, she spent time in the garden, growing vegetables and flowers for the
community, bringing in the flowering plants during the winter to decorate the windowsills in the corridor outside the
chapel. In 1999 she went back to Cowley to retire, but was always to be seen helping with the washing and
ironing and cleaning until she became too unwell.
Just after Christmas, she had what appeared to be a stroke and lost the power of
speech. She was admitted to hospital, where everything possible was done for her,
but she became steadily weaker until, with her sisters and the hospital chaplain by
her bedside, she was united to her Lord.
As a younger sister, Sister Dolores had rather a stern and serious appearance, which
hid a heart of gold, but she mellowed as she grew older and smiled more often. She
was much loved by all who looked after her.
Sister Elizabeth Purcell
Provincial
THIS SEASON’S BOOKS
DON BOSCO TODAY
20
!
P R I C E L I S T - S P R I N G 2 0 0 7
I would like to order:- Author QTY Price
each
LOST & FOUND M. Cunningham SDB 7.00
CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION D O’Malley SDB 7.00
THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER D O’Malley SDB 5.50
DON BOSCO CARDS 30p
MAMMA MARGARET CARDS 30p
101 SAINTS AND SPECIAL PEOPLE Lives of Saints for children K Pearce 12.00
A TIME FOR COMPASSION M Cunningham SDB 7.00
CHLOE AND JACK VISIT THE VATICAN a children’s guide to the Vatican K Pearce 5.00
DON BOSCO The friend of children and young people K Pearce 5.00
DON BOSCO’S GOSPEL WAY Reflections of the life of Don Bosco M Winstanley SDB 7.00
DON’T ORGANISE MY TEARS Reflections on bereavement A Bailey SDB 10.00
GOD OF MANY FACES Reflective verses M Renshaw FMA 3.00
GOOD NEWS IN THE FAMILY The life of Jesus in story form K Pearce 5.00
MAMMA MARGARET The Life of Don Bosco’s Mother Teresio Bosco SDB 7.00
MEMORY GAME based on ‘101 Saints and Special People’ K Pearce 6.00
MOVING ON Book of reflective poetry Margaret J Cooke 6.00
OUR COLOURFUL CHURCH YEAR K Pearce 5.00
ORDINARY WAYS Spiritual reflections for teachers & youth leaders D O’Malley SDB 5.00
PRAYERS TO CLOSE THE DAY D O’Malley SDB 5.00
PRAYERS TO START THE DAY D O’Malley SDB 4.00
ROSIE AND KATIE GO TO MASS K Pearce 5.00
DVD ROSIE GOES TO CHURCH A child’s guide to the church K Pearce 9.00
BOOK ROSIE GOES TO CHURCH A child’s guide to the church K Pearce 5.00
SEAN DEVEREUX A life given for Africa 1964-1993 M Delmer SDB 7.00
SERVING THE YOUNG Our Catholic Schools Today J Gallagher SDB 6.00
TEACHER, TEACH US TO PRAY for use in primary schools W Acred FMA 5.00
THE WITNESSES Seven witnesses narrate their part in the Passion W Acred FMA 3.00
TRUST THE ROAD 2nd edition with coloured illustrations D O’Malley SDB 6.00
VIA LUCIS How to pray the stations of the Resurrection D O’Malley SDB 7.00
WITHIN & WITHOUT Renewing Religious Life M Cunningham SDB 7.00
TOTAL
R e d u c t i o n s a v a i l a b l e
f o r m u l t i p l e
c o p i e s - P h o n e 0 1 2 0 4 3 0 8 8 1 1
P R I C E S R E V I S E D T O
I N C L U D E PA C K I N G &
N E W P O S TA L R AT E S
6 Pa g e C a r d s
S h o r t i n f o r m a t i o n b i o g r a p h y
o f D o n B o s c o a n d M a m m a
M a r g a r e t
O n l y 3 0 p e a c h
Fr Albert van Hecke SDB, Regional Salesian Superior for Northern
Europe, with Fr David O’Malley and Fr Michael Cunningham
