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Don Bosco Today Year 120 Issue 1

THE SALESIAN BULLETIN • YEAR 120 • ISSUE 1 • SPRING 2012

Don Bosco Today

In 2015, we shall be celebrating the bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco. I think we can say
that Don Bosco made an extraordinary impact on the world, in his commitment to improving
the lot of the disadvantaged of his day. Our Rector Major, Fr Pascual Chavez, invites us to make
a three-year preparation for the bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco - beginning by trying to
understand Don Bosco:

In this first year of preparation the image of Don Bosco, and his activity, should be seriously
reconstructed, beginning from where we are today. Radical changes in our world force us
to rethink and revise the image of Don Bosco. The significance of Don Bosco also has to be
rediscovered, beyond his works, especially in his practical and deep-felt perception of the
problem of neglected youth, and his great ability to communicate this to large crowds of
co-workers, benefactors and admirers.

The image of any saint, so often, suffers from being misunderstood. We can so easily see saints
in our terms, attributing to them the kind of qualities we would like them to possess, our image
of them. The task of understanding Don Bosco is a daunting challenge. I hope some of the
articles in this issue of Don Bosco Today may help us understand him.

We begin with the dream John Bosco had when he was only nine years of age, a dream that
remained with him throughout his life, inspiring him and his followers to devote themselves
to disadvantaged youth. We then have the story of one woman’s vocation, Sister Gill, a story
which is mirrored in all our lives as we try to discover our own vocation.

I introduce Ebooks because Don Bosco always wanted to be in the vanguard of progress in
publishing books. Again, Fr Pascual Chávez reminds us:

In particular, we try to understand the new way young people are living their lives; many
of them are digital natives who through the new technologies are seeking opportunities
for social mobility and instantaneous communication. In this area, too, we want to share
their interests; animated by the creative spirit of Don Bosco, we educators approach them
as digital immigrants, helping them to overcome the generation gap with their parents and
the world of adults.

I cannot end this editorial without mentioning Sister Margaret Renshaw, a Salesian Sister,
who died a few months ago. I was privileged to know her as a good friend whose life shone
with true Salesian joy.
May I take this opportunity to thank you all, for your generosity in supporting the
work of Don Bosco, your thoughtfulness continues to amaze me.

Sincerely
Tony Bailey SDB

a.bailey@salesians.org.uk

Editorial

Contacts & CreditsContents

4 A Boy with a Dream

6My Vocation

Bosco Bear 9

Scottish Salesian Welcome 8

Salesian Ebooks 13

A Good Book 20

Do not forget Haiti 14

One of Our Stars 16

Sister Margaret FMA 18

DON BOSCO PUBLICATIONS
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I would like to recall Don Bosco’s dream at nine
years of age. In fact, it seems to me that this dream
provides a simple, but at the same time, a prophetic
presentation of the spirit and the mission of Don
Bosco. In it the field of work entrusted to him was
described:
• The young; the aim of his apostolate was

pointed out.
• to make them grow as individuals through

education.
• a method of education which would be

effective was offered him: the Preventive
System,

• the context in which all that he did, and today
all that we do, was presented.

• the marvellous plan of God, who, first of all,
and more than anything else, loves the young.

It is He who enriches young people with all kinds

of gifts and makes them responsible for their
development, so that they can take their rightful
place in society. In God’s plan, not only are they
assured of success in this life, but of eternal
happiness too. Let us therefore listen to the words
of Don Bosco, and we will hear the dream of his
life:
It was at the age of nine that I had a dream. Throughout
my life this dream remained deeply impressed on my
mind. In this dream I seemed to be near my home in
a fairly large yard. A crowd of children were playing
there. Some were laughing, some were playing games,
and quite a few were swearing. When I heard these
evil words, I jumped immediately amongst them and
tried to stop them by using my words and my fists.
At that moment a dignified man appeared, a nobly
dressed adult. He wore a white cloak, and his face
shone so that I could not look directly at him.

He called me by name, told me to take charge of
these children, and added these words:
You will have to win these friends of yours
not by blows but by gentleness and love.
Start right away to teach them the ugliness of sin
and the value of virtue.
Confused and frightened, I replied that I was a poor,
ignorant child. I was unable to talk to those youngsters
about religion. At that moment, the youngsters
stopped their fighting, shouting, and swearing;
they gathered round the man who was speaking.
Hardly knowing what I was saying, I asked,
Who are you, ordering me to do the impossible?
Precisely because it seems impossible to you,
you must make it possible through obedience and
the acquisition of knowledge.
Where, by what means, can I acquire knowledge?
I will give you a teacher. Under her guidance
you can become wise. Without her, all wisdom is
foolishness.
But who are you that speak so?
I am the son of the woman whom your mother has
taught you to greet three times a day.
My mother tells me not to mix with people I don’t
know unless I have her permission.
So tell me your name.
Ask my mother what my name is.

At that moment, I saw a lady of stately appearance
standing beside him. She was wearing a mantle that
sparkled all over, as though covered with bright stars.
Seeing from my questions and answers that I was more
confused than ever, she beckoned me to approach
her. She took me kindly by the hand and said, Look.
Glancing round, I realised that the youngsters had all
apparently run away. A large number of goats, dogs,
cats, bears, and other animals had taken their place.
This is the field of your work.
Make yourself humble, strong, and energetic.
And what you will see happening to these animals
in a moment is what you must do for my children.
I looked round again, and where before I had seen wild
animals, I now saw gentle lambs. They were all jumping
and bleating, as if to welcome that man and lady.
At that point, still dreaming, I began crying. I begged
the lady to speak so that I could understand her,
because I did not know what all this could mean.
She then placed her hand on my head and said,
In good time you will understand everything.
With that, a noise woke me up and everything
disappeared. I was totally bewildered. My hands
seemed to be sore from the blows I had given, and
my face hurt from those I had received. The memory

of the man and the lady, and the things said and
heard, so occupied my mind that I could not get any
more sleep that night.

Don Bosco wrote that this dream remained deeply
impressed on my mind for the whole of my life.
Today we can say that Don Bosco lived in order
to change the dream into reality. Well then, what
our dear Father took as his plan of life, making
the good of young people his purpose in life.
and devoting, to them, all his energies until his
last breath, is what we are all being called to do.
The following story illustrates very eloquently
Don Bosco’s desire to be for young people a sign of
love that would never fail.

Our music continues
Imagine the courtyard of a prison in an 18th century
European colony. It is dawn and while the sun begins
to fill the eastern sky with golden colours a prisoner
is brought out into the yard to be executed. He is
a priest, condemned to death for his opposition
to the cruelty with which the natives in the colony
were being treated. He is standing against a wall and
gazes at the firing squad, his fellow countrymen.
Before blindfolding him the officer asks him the
traditional question about his final wishes. The reply
surprises everyone: he asks to be able to play his flute
for one last time. The soldiers are put at ease while
they wait for the prisoner to play. When the notes
begin to fill the silent morning air the whole prison
is flooded with music which, sweet and enchanting,
fills with peace that place which is a daily witness to
violence and sadness. The officer is worried because
the longer the music lasts, the more absurd his task
seems to be. He therefore orders the soldiers to open
fire. The priest dies instantly, but to the amazement
of all present the music continues its dance of life;
death is outfaced.

Where does this sweet music of life come from?
In a society totally committed to silencing Christ’s
message, I think it is our vocation to be among
those who continue to make the music of life heard.
In a world, doing everything it can to prevent the
young hearing the insistent invitation of Christ to
come and see, it is our privilege to have been drawn
to Don Bosco and to have been encouraged to
play the music of the heart, to bear witness to the
transcendent, to exercise a spiritual fatherhood, to
lead youngsters in a direction which corresponds
to their dignity and to their most genuine desires.
This is the dance of the Spirit! This is God’s music!

Fr Pascual Chávez SDB (Rector Major)

I’m Gill, I’m 37, I’m a Chelsea
supporter and I’m a Salesian
Sister, recently-professed. My
response to God’s call in my life
has not been something that
happened overnight, but has
been a real journey of faith, with
its ups and downs, its certainties
and uncertainties.

When I was nineteen years of
age, I spent the best part of a year
with a religious Congregation,
as I strived to respond to what
I believed to be the Lord’s call in
my life. However, the experience
didn’t quite work out as I had
hoped and after a few months in
community in Britain and four
months in Italy, I came home -
still trying to understand that
call. This period of my life,
though confusing, uncertain
and, at times, painful, was one
I would look back on years later
and see as a stepping stone to
where I am I now.

As I had worked with children
for the previous two years and
knew that was certainly a part
of where my life was headed,
I decided to spend the follow-
ing year in Sweden as a nanny.
Something new, something dif-
ferent and something challeng-
ing. During that year many
things became clear to me – my

My Vocation

My vocation, like all our vocations, began in the plan of God, long before I was born; as the prophet
Jeremiah reminds us:

Before I formed you in the womb
I knew you,
and before you were born
I consecrated you.

But I became aware of my vocation,
initially, in my final years at school.
However it took a long time for me to fully
understand it.

passion was working with children and young
people, my Catholic faith was extremely important
to me. I was in a Lutheran country which was
predominantly atheist and where Catholic churches
were scarce, and so for the first time in my life my
commitment to living my faith was challenged. It
was difficult to get to Church on a Sunday and not
always understood, but it was during this year that
my relationship with Christ became really personal.
At the end of the year I decided to come back home
and to go to university. I had begun to do some
scripture study whilst in Italy and so a growing
passion combined with a deepening faith led me to
go to university to study Theology, then R.E.

It was at the end of this course that I would meet
the Salesians and things would change forever. An
opportunity for a job, as Assistant Retreat Team
Leader at Savio House Retreat Centre came up.
Despite my late application, I was offered the job.
It was a two-year contract and it was my intention
to stay just two years. Having never heard of Don
Bosco or the Salesians before, my plan was concrete.
But the more I came to know Don Bosco and Salesian
ways, the more things began to change - the more I
began to be challenged by the same call that I had
heard so many years before.

Those two years turned into eight – some of the best
years of my life. Savio House became more than a
job – it was a way of living, of being, of serving the
Lord. As I continually evaluated where I was at – I
realised that, in many ways, being there enabled
me to respond to what the Lord was asking of me -
ministry to young people, community life, a call to
an ever-deeper prayer life and relationship with God.
Luckily enough, I LOVED it. The Salesian Priests and
Brothers, with whom I lived in community, were a
huge inspiration to me. They truly lived, prayed and
worked together in a way that I now understand as
the Salesian Family Spirit.

So why move? I was happy. All of the above made
sense, plus I had good friends, a car, a flat, holidays
etc. But something was missing, or rather not fully
present because so many other things impinged on
HIS space. I knew I was being called to something
more radical; to a more committed way of life.

One day, a friend, asked me, But if you could be an
SDB, would you? That question will stick with me
forever. It was a huge catalyst in what would follow.
I couldn’t be called to Religious life, I’d been there, and
moved on. Or so I thought. To cut a very long story
short, I began an accompaniment programme which
led to me to ask to spend a year in community with
the Salesian Sisters.

I spent two years in Kendal, deepening my
relationship with God. I realised that the same
spirit of Don Bosco, was being lived out in both
communities. Mary Mazzarello wasn’t Don Bosco,
but the call to witness to Christ, as a Salesian, is the
same. I asked to begin the novitiate and officially join
the Salesian Sisters.

And so to the international novitiate in Italy for
two years, and a real journey of self-discovery, of

disciplined life and prayer, and of stripping back all
the superficiality of life to make room for the Lord.
A tough enlightening journey and the blessing of
meeting 40 other young women from all over Europe,
responding to the same call to Salesian religious life
today.

On 5th August, in Kendal, I made my first profession
as an FMA – knowing that in different places and at
different times, my companions would be doing the
same. Our prayers for each other, in that moment
of pure gift, keep us journeying together. It was a
wonderful youthful and family celebration of love,
faith and commitment.

I am now back in the province, part of the Liverpool
community – a community of eleven sisters, varying
in age. It’s a wonderful place to be. I am attached to
St John Bosco School as a Youth Worker and am also
involved with VIDES – our volunteer organisation.
I feel my gifts are being used and challenged for the
good of young people, and that my time in novitiate
has given me a good grounding to try daily to
harmonise the spirit of prayer and of work that Don
Bosco and Madre Mazzarello did so well.

I have been welcomed and accepted in school and
the girls and staff and have been really open and
welcoming. Some of the girls find it hard to believe
I’m a religious sister – Are you really a nun? I didn’t
think nuns were young. Their words, not mine, – but
it certainly makes real at least the knowledge that
religious life is still a choice today.

It has been, and continues to be, a crazy adventure,
filled with so many graces and blessings, which
have given me life and guided me on each step
of the journey. Even in moments of darkness or
disillusionment, there has been a deep peace that
convinces me I am where I am called to be. As in any
walk of life, there are challenges and difficulties but
the key is in learning to trust the Lord’s plan over my
own. This calls for a daily abandonment and trust in
Him who calls, and though not always easy to do,
is definitely worth the effort and is what ultimately
leads to joy and happiness.

It’s that joy and happiness that I try to convey to the
youngsters I meet daily, in the hope that they too will
hear, in the midst of the noise of today’s world, the
call of the Lord for their lives, and that in responding
wholeheartedly, they will find that same peace, joy
and happiness.

Some days stand out in your mind as good days, days to remember, days that could hardly be better. January 28th 2012 was such a day. It was a Saturday morning we left Bolton at 5.30am to drive to Easterhouse in Glasgow for a Salesian Study Day. The boot of our car was full of books, our eyes full
of sleep but our hearts full of hope. Four hours later we drove into the grounds of St Benedict’s Primary
School, Easterhouse. Would this be a good day? It began well – with a welcoming janitor who provided
us with an ideal site for our bookstall. As we spread out our books on the tables, people began to drift
into the hall. Most of them we had never met before but we were greeted like long-lost friends. We
were made to feel at home. Selling Salesian books to members of the Salesian Family is a very special
experience. It is not just a commercial exchange, not I hand you a book, and You hand me money for it.
Rather it becomes an exchange of appreciation - You really are going to enjoy this book, and I’m sure I’m
going to benefit from this book. It’s an opportunity for them to say to you what was so good about the
last book or swatch they bought and what they are looking for in the next book. Often the books they
are buying have been written by a Salesian they have known and appreciated, so reading the book is like
meeting that person again.

I had the privilege to say a few words as part of the input of the day. The most important point I wanted
to make was to say a very sincere thank-you for all the support the Scottish members of our Salesian
Family had given to Don Bosco Publications over the years. Having said how much Don Bosco valued
books, I explained that I regarded each new book that we published as a new Salesian in the sense that
a good book is the bearer of good news and as Don Bosco reminded us so often a book can go where
no Salesian can venture. The book waits patiently, with a rich message within it, for the moment when a
person is ready to read it and perhaps prepared to accept the good news within.

I would like to thank the wonderful people we met in Glasgow that day. We were reminded that the
Salesian Family is alive and well and living in Scotland.

Tony Bailey SDB

A Scottish Salesian Welcome

THE BEAR FACTS
Hi Children,
Spring is in the air; Suzi Squirrel has just finished hibernating
so she’s busy waking up! Molly Magpie is putting away her hockey stick
and looking for her tennis racquet.
Graham Greyhound has got his head down studying
because he’s got SATs soon.
We’re all trying to save some money to give to Charities during Lent.
Then it’ll be time for Easter Eggs. Yes!
Rio’s busy planning April Fools.
He thought it would be a good
idea to ring me at 5 am,
to fool me into thinking it was time
for school.

I look forward to some really dark, dry, clear nights because I’ve got a telescope;.
I love looking at the night sky. I get really well wrapped up and sit out in my garden.

It’s amazing what you can see: stars aren’t white you know!
The Moon looks so near and you can see craters and mountains.

With a powerful telescope
you can even see people walking about
Yes….I’m practising for April Fools’ Day myself.

A Scottish Salesian Welcome

TO OCSOB AND BACK
PLENTY OF SPACE

There’s a lot of space in Space, isn’t there,
observed Suzi Squirrel,
as she looked out
from inside the Space Shuttle.
Bosco and his friends
were escaping to the Planet Gemini 22
because Earth was under attack
from Andromeda 117B.
At least all Humans are on the same side
for once! declared Bosco.

ALIEN ATTACK

Riveting rockets, shouted Bosco. We’ll use MAHEM against them!
Great, said a confident Rio…. What exactly is MAHEM by the way?
It’s the Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition that’s been made to fight wars
in Space, replied the Captain. I like it, enthused Rio.
Kapooow,kapooow…. This was the most fun he’d had in ages!
One by one the enemy retreated.
You’ll get a medal for that, Rio, smiled Bosco.
You’ve saved us from destruction!

BACK TO THE PRESENT

Weightlessness was great fun, as the friends used their Jet Packs to fly from their apartment near Darth Vadar
Park to the Luke Skywalker school,
No traffic jams here, Rio was pleased to observe.What’s on at school today? he asked.
Astronomy this morning and Thermodynamics after lunch, replied a keen Molly.
You know the school has its own 4-wheel drive Space Buggy for us to use to collect rock samples,
added Suzi.
Brilliant! they all agreed.

A bell rang. It was 5 o’clock. Right, said Bosco. Time to go home,
unfortunately. It had been a great day out,
at the Darkwood Village Space Simulation Centre.
I wonder if humans WILL live on other planets one day,
pondered Molly? I wouldn’t be surprised, replied Bosco.

Suddenly Suzi jumped out of
her skin. She had been star-
gazing looking at
Meteors and Comets, when
she saw Alien Spaceships
hurtling towards them.
Aayyy, she screamed. Bosco,
Rio…… look!!

TO OCSOB AND BACK
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

Finally they reached the settlement of Ocsob on Gemini 22.
Are there any little green men here, asked a nervous Suzi?
Don’t be silly Suzi laughed Molly Magpie. I’d only be worried if there were
some BIG green men!
The Aliens living on Ocsob were very small and very friendly but it was
their 2 heads and 4 hands which were hard to get used to.
I’ve got my translation book here, pointed out Molly.
The tricky part is that, when they speak, musical notes come out and not
words, but I’ll do my best! Rio had a thought. I’ll Google ‘ocsobspeak’ on my
I-Pad and see what I can find out. Good idea, smiled Molly.

LEARNING TO FLY

BACK TO THE PRESENT

Our Sun is a star and Earth is a planet which orbits around it and
depends on it for light and heat. We live in a Galaxy (a group of stars)
called the Milky Way. There are 100,000,000,000 stars in the Milky
Way: that is not 1 million, not 1 thousand million but 100 thousand
million Can you begin to imagine that? The next nearest star to us is
called Proxima Centauri: it is not 1 million miles away not 100 million
miles away, not one million, million miles away but 23 million million
miles away, and it’s the NEAREST of the 100,000,000,000 stars in our
Galaxy apart from our Sun. How far away is that and how mind-
bogglingly huge is the Milky Way and that’s just our galaxy out of
millions more in the Universe! Lots of people are interested in what’s
out there. More people watched the first Moon landing in 1969, than
any other TV programme ever.

As humans we take a lot of interest in what happens in the area or
town or school or place where we work and live. Some people are
interested in the rest of the world too. But, maybe, as we live our lives
we need to open our eyes much wider and see what is beyond our
World and our Sun in the phenomenal UNIVERSE……and perhaps
think about where it all came from.

SPRING COMPETITION 2012
Bosco and his friends are on a day out from school. Describe, in
no more than 50 words, your best day-out from school or parish.

Please include your Name, Age and Address and send entries to:
Don Bosco Publications
Thornleigh House
Sharples Park
Bolton Lancs. BL1 6PQ

AUTUMN 2011 - OLYMPIC COMPETITION ANSWERS
Q1 Madrid Q2 Squash and Karate Q3 Swimming Sailing, Cycling, Athletics.
Q4 Mount Olympus. Q5 Kelly Holmes. Q6 China. Q7 Brazil Q8 Red green
yellow blue and black. Q9 (a) Heptathlon. (b) 5000/10000 metres.

The winner of this competition is Harry Birkett from Bolton.
He will be receiving his prize soon.

TWENTY THREE MILLION MILLION MILES AWAY

Salesian Ebooks
As a priest, Don Bosco devoted much of his life to writing books, to printing
books, to publishing books. So much so, on the 24th May 1946, Don Bosco
was declared the patron saint of Catholic publishers by Pope Pius XII. In a well-
known passage, reprinted on the back of this magazine, Don Bosco declared his
firm belief in the power of a good book. The last sentence of this passage reads:

In a village, it may pass from hand to hand, befriend a hundred villagers or
more. In a city, God alone knows the good a book produces. Borrowed from a
library, bought in a bookshop, found at the side of a hospital bed, it becomes a
welcome friend.

Since the printing revolution of Johannes Gutenberg, in the fifteenth century,
publishing has always meant printing with ink on paper. Towards the end of the
last century the metal lead was replaced by more sophisticated ways of putting the
ink on the paper. In the last few years we have witnessed an astounding revolution
in publishing with the advent of the Ebook. The Ebook is a book, in digital format,
which is read on an Ebook reader - a small electronic device about the size of an
ordinary book, but which can hold about 2000 ebooks.

A few months ago, in Don Bosco Publications, we decided to convert some of our
books into Ebooks and publish them on the Amazon website. It was a step into a
different world, from catering for a limited market in this country we were effectively
going global. Each of our books is now available to anybody in the world - anyone
who has a computer, an iphone or a Kindle Ebook reader can download, in a few
seconds, any one of our books.

Why should anyone download one of our books? There are many reasons. The main
reason is the recommendation of a friend. Even the word recommendation has taken
on a new meaning now. When a person browses the Amazon website and sees one
of our books it remains an unknown book, unless recommended. How is a book
recommended? On the Amazon website there is an opportunity to add an opinion
on any book - to say if you liked it, or if you didn’t like it: to say why you liked it or
didn’t like it, and would you recommend others to download it and read it. I would
encourage anyone who has read one of our books to add a review; to pass on the good
news; to spell out the benefits offered by that particular book.

If Don Bosco were alive today, I suspect he would welcome the global opportunities
offered by the internet and he might write:

In one country, a good ebook may pass from phone to phone; befriend
thousands of people or more. In the digital world, God alone knows the good
an ebook produces. Downloaded from a website, recommended by email, seen
on Twitter, it becomes a welcome friend.

Tony Bailey SDB

In over 130 counties the Salesians
and other groups of the Salesian
Family are engaged in education,
in evangelisation, in safeguarding
and promoting human rights,
especially those of the smallest
and most disadvantaged - Don
Bosco’s inheritance – expressed
through the Preventive System –

still demonstrates its effectiveness
even today. This can be seen in
the hundreds of current projects
in every part of the world and
the thousands of youngsters and
young people who, often with their
families, are benefiting every day
from these Christian and social
projects.

Do not forget Haiti

On 12th January 2010 an earthquake of 7.0 with its
epicentre about 25 kilometres from Port-au-Prince
severely struck Haiti. The extent of the damage
was enormous; according to the International Red
Cross and UNO, over 3 million people were caught
up in the earthquake. Two years later the work of
reconstruction continues, and for the Salesians,
the task of educating and training the young.

The work of the Salesians was seriously affected.
In various places buildings were damaged and
collapsed, but more tragic was the loss of human
life. Brother Hubert Sanon, two young Salesians in
formation, Atsime Wilfrid, Vibrun Valsaint, and
about 250 youngsters in the ENAM centre were
buried under the rubble. Other pupils from Salesian
schools and members of the Salesian Family lost
their lives when their homes, churches or places
of work collapsed. The Madrid Mission Office has
issued a press release with some information about
the work of the Salesians
in Haiti, concerned in
the first place to educate
and train the next
generation of Haitians.

There are over 23,000
young people and more
than 1,200 teachers at
present in the Salesian
centres of education:
schools and vocational
training centres. After
two years of intense
work and great efforts,
many youngsters once again have the opportunity
to be educated and to take the lead in the rebirth
of their country.

For example, at Cap Haitien over 850 youngsters
attend ordinary school and there are 145 in the
agricultural school. In the Don Bosco Polytechnical
Centre at Fort Liberté, 120 students are following
courses in building and carpentry and nursing.
At Timtake there are over 600 pupils and soon
there will be places for over 1,000 youngsters in
the centre at Gressier, which, in October, received
a visit from Queen Sophía of Spain.

In Haiti, over 80% of the population were living

in poverty before the earthquake, and half the
population could not read or write. Haiti is not a
country afflicted by the earthquake of January 2010,
it is a country that has been despoiled many times
before that, said the Haitian economist Camille
Chalmers. The Salesians, who have been working
there for 75 years, feel that Haiti is a strong country
and the earthquake has given them the possibility
of making it a better country.

Archbishop Louis Kébreau SDB, of Cap Haïtien,
has been selected by the Catholic University of
Notre Dame in the United States as the recipient
of the Prize for services to the citizens of Latin
America. Awarded each year since 2000, the Notre
Dame Prize is in recognition of the efforts of those
who are working in the region, strengthening
democracy and for improvement in the welfare of
the citizens.

Throughout his career, Archbishop
Kébreau has always been on the side
of the poor and dedicated himself to
promoting opportunities for Haitian
children to have access to quality
education. The President of the
University of Notre Dame declared, In
the wake of the 2010 earthquake, he has
been instrumental in helping Haitians
rebuild damaged churches and schools
while ministering to their physical and
spiritual needs. He richly deserves the
Notre Dame Prize for Distinguished
Public Service in Latin America.

Archbishop Kébreau has been an advocate for the
homeless, the needy and the less fortunate; he is
not afraid to take a stand for justice nor is he afraid
to confront the evils of Haiti with a holy anger.

The Notre Dame Prize carries a $15,000 cash
prize, with a matching amount donated to a
charity recommended by the laureate. Upon the
recommendation of Archbishop Kébreau, the
matching prize will be donated to the educational
efforts of Action et Solidarité contre la Pauvreté
(Action and Solidarity against Poverty.)

ANS (Salesian Info Agency)

“Haiti is not a
country afflicted by the
earthquake of January
2010, it is a country
that has been despoiled
many times before that.

“

In Hong Kong, I think it is true to say that Ka Ming is
one of our stars! He said that the first big change in his
life was in 2004, when he was studying in Form 4. He
began to go out with a girl in his class and his school
results began to get worse. Then because his results
were poor he began to skip school altogether and
hang around in the nearby shopping mall. Of
course, he very quickly came to be labelled by
the teachers as bad. In the end the outcome
was obvious. He would have to repeat Form 4.
Ka Ming is intelligent but he is also stubborn.
He didn’t want to lose face by having to stay
behind while all his friends went into a
higher class. He refused to repeat Form 4
and since he was already 16 years old he
decided to leave school and get a job.

His first job was at Youth Outreach

as part of
the ‘Youth
A m b a s s a d o r ’
scheme. He said
that at that time he
thought the work was not
challenging but it helped to
pass the time. Soon after that
he began to hang out on the
streets at night and gradually
his interest in work waned.
But although he thought
h e w a s i n t e l l i g e n t ,
he was in fact quite
inexperienced. He was
soon hanging out
with a cool crowd and
eventually he was s p e n d i ng
almost every evening at a Disco,
enjoying the music, dancing, drinking
and taking drugs. He later told us that some
restaurants put a dish of peanuts on the table
when you ordered a drink, but the places he went to
put a dish of pills! Living like this meant that he had
no energy during the day. His work performance got
increasingly worse and he left us. You could ask Was

he pushed or did he jump? In fact he resigned but
if he had not resigned we would have had to ask him
to leave.

He had a lot of self confidence and thought that
leaving would enable him to do whatever he liked. It
was at this point that he got to know the leaders of
a Triad society and eventually became a member.
He thought he was smart. It never occurred to
him that he was being used. He would build up
a big criminal career for himself and never be
caught by the police. He didn’t have to wait
too long to find out. He was picked up by the
police for involvement in the crimes of his
big brother. He spent time in prison - but
he did not regret what he had done. He
thought that he had been unlucky.

H e
w a s

released
for lack of

evidence but
he just went back

to his Triad friends
and continued his life

of gang fights, trafficking,
distributing and importing

drugs from the mainland.
Hardly sur-prisingly, it was
not long before he finished
up back in prison. This time
one of our social workers
went to visit him regularly
and spoke up on his behalf.
He was sentenced to 18
months probation. Part of

t h e deal was that we offered
h i m a job interview at our
Y o u t h Outreach. We knew he
was intelligent and could be hard-
working. He had been led astray by his
own pride and naivety. We offered him a job in
the courier service we were running at that time but
it was only a part-time post. He could see that if he
was going to go anywhere he would have to prove
that he could work and was dependable.

One of Our Stars

After two months he was promoted to a full-time
post and the smile on his face brightened. After
another couple of months of hard work we offered
him the opportunity to join the Adventure Based
Counselling Team as a technician, but he would have
to join a training course to become qualified for the
post. This meant that during the day he worked as
a courier and in the evening he had to attend the
training program. He did it; and his pride in his
achievement was clear. He left the courier service
and joined the Adventure Based Counselling Team.
Now, he really did have a bright future. He told us
that he thought this was the biggest change in his
life. He learned to see life from the point of view of
others. He helped to teach many different groups
varying from Correctional Services Officers to
university students and he did it well.

Then he dropped a bombshell! He wanted to go
back to school. It wasn’t easy but he worked his
way through the YJing Program which is the
equivalent of finishing Form Five. Then he finished
a Pre-Associate Degree course and signed up for
the Associate Degree. He did all this while he was
still working at Youth Outreach. He had finished the
first year of his Associate Degree, but had to take a
year off to earn some more money to pay his school
fees. By coincidence, just when he began looking for
a job a new Adventure Based Counselling Centre
was opened in Hong Kong and the advertisement
in the newspaper said they were looking for a
Training Officer. He applied - and so did about a
hundred other qualified social workers! He was
short-listed. The interviewing officer was intrigued
by his background and wanted to know why he had
so many qualifications and so much experience in
Adventure Training and why his formal education
was so irregular. When Ka Ming told him about his
life experiences and his training at Youth Outreach
he was offered the post even though other applicants
had better qualifications. He is now responsible for
Adventure Education programs, including program
design and implementation, as well as making
proposals for funding sponsorship. In addition,
he supervises others and is responsible for the
management of the facilities and the equipment.
We wish him well, as he moves bravely into a bright
future.

Youth Outreach is the only agency in Hong Kong
which specializes in dealing with marginalized
youth. These are young people who have run out of
road. They have no goals, no dreams and no ideals.

We try to offer them a way back; to build up their
belief in their own abilities; to value themselves and
their life-styles. We do not promote activities because
they are the latest fashion but because they affirm
and acknowledge the achievements and potential of
these young people. To do this, we have to be with
the young people WHEN and WHERE they are. We
have to be ready to offer them whatever will make a
crucial difference in their lives when they need it. In
those very Salesian words uttered by John Lennon,
All you need is love!

Fr Peter Newberry SDB

Timeline for Youth Outreach Development
Year Unit
1991 Original Crisis Centre for Boys

24-hour hotline
1992 Crisis Centre for Girls

All-Night Outreaching Team
1999 Transitional Housing for Working Boys
2001 Transitional Housing for Working Girls.

Closed in 2004; re-started in 2010
Youth Employment Start-Up Program

2002 The Hang Out – 24 hour drop-in centre
School of Hip Hop
7-Eleven in Kwun Tong (Kowloon)✳

2003 Hong Kong Institute of Youth Studies
(Exchange program with China)

2004 Moved to new purpose-built center
7-Eleven in new building (Hong Kong) ✳
Customer Service & Security for New
Building ✳

2004 Began accepting boys on probation from
the courts

2005 Concorde Psychological Services (CPS)
“Fullness Hair Salon” in Co-operation with
another agency ✳
CO1 Infinity – outlet for art school In Co-
operation with another agency
City Challenge – Adventure Based.

2006 Street Rover 5.5 ton lorry - youth activities
at night

2007 MIN+ (Restaurant) Arts Alive & Studio 365
Sound, lighting and stage management ✳

2010 Accepting girls on probation from the
courts.

✳ Social Enterprise is a business run by Youth Out-
reach on a self-supporting basis, employing young
people from Youth Outreach.

Sister Margaret Renshaw FMA (1920 - 2011)

Margaret was born into a family belonging to a rural Catholic community, in Cumbria, where attending daily Mass was a way of life. She was one of a family of five. Margaret recalls that once on a visit home she tried to dissuade her mother from toiling up the hill to attend Mass every day.
Her mother’s reply was, If you realised what the Mass is, you would go up on your knees! All her
life, Margaret had a great love of the Eucharist. Most likely it was her parents’ love for the Mass which was a
factor in their son William, choosing to become a Salesian priest. Fr William died in 1973.

When she was 14 years of age, Margaret’s family moved south to Cowley, Oxford where she met the Salesian
Sisters for the first time. She was attracted by their joy, practicality and the deep-centred feeling of peace and
stability. Margaret asked to become a Sister, and was professed in 1940. Margaret trained as a teacher and
during her long life she worked with the young at all stages from Junior school to Secondary. In the early
sixties, Sr Margaret added to her qualifications by studying in France. Sr Margaret taught in our houses in
Cowley, Battersea, Chertsey and Henley-on-Thames. She was always known for her gentle ways, her warm
welcoming smile, her ability to listen and her firm, but kind, discipline. One headteacher stated: Sr Mar-
garet’s greatest role was as a wise counsellor to and confidante of the senior girls. Her tact, sym-
pathy and understanding were important to them. Many former pupils continued to seek her advice
and guidance. In 1977 Sr Margaret accepted the role of headteacher in the Sacred Heart Primary School in
Henley-on-Thames and at this time was also Community Leader. During these years, she was interviewed
for a local newspaper. The journalist asked Sr Margaret what further ambitions she had as a Headteacher
who had made it to the top. Sr Margaret’s answer was unequivocal: to do a good job, to make a
happy and caring school, teaching the children to respect the rights and feelings of others. She was
one who had understood and put into practice Don Bosco’s way. In 1988, Sr Margaret was asked to move to
our house in Kendal. Here she became the essence of hospitality to all who rang the bell or telephoned the
house. Always available for the many visitors: always ready to give time to listen and advise, to take delight
in the beautiful surroundings and to express some of her spirituality in poetry. In recent years, she continued
to assist those in need by teaching English to young men from foreign lands who were fighting addiction.

When a few months ago, Sr Margaret was diagnosed with cancer she decided not to have treatment but to
accept her condition bravely. She died as she had lived, with deep serenity, gratitude for the support and
care of her Sisters and ready to go into the loving arms of her Saviour. May she rest in peace and pray for the
needs of the Province which she so loved. We finish with her own words written at the time of her diamond
jubilee eleven years ago: Many changes have taken place in my lifetime but the Salesian joy and
spirit are still manifest and I can say with truth after 60 years of religious life that I am proud
and glad to be a Salesian Sister. Amen.

Sr Pauline Clark FMA (Provincial)

Death
What is death? It is that I shall see

The Christ who, invisible, walked this earth with me.
The one, who loved and cherished me from birth,

Now has come, to take me from this earth.
I’ll feel His arms around me, in loving care.

Taking me home, where I shall breathe God’s air.
In awe, I’ll gaze at pierced hands and feet,

Life now divine and wondrous sweet.
My Lord, death is to be at one with Thee,

All Thy glory and Thy joy to see,
I forever worshipping and loving Thee.

Sister Margaret
18

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