by Father Leon Cruz Ratinam for BISMumbai

The MumbaiSalesians' regional leaders of the Salesian Youth Movement [SYM] gathered for a 02-day programme on 11 and 12 December 2021. Youth leaders from the zones of Gujarat, Ahmednagar, Pune, Nashik and Mumbai were called at Don Bosco Provincial house Mumbai. This was the 1st meet of the zonal SYM leaders for training. The main themes were Salesian Identity, Salesian Pedagogy, Salesian Spirituality and interactions with the various SYM Groups of the province.

The day started with prayer service followed by ice-breakers. The session on Salesian Identity helped the youth to know more on the SYM Logo, the Don Bosco way of living, the core principles of preventive system and the dimensions of the Salesian Youth Ministry. As leaders the youth also learnt about the SYM Spirituality, its importance and how they can live the Salesian spirituality in their daily life. In the afternoon the youth participated in the Miles for Christ programme helping the poor while walking towards the Basilica of the Lady of Mount, Bandra followed by a short sightseeing at Bandstand. Returning back to the Youth services the SYM-CTF (Covid Task Force) members were called for a felicitation on their remarkable work in creating a daily database for Covid beds, ambulances, oxygen cylinders, plasma and much more during the second wave of Covid. The chief guest Dr. Cheryl D’Souza mentioned that more than 1700 people were helped through the collaboration of SYM-CTF and the Health Outreach Team of the Archdiocese of Bombay. The youth shared their touching experiences on how they were part of SYM-CTF and helped in saving lives. The Covid Task Force youth were awarded with a “Young Covid Warrior” medal for their hard work and time they gave for this noble work.

The second day began with the youth arriving at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park to spend time with nature. In the woods, the SYM-YGR (Young Green Researchers) leaders Shanize and Pramila were invited to speak on their research projects and share their experience. The future roadmap was discussed by the President of SYM Core team Beverly D’Souza and Br. Bryce Fernandes. The youth let their voices be heard discussing the challenges they face in their zones as well as speaking of solutions to those problems. The day concluded with Tea with Salesians, an interactive session where ideas and solutions were shared out related to the questions they were asked. The regional SYM leaders went back enriched and more committed to take forward the Salesian Youth Movement in their respective zones.