2008

Intercampus ANGOLA

Hello dear friends,
I want to tell the little big beautiful experience just ended. Some time ago we spoke of a collaboration between the Dom Bosco and Polidesportivo Intercampus (Internazionale FC). We lived 21-30 of November the Intercampus I ANGOLA. What it was? From Milan came
dell'INTERCAMPUS a director, Massimo Seregni, and a coach, Alberto Giacomini. We moved to Luanda in the house Dominic Savio, in the near Viana with their children and 80 + at an age between 9 and 12, plus 14 alleducadori, two leaders of oratory. What have we done? The
alleducatori an intensive course (theory morning, afternoon practice) on the following topics:

* TRAINING IN JUVENILE
* Coach: *
teacher and educator and education
Football Coaching * = educate? * = Educate
Why Coaching? * Two models
coach

* TRAINING * Organization * Objectives of the training session

Children in the meantime have carried out the activities typical of our summer camps, with the first tournament in Angola Intercampus.
The course was not easy but it helped us to improve the quality of our alleducatori showing no mercy, once again all the limitations of school education Angolan still seriously inadequate. The ability to concentrate and attention of our boys in fact are often very poor, as well as the cultural level has yet to grow a lot. The coach Alberto has been very good to accompany the boys and Salesian has adapted and starting from where they are, tried to raise them. The final test was merciless on the 14 only 4 have passed, but we had calculated. During the year there will be additional courses to better assimilate the course content.
very positive came from the initial difficulties of the relationship between children and those who came from Lixeira of St. Paul. The different social class was present, but with the efforts all at the end of the camp was successfully overcome. For us, sport is a means of social inclusion and we are happy to have occurred once again the value and effectiveness.
The various training events (theater, meetings, film) have made that children reflect on the importance of the meeting, of being together and not so much of what you have or where you live.
The next round will be the Polidesportivo December 19, ending the year with a feast of sporting Lixeira. In the Blog
www.angolalixeira.spaces.live.com photos.

Hope

Hope.

"Hope" is a word often used, sometimes with certainty is an abused word, used inapropriamente. We live in difficult times, as in the opulent West Africa. Hope in these times is not easy, it almost seems that I can hardly hope for. I think a number of Western nations with the highest number of suicide: the presence of hope but of despair. I and many others like me, living with a "manufacturing defect", we hope. I like to call myself a man of hope and my hope has solid foundations: God

The unforgotten Brother Roger reminds us: "The source of hope is in God, who can not che amare e che instancabilmente ci cerca». Nelle Scritture ebraiche, questa Sorgente misteriosa della vita che noi chiamiamo Dio si fa conoscere perché chiama gli esseri umani a entrare in una relazione con lui: stabilisce un’alleanza con loro. La Bibbia definisce le caratteristiche del Dio dell’alleanza con due parole ebraiche: hesed e emet (Esodo 34,6; Salmi 25,10; 40,11-12; 85,11). Generalmente, si traducono con «amore» e «fedeltà». Dapprima ci dicono che Dio è bontà e benevolenza senza limiti e si prende cura dei suoi, e in secondo luogo, che Dio non abbandonerà mai quelli che ha chiamati ad entrare nella sua comunione.

Ecco la sorgente della speranza biblica. Se Dio è good and never changes his attitude nor forsakes us, then, whatever the difficulties - if the world as we see it is so far from justice, peace, solidarity and compassion - for believers is not a final state . In their faith in God, believers derive the expectation of a world according to God's will or, in other words, according to his love.
In the Bible, this hope is often expressed with the notion of promise. When God enters into relationship with human beings, in general, this goes hand in hand with the promise of a greater life. This begins with the story of Abraham: "I will bless you, God said to Abraham. And you will be blessed all the families of the earth "(Genesis 12:2-3).
I say this to try to share the crazy hopes that accompany our days here in Angola, and to better understand the crazy hopes of so many fellow Salesians in Italy for example. I believe in the promise of God and I put myself at your disposal to try to achieve here and now.
In these days I hope they give me many headaches, smiles and joys. The hope in many young people of my parish, resources that Jesus made me meet her and that could be useful tools for the realization of the Kingdom of God, in other words is the common good.
Many of them, about a fortnight, will be able to serve not only as good volunteers. With different projects are (with the help of many friends) managed to find the money you can invest in small salaries: alleducatori and some will be responsible for several nuclei in Polidesportivo Dom Bosco. Others will work for a project on the Social Doctrine of the Church (specifically human rights area), I want to talk today.

Our young people understand the meaning of the word hope. It is understood a meaning that in 30 years of civil war. They were born under the bombs, including the unspeakable violence and not reported as it has in other parts of the world. Today they continue to live in a society violent, horrific and inhuman. Want to study? Pay the bribe. The police stop you, you're in rule? Does nothing if you want to go pay the bribe. Jump to withdraw a document, you want it? Pay the bribe. You have to go to work, a few "kandongeiros" (taxi), pay the bribe, ie twice the ticket to go up. You have paid the bribe to get to school, you get the exams, final exam: either you pay or other problems will come. In all that insecurity on social banditry, anytime you can attack to rob you now what you're wearing now the machine itself.
In a newspaper so our young people hope, not for the promises of the government, but for the certainty of a God who loves them and leaves them alone.
In our project we have included a little help: a computer room. What's the use? It helps you? Yes!
books here cost absurd figures, half the salary of many. Today on the Internet to download books, study, do research series (not copy paste). There is a reality called OPEN SOURCE that allow a free and democratic access to resources such as computer programs and operating systems, high-quality and cost. With these resources, open source can improve their own practices, their level.
You can use the same programs in coral draw, or fotoshop (graphics) is completely legal and free. You can use programs such as autocad legal and free. The whole package is in office legally disposizine (just pirated copies) and for free.
These operating systems are not attacked by the virus, this means protecting the information pennette of our children, who often lose everything they have saved (I took more than a case of thesis saved and lost) because of virus in a country where the Internet is a luxury available to few.
In this computer room (will be achieved through participation in our hope of the VIS and the European Community) will teach the following: LINUX operating system, in particular Ubuntu. Using open source software like OpenOffice, Gimp, Scribus etc. .. We
courses in the morning and afternoon in order to reach as many young people, leaving the possibility (Legal) to copy and distribute it. They can do research for school and for their activities. Will be forbidden to download music, games or movies, does not fall within our priority.
What to do with hope? Beloved, I wish I had two years to work on this, and it is now possible. There are still many things we have to find those who pay the trip to a Brazilian expert Ubuntu in such a way that would give a course here at our staff, who then multiply it. Let us find the qualified staff to accompany the various courses and follow the maintenance of the hall. These things are not so simple here in Angola, but I hope that the Lord will not make us miss other aid, now that the bulk it did!
forgot: here is a problem free communication, the transmission of ideas and news. We want to teach our children to use the internet for this: BLOG.
The idea is to open spaces where people meet and exchange ideas, share freely.
I tell you my last hope: someone who joins us and who cares to bring next-generation computer in Angola, at low prices (I think someone to do it at cost price, PCs discarded in the West to understand) , to get from the guys with 200-300 USD. These PCs with Ubuntu as the operating system, it works fine, would be fast and how many books in PDF format can accommodate, for the sake of our children. You can not buy the paper book, but with a memory stick can save a pdf file and read it to the PC in the house. A PC that can work even if you do not have electricity in the house, just a battery ... and the right to education would be a little better.

continue to hope and I thank the friends who are with me.