Albania – Thirty years of "Don Bosco Center" in Tirana

08 February 2023

(ANS - Tirana) - It was January 30, 1993, when the Salesians of Don Bosco inaugurated the "Don Bosco Center" in Tirana in the presence of many civil, religious, and youth authorities, but also with many difficulties.

Thirty years ago, what is now the Don Bosco neighborhood was nothing more than the immediate outskirts of Tirana: just countryside and no construction. Just as the Don Bosco Center itself was nothing more than a large fenced-in space with more than 40 bunkers enclosed inside. Over the years, the Don Bosco neighborhood, one of the best-known and most populated housing areas in Tirana, with more than a million inhabitants, was born. Where there were only bunkers now stands a large, lively educational center: a school with nearly 800 pupils, an oratory, a parish, and a daycare center for ethnic Roma children. In 30 years, so many Salesians, through their work, have made a remarkable contribution to the development of the Albanian land.

For this reason, on January 31, the feast day of the Saint of Youth, the Don Bosco Center experienced a moment of thanks and gratitude for the good they have done and are still working on, together with civil and religious authorities and thousands of children and young people.

Many civil and church authorities were present during the anniversary ceremony in the morning, such as: the Minister of Education and Sports, Ms. Evis Kushi; and the Minister of Economy and Finance, Ms. Delina Ibrahimaj, who spoke both as an institutional figure and as a mother of two children enrolled in the school; the Apostolic Nuncio, Ms. Luigi Bonazzi; the Archbishop of the Diocese of Tirana-Durazzo, Ms. Arjan Dodaj; and Fr. Michele Gentile, SDB, a priest who saw the laying of the first stones of the Salesian Work in 1993.

After the welcoming words of the center's director, Fr. Gino Martucci, words of thanks, appreciation, and encouragement for the work that the Salesians do were expressed in all the speeches of the participants.

Particularly encouraging were the statements of Minister Evis Kushi:

"Here at Don Bosco, there is not only an educational institution, but a social center where children and young people are educated with the best values: the value of solidarity, peace, dialogue, and cooperation. It is exactly these values that every day, and increasingly more, are important and necessary, for the new generations and the whole of society. Your logo tells of a home, a shelter that offers protection, care, love, and warmth. The Director of the center, as soon as we walked in, told me that there have never been so many important people here at one time. No. The most important people here are you, not us. (...) Today's celebration is a community celebration. It is for you, for the students, for the parents, for the teachers, and certainly for the whole community. And I, as the Minister of Education and Sports, not only thank you and congratulate you for the work you have done all these years, but I also assure you of all my support, mine and that of the entire institution I head. Best wishes to all and let us enjoy the 30th anniversary of the Don Bosco Center, which is an inspirational model for all."

The day continued under the banner of communal joy, made up of many expressive moments by the young people of the school and by the recreational activities in the oratory, concluding with the Eucharistic Celebration presided over by the Archbishop of Tirana-Durazzo, Monsignor Dodaj.

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