‘For almost ten years,’ Arosio explains, ‘our Foundation has been collaborating with the Salesians in Tamil Nadu to carry out various projects on behalf of the youngest and poorest. The occasion of this visit took the form of a particularly significant moment: the opening of a synthetic football pitch at the Don Bosco Centre in Madurai, made possible by the generous contribution of the family of Riccardo, a young Italian boy who died prematurely and who was a great football fan.’
In a country like India, where cricket and hockey are the most popular national sports, football [aka soccer in some countries] is experiencing growing popularity, especially among young people. This is testified by the Don Bosco Centre in Madurai, where many youngsters play it with passion and moderate success.
To celebrate the opening and dedicate the new playing ground to the memory of Riccardo, the boy's mother and aunt also came to India, accompanied by photojournalist Enrico Mascheroni, a collaborator of the Foundation. The ceremony, which lasted an entire day, opened with the blessing and ribbon-cutting ceremony and ended with the first edition of the Riccardo Trophy, a tournament that saw 16 teams from schools and youth centres in the area compete.
At the entrance to the field, a bilingual plaque (in Italian and Tamil) commemorates the young man with these words: 'Dedicated to Riccardo, a boy with a good heart, who loved football and dreamt of a kinder world. This pitch is his smile that lives on'.
In the following days, Arosio continued the journey, visiting several Salesian missions scattered throughout Tamil Nadu. It was an intense journey which allowed them to meet different communities, all sharing the same concern for the smallest and most fragile. The Salesian houses in the region are not only schools and educational centres: they are real social places where street children are welcomed, orphans or HIV-infected minors receive care and support, and where young people in difficulty have the opportunity of professional training that opens the way to a dignified future for them.
Alongside school activities, the Salesians also promote micro-credit projects for women in rural areas, sustainable agriculture initiatives with educational farms, environmental education and ecological awareness programmes. This variety of interventions shows how the Salesian presence is rooted in the territory and capable of adapting to the concrete needs of local communities.
'Everywhere we have been,' says Stefano, 'we have found the same warm welcome and the same educational passion. What is striking is the ability of the Salesians to look beyond caste or religious differences, always putting the person at the centre. It can truly be said that in Tamil Nadu Don Bosco is for everyone and helps everyone.’
The Opera Don Bosco Onlus Foundation reaffirms its commitment to support these missions in the future too, thanks to the generosity of the many donors who share the same vision of hope and solidarity.
