Ms. Lauren Hichaaba has been working with the Salesians of Don Bosco in the Australia-Pacific (AUL) Province since 2007. She is the Director and Co-Founder of the Cagliero Project, a long-term international volunteer program run by the AUL Province. The Cagliero Project places Salesian Mission Volunteers for 6 – 12 months in Salesian communities with a focus on the East Asia Oceania (EAO) Region. The Cagliero Project also offers short-term immersion experiences that are run by Lauren and her team.
In 2016, Lauren was appointed as the Delegate for Mission Animation in the AUL Province. This role has been life-giving and has connected her much better to the mission animation goals of the Congregation. In particular, she has a keen interest in Salesian Missionary Volunteer Service (SMVS) at a regional and worldwide level. She has assisted the EAO regional coordinator for mission animation to animate SMVS in the region.
In addition to her work with the Cagliero Project and Delegate for Mission Animation, Lauren is also an active member of the youth ministry team and for the past 12 years has worked on Province-wide youth ministry initiatives such as: OzBosco (annual gathering of Australian young people), World Youth Day, Australian Catholic Youth Festival and Camps and Retreats. Lauren is a member of the Province Development Office (PDO) advisory board.
Lauren grew up in Melbourne, Australia, but lived in the USA for her high school and university schooling. After completing her Bachelor's Degree in Religion and Drama, Lauren spent two years as a teacher in Zambia. This experience inspired her to obtain her teaching degree back in Melbourne. In order to enhance her work with the Cagliero Project, a few years later Lauren undertook a Masters in Development Studies.
Despite many years of education Lauren firmly believes her most valuable asset and contribution is based on lived experience and through making many mistakes! Lauren is thrilled, humbled and excited to have been invited to be present for part of General Chapter 28. She is passionate about the shared mission and formation with the Salesians of Don Bosco and the laity and is full of hope for the congregation as they continue to work for those most in need!
Lauren is blessed with a family of four beautiful children who keep her very busy!
The presence of young people and lay people, in this particular form, is perfectly consistent with the specific objectives of the GC28: to put young people and their deeper needs at the center to outline the characteristics that the Salesian of today should have to respond to these needs, involving increasingly more lay people in this shared mission.
