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Peru – Giovanni, past pupil of Magdalena del Mar oratory: "I have to do something with local young people"

16 March 2020

(ANS - Lima) - Giovanni Hurtado lived his childhood in the Magdalena del Mar neighborhood in Lima. The Salesian presence was widespread and had three works, with different activities - school, formation house and parish - and vocations were numerous. Today, at the age of 48, the enthusiasm of this Oratorian past pupil is even more alive and stronger than ever. He learned it from the Salesians and today he says. "I was lucky enough to meet the Salesians in a golden age, when they were always in contact with young people."

Over the years, his philosophy of life has remained intact: he has carried the Salesian charism in his heart. The challenges were getting bigger, but Giovanni hasn't stopped. For some time now he has been living in Austria, in the city of Bad Vigaun, district of Hallein, in the Land of Salzburg.

“As soon as I arrived in Austria, I asked for the nearest church. I wanted to talk to the parish priest and offer to sing at Mass," he says. This experience was the first step of all the good things that would follow. It was at that moment that Giovanni started building a new story.


“I have to do something with the young people here,” he would say to himself continuously. This was his goal: to reach young people. After a few years, his dream came true. With hard work and dedication, he managed to found the first oratory of the city: 'Pfarre Bad Vigauin.' “I based it on what I lived as an Oratorian in my time,” he says.

In Bad Vigaun, on Epiphany day, a group of children and young people visit homes to ask for charity donations to use for various educational and training projects around the world. 90% of the money raised is sent to Salzburg and then distributed to places that need help.

One of these places is located in Peru, in the deepest part of the Amazon region: the "Yankaum Jintia" Intercultural Technical Training Center, which welcomes young people from different indigenous communities: Achuar, Wampi, Quechua and Candozi.

This support was born thanks to Giovanni, who after fulfilling a series of requirements in Salzburg, contacted the Don Bosco Foundation of Peru to offer a significant annual donation.

His impetus and his desire to serve have made Giovanni a better person and a great "friend of Don Bosco".

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