SPECIAL REPORTS
(ANS – Monrovia) – Liberia is the great country of freedom, but the 14 years of civil war (1989-2003) devastated the social, physical and psychological fabric of this West-African state. The conflict left the country in economic ruin. In addition to the conflict, the outbreak of Ebola in 2014, which led to the death of the parents and breadwinners in many families, rendered many young people homeless and without hope. The Salesians came to Liberia in 1979 and are currently working in the Capital Monrovia and in Tappita, a rural town located in Nimba county in the eastern part of Liberia.
(ANS – Rome) – Don Bosco grew up immersed in the popular Marian devotion of his own family and the people of Becchi and Castelnuovo particularly invoked as ‘Our Lady of the Rosary’. This helped him develop a personal relation with the Blessed Virgin Mary without any specific title.
(ANS – London) – Play is sacred and essential at all ages. It is the place where we waste time, explore and forget the past and the future. That is why it revives the soul, brings perspective and tops up humour. Play with others whether in sport or in hobbies puts everyone on the same level as human beings. It is a holy thing to do.
(ANS - Madrid) - Young people in Spain are more pessimistic about the job situation today than they were a year ago. The pandemic has hit an already disadvantaged social group. Young people today are much more educated than their parents, but they have worse prospects and if they are asked their opinion on their future, their vision goes from strongly negative ("Work today is precarious and hinders the life plans of many people") to those who see the only possibility in their own personal commitment to changing things ("It's a frustrating time but we young people have an obligation to persevere and not give up").