The five-day workshop, animated by a diverse team of experts and practitioners, focused on a variety of theoretical and legal aspects of working with young people at risk in India today. Thirty-five delegates from eighteen Indian States participated in the workshop.
The first day session offered an overview of the Don Bosco YaR Forum and its work in the various Indian Provinces: thousands of children have been rehabilitated in Salesian shelter homes across India and today many of children who have attended have become positive models and examples of success in society, enablers. Furthermore, the first sessions presented papers: on the Preventive System in the context of YaR; on building resilience in children and young people; and on the deep understanding of the "Child's Rights Based Approach."
In the following days other avant-garde topics in the YaR sector were discussed: working with young migrant workers on the second day; the importance of alliance-building and networking with other people and institutions on the third day; on the fourth day, the 2019 YaR National Day and Awareness Campaign were discussed; and, finally, on the last day, the theme "Pathbreakers: Trafficking: Rescue, Prevention, Protection" was discussed.
The participants received resource kits comprising of legal documents, policies and protocols and audiovisual material. They also got the chance to interact with sector practitioners from across the country and to share experiences and good practices.
"Soften your heart and harden your feet", one of the themes underscored: softening one's heart towards the needy and the vulnerable; and hardening one's feet to have the strength to travel through difficult paths.
At the end of the seminar, Fr Tony Pellissery, Joint Secretary of the DB YaR Forum, trained participants on the tools used in the "Imagine YaR Ministry" program, one of the most recent forum initiatives to reflect on the achievements of each YaR center and to plan for future activities accordingly.
by Fr Thomas Aquinas SDB
