The Salesians of Don Bosco Kolkata Province

The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) by vocation, are animators of the young. Youth services, inspired by pastoral love, brings together in dynamic harmony our spirituality and our mission.

Youth services, for us, is not simply a matter of doing a lot of work to serve the young, nor is it a technique or a method to win them over. Rather, drawing from its source, which is Christ the Good Shepherd, it is the expression of our concern for the integral formation and total welfare of the young, and especially the poorest of them.

The Salesian Youth Services is essentially a community venture, involving many persons. Young people themselves occupy the centre stage. They are not the objects of our ministry but subjects responsible for their growth and maturity. Together with them, their parents, teachers, lay collaborators and the members of the Salesian family, the Salesians form one educative and pastoral community in which the Salesians are the animating nucleus.

Our style of Youth Ministry
Our style of education, which we have received as a heritage from Don Bosco, is called the Preventive System. The word "preventive" does not imply a protectiveness on our part but rather a whole positive approach to the young: by enabling them to have wholesome experiences of what is true and good and beautiful, we forestall evil; by helping them acquire certain positive attitudes, they are able to face up to eventual problems and risks. Far from any idea of control, our aim is to lead them to live their youthful lives to the full, with all the aspirations and energies they are capable of.

The dimensions of our Youth Ministry
Keeping the young person as the centre of our educational plan, our ministry is carried out in four dimensions:

The educational and cultural dimension which develops the young person's fundamental reality as a human being.

The dimension of evangelization and catechesis which considers the young person as a child of God and helps him/her to grow in his/her relationship with God.

The vocational dimension which helps the young person to respond with a responsible choice in life in line with God's plan.

The dimension of groups and movements which characterizes our style of education through interpersonal relationships, group activity, insertion in the locality and commitment to society.

Structures for animation
For the coordination of Youth Ministry (Youth Pastoral, as it is sometimes known) carried out in the various houses in the province a Youth Ministry Team is appointed at the provincial level. It is made up of the Provincial Youth Delegate and the animators of the four dimensions mentioned above.

Don Bosco Youth Animation, Kolkata
From May 1999 a full time Youth Delegate was appointed in the Province and a department was set up at Nitika, which provided the necessary facilities. The Youth Delegate organizes a team to carry out the various activities that are planned in agreement with the Provincial and his council and the Youth Ministry team of the Province.

Objectives
- To animate every community in its varied youth activities.
- To prepare Salesians, members of the Salesian Family and lay collaborators to be animators of young people.
- To improve the quality of service that we Salesians and everyone in the Salesian Family render to young people.
- To help every community to reach out to its neighbourhood and to the more needy youth.
- To organize a committed team for youth animation in the Province.

The Youth Ministry Team:
The youth animation team consists of the Delegate for Youth Ministry and members of various sectors of apostolate:

Fr. Joseph Manipadeth (Delegate) - Groups & Movements
Fr. George Chempakathinal - Education and Culture
Fr. Jude Sebastian - Vocation
Fr. Paul Cheruthottupuram - Social Communiction
Fr. Robin L. Gomes - Evangelization & Catechesis
Fr. Mathew Parakonath - Youth at Risk