austraLasia #2867
Stepping into a brave new world - the stuff that dreams are made of
SALELOLOGA (Samoa): 6 June 2011 -- A broad chronicle of events concerning the opening of what is a most significant step for Samoa and the Australia-Pacific Province and indeed Salesian presence in the South Pacific was provided last week at or about the time the event took place (you will recall the final comment about international date lines and juggling the hours). It seems appropriate to follow this with the actual address or part thereof, of the Salesian Provincial, Fr Frank Moloney, for the occasion. Photos of the event are likely to appear in either or both ANS Imagebank and the sdb.org photo section for the Region/Province.
"With these words, I salute all the young people of Samoa. The Archbishop has highlighted that this is a Catholic school. But precisely because it is “catholic” it is open to all, of whatever religious tradition, who wish to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ lived and hear it proclaimed.
The request to the Australia-Pacific Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco from the Archbishop of Samoa-Apia to provide secondary education in Savai’i was made many years before my time as Provincial Superior. However, it never met the approval of the Provincial or Superior Council of the Salesians of Don Bosco. In 2006, during my first visit to Samoa as Provincial, Archbishop Alipati again asked if the Salesians of Don Bosco could meet the urgent educative and pastoral needs of young people in Savai’i by founding a secondary school in Salelologa. I have been coming to Samoa for more than 30 years, could see the need, and was personally supportive of the initiative. However, the project again struck problems in the Province and from Rome.There were three major difficulties that were raised, and that continue to pose a risk:
1.There had already been two Catholic secondary schools in Savai’i. Both were initiatives of the Archdiocese, and both had failed. They are nowadays used for other purposes. Will Don Bosco, Salelologa, meet the same fate?
2.We do not have enough Salesians of Don Bosco. There was a time when young Australian Salesians, with long experience in schools and administration, could come and work side-by-side with the growing number of Samoan Salesian Priests and Brothers. That is no longer the case. We are struggling to maintain a quality presence in Australia, and we have no young Salesians in training. After 30 years of Don Bosco’s presence in Samoa, will the Samoan Salesians of Don Bosco – those already with us and those yet to come - make this step into maturity, and carry on this project with generosity and wisdom?
3.We do not have enough money to build and maintain the school. The Archbishop wants it to be a Salesian school, and thus the Salesians of Don Bosco are to bear all the costs of building, staffing, and maintenance. This is beyond our financial capacities. How will we reach beyond the moment of the opening of a physical building into a future that must be further developed and maintained?
These problems remain, and I have no immediate solution to them, but dreams and strategies are in place. I will close by expressing a prayer and a hope about its future.
1.The Salesians of Don Bosco thank the Government of Samoa, and in a particular way, the Prime Minister of Samoa, present today, for agreeing to a long term lease of this piece of Government property to the Salesians of Don Bosco at a very moderate rate. As you all know, this piece of land was a rocky volcanic plain, covered by tropical forest. It has cost us half a million Australian dollars just to clear it. However, its location in the heart of the new Township of Salelologa, so close to the bus terminal, makes it ideal for the purposes of a High School and technical centre for children from all over the island. The generosity of the Samoan Government is being met with great generosity of the Australia-Pacific Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
2.The Salesians of Don Bosco, in a special way, thank the Federal Government of the German Republic for the direct provision of over €500,000 for the building of the first stage of the project – the administration, the classrooms and workshops, the computer centre and the toilets. This support was made possible through the skilled intervention of Don Bosco Mission in Bonn, Germany. We could not have even started without this extremely generous support.
3.As the Provincial of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Australia and the Pacific, I wish to personally thank all my fellow Salesians from Australia, New Zealand, Don Bosco Technical Centre, Apia, Upolu, and Don Bosco House, Naulu, Suva, Fiji, for their support. Each community has agreed to take money from their savings and their investments to support Don Bosco High and Technical Centre. The Australian and Pacifican Salesians of Don Bosco have donated $58,000AUD to this project. Another Salesian who has supported us is the Rector Major of all the Salesians in the world. Although he is not able to indicate a definite sum of money at this stage (we should know by late June), he wishes to support the building of the Salesian residence, the Chapel and the volunteers’ residence, already advanced in construction. Finally, my own family has given to the Salelologa project $100,000AU from the heritage left to the family by my parents.
4.Special thanks must go to Fr Mosese Tui and the Salesian community here at Salelologa. The submitted estimates were so high, three times the architect’s estimates, that we were unable to contract the building of the school to a building company. It has been built in its entirety by the tradesmen from villages in the Salelologa region, under the leadership of Fr Mosese as the owner-builder. Thanks to you all, Salesians of Don Bosco and village communities who have built this school. This school is yours! You built it with your own hands!
5.Finally, I would like to thank the Vice Chancellor of Australian Catholic University, a University that has recently honoured my own academic career, Professor Greg Craven, for an unsolicited gift of $10,000AU to Don Bosco High and Tech Centre, Salelologa. In his words: “This is a project that must be supported.”
The driving force of the Salesian educative system comes to us from our Founder, and the Patron of this school, Don Bosco. He told us we were to form “good Christians and honest citizens.” That is what we want to do all over Samoa: at Alafua, at the school and parishes of Salelologa, at Moamoa/Sinamoga, and at Leauva’a with its large community and many churches. We are aware that this is a huge challenge, flying in the face of centuries of financial and subsequent cultural dependence. Our task is to educate young Samoans to an alternative culture, to lead them to an appreciation that they will become good Christians and honest citizens when they see that the most precious thing in life is not to wait until someone “gives” you everything … but to reach out and “give” of who you are and what you have, so that others might have a better future".
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2011 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
Stepping into a brave new world - the stuff that dreams are made of
SALELOLOGA (Samoa): 6 June 2011 -- A broad chronicle of events concerning the opening of what is a most significant step for Samoa and the Australia-Pacific Province and indeed Salesian presence in the South Pacific was provided last week at or about the time the event took place (you will recall the final comment about international date lines and juggling the hours). It seems appropriate to follow this with the actual address or part thereof, of the Salesian Provincial, Fr Frank Moloney, for the occasion. Photos of the event are likely to appear in either or both ANS Imagebank and the sdb.org photo section for the Region/Province.
"With these words, I salute all the young people of Samoa. The Archbishop has highlighted that this is a Catholic school. But precisely because it is “catholic” it is open to all, of whatever religious tradition, who wish to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ lived and hear it proclaimed.
The request to the Australia-Pacific Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco from the Archbishop of Samoa-Apia to provide secondary education in Savai’i was made many years before my time as Provincial Superior. However, it never met the approval of the Provincial or Superior Council of the Salesians of Don Bosco. In 2006, during my first visit to Samoa as Provincial, Archbishop Alipati again asked if the Salesians of Don Bosco could meet the urgent educative and pastoral needs of young people in Savai’i by founding a secondary school in Salelologa. I have been coming to Samoa for more than 30 years, could see the need, and was personally supportive of the initiative. However, the project again struck problems in the Province and from Rome.There were three major difficulties that were raised, and that continue to pose a risk:
1.There had already been two Catholic secondary schools in Savai’i. Both were initiatives of the Archdiocese, and both had failed. They are nowadays used for other purposes. Will Don Bosco, Salelologa, meet the same fate?
2.We do not have enough Salesians of Don Bosco. There was a time when young Australian Salesians, with long experience in schools and administration, could come and work side-by-side with the growing number of Samoan Salesian Priests and Brothers. That is no longer the case. We are struggling to maintain a quality presence in Australia, and we have no young Salesians in training. After 30 years of Don Bosco’s presence in Samoa, will the Samoan Salesians of Don Bosco – those already with us and those yet to come - make this step into maturity, and carry on this project with generosity and wisdom?
3.We do not have enough money to build and maintain the school. The Archbishop wants it to be a Salesian school, and thus the Salesians of Don Bosco are to bear all the costs of building, staffing, and maintenance. This is beyond our financial capacities. How will we reach beyond the moment of the opening of a physical building into a future that must be further developed and maintained?
These problems remain, and I have no immediate solution to them, but dreams and strategies are in place. I will close by expressing a prayer and a hope about its future.
1.The Salesians of Don Bosco thank the Government of Samoa, and in a particular way, the Prime Minister of Samoa, present today, for agreeing to a long term lease of this piece of Government property to the Salesians of Don Bosco at a very moderate rate. As you all know, this piece of land was a rocky volcanic plain, covered by tropical forest. It has cost us half a million Australian dollars just to clear it. However, its location in the heart of the new Township of Salelologa, so close to the bus terminal, makes it ideal for the purposes of a High School and technical centre for children from all over the island. The generosity of the Samoan Government is being met with great generosity of the Australia-Pacific Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
2.The Salesians of Don Bosco, in a special way, thank the Federal Government of the German Republic for the direct provision of over €500,000 for the building of the first stage of the project – the administration, the classrooms and workshops, the computer centre and the toilets. This support was made possible through the skilled intervention of Don Bosco Mission in Bonn, Germany. We could not have even started without this extremely generous support.
3.As the Provincial of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Australia and the Pacific, I wish to personally thank all my fellow Salesians from Australia, New Zealand, Don Bosco Technical Centre, Apia, Upolu, and Don Bosco House, Naulu, Suva, Fiji, for their support. Each community has agreed to take money from their savings and their investments to support Don Bosco High and Technical Centre. The Australian and Pacifican Salesians of Don Bosco have donated $58,000AUD to this project. Another Salesian who has supported us is the Rector Major of all the Salesians in the world. Although he is not able to indicate a definite sum of money at this stage (we should know by late June), he wishes to support the building of the Salesian residence, the Chapel and the volunteers’ residence, already advanced in construction. Finally, my own family has given to the Salelologa project $100,000AU from the heritage left to the family by my parents.
4.Special thanks must go to Fr Mosese Tui and the Salesian community here at Salelologa. The submitted estimates were so high, three times the architect’s estimates, that we were unable to contract the building of the school to a building company. It has been built in its entirety by the tradesmen from villages in the Salelologa region, under the leadership of Fr Mosese as the owner-builder. Thanks to you all, Salesians of Don Bosco and village communities who have built this school. This school is yours! You built it with your own hands!
5.Finally, I would like to thank the Vice Chancellor of Australian Catholic University, a University that has recently honoured my own academic career, Professor Greg Craven, for an unsolicited gift of $10,000AU to Don Bosco High and Tech Centre, Salelologa. In his words: “This is a project that must be supported.”
The driving force of the Salesian educative system comes to us from our Founder, and the Patron of this school, Don Bosco. He told us we were to form “good Christians and honest citizens.” That is what we want to do all over Samoa: at Alafua, at the school and parishes of Salelologa, at Moamoa/Sinamoga, and at Leauva’a with its large community and many churches. We are aware that this is a huge challenge, flying in the face of centuries of financial and subsequent cultural dependence. Our task is to educate young Samoans to an alternative culture, to lead them to an appreciation that they will become good Christians and honest citizens when they see that the most precious thing in life is not to wait until someone “gives” you everything … but to reach out and “give” of who you are and what you have, so that others might have a better future".
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2011 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
