"Relax, have fun, laugh, go hiking do anything you like, as long as you do not sin."
Don Bosco
The Salesian presence in Senglea began in 2008. Right at the edge of the Senglea peninsula one finds a beautiful church dedicated to Our Lady of Safe Haven and an adjacent cloister named after St Philip Neri which dates back to the 17th century. At the invitation of the Archbishop the Salesians replaced the Jesuits, who retired due to lack of personnel, in October 2008.
Besides the pastoral ministry and the celebration of the sacraments administered from this Church, the Salesians have undertaken to open a Youth Centre according to their tradition. The aim is to provide young people with a space to entertain themselves away from possible harm and offer them opportunities for growth.
With the help of leaders from other salesian presences we are trying to stimulate the members to discover their talents and use them for their own fulfillment and progress. Our main aim, as in all other Salesian presences, is to form good Christians and honest citizens.
Y.E.S - Youths Engaged in Senglea
YES (Youths Engaged in Senglea) is a voluntary group which branches out from SPYS (Salesian Pastoral Youth Services). The YES group, as a Salesian group, follows the teaching, philosophy and working style of St. John Bosco.
YES was formed back in 2010, shortly after the Salesians took over the San Filippu Neri convent at the tip of Senglea. Since there was a lack of activities for youths in this area, YES started off with the Salesians’ main philosophy – that of ‘holistic formation of young people’.
The yearly appointment and main event is the 2-week Summer Camp which is organised at the Salesian convent in Senglea in July. Youths aged 10-15 from Senglea and the surroundings are treated with 2 jam-packed weeks of both fun and educational activities. The aim of the summer camp is to ensure that the attending youths enjoy themselves while staying off the streets, and developing a healthy, active and positive lifestyle. Through games, play, craft work, educational activities, singing, cooking and outings, the project also aims at instilling in the children the values of life. We also aim to encourage youths to become future members of the YES group and eventually collaborate in the management of the project itself.
Apart from the youths themselves, the camp is also aimed at forming the volunteers and creating a community feeling in a Salesian environment, where the volunteers cook, eat, clean, wash, plan & relax/rest together for 2 weeks while living at the convent. Months before the summer camp, YES organise a call for new volunteers, which are duly formed and thought the Salesian morales, after which they join the rest of past volunteers and start planning the summer camp together, while also planning fund-raising activities to keep the group self-sustaining. Naturally, one of the main intents of the group is to come up with different activities and excursions from year to year in order to surprise the participants and make this camp a memorable experience.
The summer camp is not the only activity by YES, as throughout the year the group tries to come up with monthly fun activities for the youths and their friends, such as outings, Lenten talks, a day at Gozo, BBQs, hikes, parties, and lots more.
