SPECIAL REPORT • LOVEMATTERS YOUTH PROGRAM

Life Choices affect youths transitioning into Adulthood

The LoveMatters Program boasts over 20 years of success in support of youth development and empowerment founded on core Christian values which equip young people to face the challenges of adulthood in a modern world

BY Jill Williams and Mariola Bravo | Pretoria
Fr Francois Dufour SDB & LoveMatters Facebook page | PHOTOS

JOHN MELCHOIR Bosco, popularly known as Don Bosco, who founded the Salesian Order (SDB), was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and a pioneer in educating the poor.

Besides providing for his work, God gave him the gift of miracles. After his prayers on their behalf, the deaf heard, the lame walked, and once, a dead boy was raised back to life. He also had the gift of prophecy. Don Bosco was canonized in 1934 by Pope Pius XI.

History and continuity

The legacy of Saint John Bosco lives on in the activities of the Salesian Order. South Africa’s Don Bosco Youth Centre (DBYC) in Walkerville, Gauteng, is just one of the many facilities that, with a similarly loving spirit as St John Bosco, centralise their activities around youth matters.

The beautiful grounds at the DBYC can be attributed to the portion of the Hewitt Estate known as Nooitgedacht Farm that the SDB purchased in 1949. After trekking from Cape Town the first Salesian, Bro. Maurice Bondioni, arrived at Daleside to take up residence in the Clonlea homestead.

It was the first SDB house in the Transvaal/Gauteng Province and the third foundation in South Africa, after 50 years in the country. Within a few months, renovations and extensions sprouted and were to continue unabated for the next 20 years. The old homestead gave hospitality to President Paul Kruger and housed the original Bosco Boarding School which officially opened on 31 January 1951. The St John Bosco College closed in 1993 when the SDB entered into a joint venture with the Catholic Diocese of Johannesburg, resulting in the opening of the Don Bosco Youth Centre in 1994.

Youth Programs

Today the centre offers various programmes, particularly on youth leadership. In continuance of the legacy of St John Bosco, members of the Salesian Order continue to optimise and manage the programmes that the Youth Centre offers. Among these are Brother Clarence Watts SDB who was Director of Programs at the DBYC from 2009-2011/12 and is now, after 27 years in the Order, the editor of the Salesian Bulletin and in charge of the Family Forum. Since 2012, Fr Lingoane Tlaile SDB, has served to steer and direct the centre’s programmes successfully. Various priests at the Centre also participate in programs, particularly with the spiritual accompaniment, masses and confessions, retreats for Confirmation and First Holy Communion, etc.

Our measure for everything is always how much love we put into what we do

LoveMatters is the main Youth Program run by the Centre. It was started in 2001 by Fr Francois Dufour SDB.  It aims at meeting the needs of teenagers and providing them with skills to help them make healthy lifestyle choices amidst the many challenges they face on their life journey. The one-week program hosts around 100 attendees aged between 13 and 25. The participants come from different parishes, schools and communities.

The program provides value-based guidance to teenagers and helps them appreciate and understand the gift of sex and its role within a marriage, to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, offer a better understanding of their sexuality, fortify their ability to say NO to negative peer pressure and offer support to them in their commitment to true values.

Leadership and Youth Ministry

Young people aged 18 to 30 from a Christian, predominantly Catholic background, give one year of their life to serve in the program. They live on the premises and have their own quarters. They are part of the community and the Youth Ministry. Part of Don Bosco’s philosophy when working with young people is to involve them using a youth–to–youth approach. Volunteers often come from among those who have been impacted by the program. Recruited from within South Africa and Lesotho, from varying parishes and Christian institutions, they offer service to their fellow youth. Some eventually join the Salesians as religious for a lifetime. Others are moved to go deeper into religion, sustain their marriages more successfully, become sisters or remain in the service to others on account of their experience after the year spent volunteering at the DBYC.

The DBYC Volunteers/Ministry Team learn how to contribute to society and parishes, in leadership, in teaching and to impact others positively. Volunteers grow personally and the DBYC offers references for those who excel. The Salesian’s charism, the spirit of goodwill and dedication is something that the Volunteers carry forward with them. The Centre is always happy to see them being later recognised in society and becoming true ambassadors of the Salesian formation.

Focus and Impact

At the time of its inception, the LoveMatters program responded primarily to the AIDS pandemic which was then prevalent. It was designed as an answer to these challenges. It has always aimed at propagating Christian values which can fortify the youth as they are confronted with various dilemmas. Today the youth are facing an increasing number of challenges including sexual abuse and exploitation, media toxicity, depression, drugs, social media addiction and GBLTQ issues, amongst others. These matters threaten to overwhelm them unless they receive guidance and support which this program offers—based on Christian values and with the aid of the Christian community. LoveMatters covers not only the Spiritual but also physical and emotional insights into the actualities and considerations which need to be contemplated before entering into sexual activity.

LoveMatters also attempts to impact parents, caregivers and teachers to get involved and to be better informed on what the youth need

LoveMatters takes a non-judgmental approach and is aimed not only at young people before engaging in sexual activity but also at those who seek support to have a fresh start. In both cases, they all yearn to be affirmed in their resolution to save sex for marriage and they wish to lay the foundations for their future marriage and their vocation in life.

Follow-up and Support

The program runs only for one week. Some issues would demand more time. Youngsters are encouraged to share their troubles with members of the team. These are active in counselling and in listening, offering them moral support. Occasionally, the Program Manager can counsel parents and caregivers with permission from the participant. In cases of depression, for example, the program is effective, but continued counselling and care are required if the young person is to progress further. The parents, teachers or other parties then move forward in support of that young person, and sometimes professional help is required. Nevertheless, this limitation has not stopped the volunteers and the Centre from making themselves available.

A follow-up program is existing to see what changes have taken place and the impact the program has made on attendees. Facebook page How has LoveMatters affected you also helps get direct feedback and assess the program’s impact and its required improvement. LoveMatters also attempts to impact parents, caregivers and teachers to get involved and to be better informed on what the youth need.

Several Facebook communities have been formed among the attendees of LoveMatters. Those who have been through the program often give reprisals, ask questions, give testimony, chat or share and support one another on the group called LoveMatters@Bosco which can be found by following the link https://www.facebook.com/groups/147015071082/?ref=share&mibextid=KtfwRi. The group helps the DBYC get feedback, follow up with participants and give continuity to the support that the program offers.

Benefits and Outcomes

Previous participants said that the LoveMatters Youth Ministry Team made them feel extremely comfortable approaching and speaking to them openly on all matters and that the team was very successful in connecting with the youth on their level. Don Bosco also used games and other means to connect with the youth. The presence of the team is mainly to accompany and assist. The aim is to empower young people to think for themselves, to inform them fully and allow them to reason out viable strategies for living.

Attendees benefit greatly by learning to navigate the reality of life amidst the changing times. An honest approach is used to present the problems facing youths. The program has run for over 20 years; schools and groups return time after time, with youngsters from various parishes attending during holidays. LoveMatters may adapt to remain relevant but always maintains the core Christian values which remain constant and this is the mainstay that assists the youth to face the challenges of life with confidence.