Estate Ragazzi summer camp is in full swing
Facing challenges with courage
With Don Quixote, to learn not to fear life’s difficulties, or feel alone because there is a friend at hand who can help. This year’s edition of Estate Ragazzi in the Vatican is teaching new generations to face challenges with courage. As the summer camp continues, Fr Franco Fontana, Director of the Salesian community in the Vatican and Chaplain of the Directorate of Security and Civil Protection Services and of the Vatican Museums, explains some details and announces the opening of a sporting centre for employees of the Governorate, where they will be able to engage in sports and socialize throughout the year.
Estate Ragazzi has begun. How is this year’s edition different from previous ones?
Each year Estate Ragazzi suggests new workshops aimed at teaching children about professions and themes that are not usually tackled in schools. Moreover, we will implement our cooperation with Vatican Radio and L’Osservatore Romano to bring children ever closer to the world of communication, also spending some “sweet” moments in the ice-cream workshop with the help of Motta Gelati.
Like every year, this year too, there will be guests from the field of sports, who will speak to the children about their experiences as men, and being part of a team. This year, we will be visited by players of Virtus Roma 1960 Gmv, who will talk about their sporting challenge and how that led them to upper division basketball.
Why did you choose characters from Don Quixote as the themes of the day?
Because Don Quixote decides to set out on a journey in search of himself, facing all kinds of adversity with courage and with the support of his faithful “friend” Sancho Panza.
Through the story of Don Quixote, we want to help the children understand the importance of facing life’s challenges with courage, knowing that we have friends by our side, who are willing to help us and be close to us.
One of the things that we consider is that the new generations are ever more subjected to living their individuality via social media, also because work commitments reduce the time parents have with their children.
You have opened a new sporting centre. Can you tell us about it?
Thanks to the support of many friends, we were able to open a sporting centre with a padel camp, a camp for five-a-side football and volleyball and a swimming pool, by renovating changing rooms and surrounding areas.
The redevelopment of the space for the sporting centre will give all our children the opportunity to be involved in sports in safety, in addition to activities such as art workshops and group games.
The redevelopment will also provide employees of the Governorate with a space for sports and recreation throughout the year.
How much did he charism of Don Bosco influence the summer camp?
As Salesians, we try to be with children as much as possible. We train our camp staff to be attentive to individual children and to the group, paying special attention to children who struggle to socialize.
Can you give us some information on participation -- how many children, how many educators and how many staff members?
This year there are 280 children at the camp, divided into 3 age groups, and 26 camp entertainers, 12 assistants and a staff of 5 lay people and six Salesians.
