It's the 40th anniversary of the St. Nino Parish today. The whole community paraded round the streets of Pasil this morning to the sound of drums sporting matching t-shirts. It was great to see such a crowd and the church was full eager to hear Fr. Andy's explanation of the history of the parish. In the evening, the youth centre was transformed and a large buffet was served. There was a programme of many dance performances from various groups in the community. The youth club had choreographed a new dance especially for the event.
The Salesians of Don Bosco entered Pasil in 1967. Originally it was a Cebu Boys' Center under the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, the Salesians, represented by Fr. Luis Ricciarelli and the Society of the Divine Word Fathers joined hands and embarked on a project committed to help alleviate the sad plight of Cebu's wayward youths, thus helping curb the city's rapidly increasing juvenile delinquency problem. Such help was formally strengthened in 1969 with the opening of the Don Bosco Pasil Youth Oratory Center where youngsters had various programs, and where the community residents in general, could undertake recreational activities in the absence of parks and playgrounds in the district. Their efforts, fueled with the Salesians' strong desire to help the community, especially the young, extended to the administration of the newly established Church in the area, the Sto. Nino Parish in 1970. This later led to the establishment of the Skills Tarining Center in the early 1980s that provided vocational skills training to poor but deserving out-of-school youth to keep them off the streets from its evils and ploys.
The Salesians of Don Bosco entered Pasil in 1967. Originally it was a Cebu Boys' Center under the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, the Salesians, represented by Fr. Luis Ricciarelli and the Society of the Divine Word Fathers joined hands and embarked on a project committed to help alleviate the sad plight of Cebu's wayward youths, thus helping curb the city's rapidly increasing juvenile delinquency problem. Such help was formally strengthened in 1969 with the opening of the Don Bosco Pasil Youth Oratory Center where youngsters had various programs, and where the community residents in general, could undertake recreational activities in the absence of parks and playgrounds in the district. Their efforts, fueled with the Salesians' strong desire to help the community, especially the young, extended to the administration of the newly established Church in the area, the Sto. Nino Parish in 1970. This later led to the establishment of the Skills Tarining Center in the early 1980s that provided vocational skills training to poor but deserving out-of-school youth to keep them off the streets from its evils and ploys.
