In the face of the great wave of problems and difficulties that our young people are experiencing in the United States, Puerto Rico and Cuba, the Calasanz Movement and its spaces are like small oases that foster a safe environment where our young people can meet and move forward.
In Puerto Rico, this month of February we have begun, with firm steps, the experience of the Calasanz Movement in our school in San Juan, Colegio Calasanz. It has been a heartening experience, because some of the students have been given the opportunity to serve as animators together with one of the teachers. They will be meeting on Thursdays to share life through various activities; the word is already spreading, and many more want to join the adventure.
In Cuba, as is well known, because of the current context and the social reality people are living, the Calasanz Movement has become a point of reference as a place of peace and safety where children and young people gather every Saturday, grounded in hope, in a setting where they can find nourishment, formation and spaces for enjoyment. A place to clear the mind and to find hope in complex times. It is impressive how each meeting reflects the need and the hunger these young people have to be able to build and live a better future.
In the United States, more concretely, I would like to pause at our work in Kentucky, our free school, where young people live in poverty; there, every Friday, over coffee and doughnuts, they gather to grow in faith, to share hope and to enjoy a safe space. From our presence in New York, in the midst of political uncertainty and in the face of a growing wave of tense situations for the Latino community, our children and young people, together with their parents, are accompanied and are offered a space for enjoyment, formation and accompaniment. Without a doubt, this is something needed amid this escalation of hardship, racism and segregation.
We do not have a single specific event at this time in our Province to share, but we firmly believe that the small work done day by day is the great building of a future change; that this little seed sown in each place is already Good News that rekindles faith, hope and love, since the accompaniment and formation we offer our young people is reflected in their dedication and in their desire to keep giving what they themselves receive.
Fr Jorge L. Ramirez, Sch. P.
