While we listened to a couple of young people (two ladies, a tribal, a migrant, and a student) and their take on growth and development, I couldn't but take note of one word which practically all of them used, often repeatedly!
I could not resist the itch and asked the assembly thereafter:
Are we Salesians comfortable with someone, especially a tribal youth, rural youth, calling urban life and lifestyle “mainstream”? Young people move out of their rural, tribal settings for education is fine. But are we fine with them never turning back to their origins… fascinated and comfortable with the city life? I understand some youngsters staying back in the city after the completion of their education or learning a skill. But most?? What exactly have we done with them? Educated them or Urbanised them? More profoundly, made them better human beings or smart technicians/educated professionals?
From another perspective: Get young people out of their living context in the name of offering them education/skill and then they get so acclimatized to the city that they prefer to stay back, making them migrants. Are we playing both ways while speaking of or reaching out to the 'migrants'?
We offer the young an education, a skill but do we also offer them values? If we do so, what exactly are those values? Do those values impact society or are they something so personal that the impact does not go beyond the self?
... mainstreamMost of those who spoke were not from Bangalore but all of them explicitly stated that they'd settle down in Bangalore itself.
I could not resist the itch and asked the assembly thereafter:
Are we Salesians comfortable with someone, especially a tribal youth, rural youth, calling urban life and lifestyle “mainstream”? Young people move out of their rural, tribal settings for education is fine. But are we fine with them never turning back to their origins… fascinated and comfortable with the city life? I understand some youngsters staying back in the city after the completion of their education or learning a skill. But most?? What exactly have we done with them? Educated them or Urbanised them? More profoundly, made them better human beings or smart technicians/educated professionals?
From another perspective: Get young people out of their living context in the name of offering them education/skill and then they get so acclimatized to the city that they prefer to stay back, making them migrants. Are we playing both ways while speaking of or reaching out to the 'migrants'?
We offer the young an education, a skill but do we also offer them values? If we do so, what exactly are those values? Do those values impact society or are they something so personal that the impact does not go beyond the self?
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