By Mr Peter Kovac, DBPP
General Secretary - Don Bosco World Confederation
Slovakia - USA, 21-12-21 -- The Di BOSCo Coffee Salesian Family Gathering took place last Saturday, 11 December at Mary Help of Christians Academy in North Haledon, New Jersey (USA) from 2:30 - 4:00 PM. It was a great opportunity to meet Mr Peter Kovac, Don Bosco Past Pupil from Slovakia and Co-Founder of Di BOSCo Coffee, and get him to tell the Di BOSCo story. The event was free and conducted in the spirit of Don Bosco’s Oratory and everyone, especially families with children and students were welcome! All felt at home in this Salesian atmosphere of faith, fun, friends, and delicious snacks: coffee, chocolate, and cookies galore! The was already a Christmas music, photo taking with Santa Claus, and a living Nativity. Fr Tom Dunne, SDB with Sr Denis Signicker, FMA and other animators of the Salesian Family in SUE province were present at the event (photo).
DI BOSCo is a company made up of Don Bosco Past Pupils network - coffee growers, processors, retailers, distributors and coffee shop owners. Started with an inspiration during the Don Bosco Past Pupils World Congress by Thai Past Pupils (Chiang Mai) who brought their coffee to Rome. The coming of Mr Peter to New York is an attempt to open the very first warehouse and coffee shop in the USA (Paterson - New Jersey). For the participants it was rather pleasant and surprising invitation to get involved in something bigger than the 'market'.
Mr Peter Kovac shares the enthusiastic atmosphere of this event:
"It was fantastic, although very tiring. In the few days of my stay in New York we also had some meetings with USA Don Bosco Past Pupils Association members. The whole event was also broadcast LIVE online with our 'DiBOSCo Coffee Project' presentation with participants from New York, New Jersey, Florida, California, Chicago and even from Canada (NB: SUE province comprises Eastern USA and Canada).
Of course, another suprising fact in this event is that it was held with many secondary schools students from SDB and FMA schools, with young and not-so-young Salesians SDB, with Salesian Cooperators, Don Bosco Past Pupils from Haiti and from Dominican Republic living in NY as well with lay mission partners (teachers) from Salesian schools. There were not crowds, but according to Fr. Tom it was really one of the SF meetings with the largest variety of participants and he was wondering how it is that a 'Coffee Project' brings so many different people together!
It was really a very fruitful event that brought a large number of different Don Bosco Past Pupils together and this 'trigger or catalyst' may spark another inspiration."
NB: The World-wide network of DiBOSCo Coffee Project includes at the moment: communication or business (producers, customers, partners) in Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Haiti, USA, Thailand, Philippines, East Timor, Brazil, Kenya, Congo, Slovakia, Hungary, United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta, Poland and Czech Republic. Slowly we are trying to enlarge our network.
- DiBOSCo Thailand (Chiang Mai)
- DiBOSCo Slovakia (Bratislava)
- Mary Help of Christians Academy (New Jersey, Haledon) FMA Secondary school
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DiBOSCo Week
By Fr. Tom Dunne
USA - SUE province
The week of December 5-12 was a very busy time for the leaders of the DiBOSCo project in Canada and the US. Over the course of one week, Peter Kovac and Jude Elie (officers of the DiBOSCo project in Slovakia and the US) had a whirlwind of activities to establish a DiBOSCo franchise in North America with its headquarters in Paterson, NJ. With samples of DiBOSCo coffee and chocolates as an introduction, Peter and Jude developed a buzz among the Salesian Family in the NY/NJ area for a return of Don Bosco’s spirit among the poor and working people of Paterson. As Salesian Past Pupils, themselves, Peter and Jude developed a quick rapport with the Salesian Family members and lay collaborators in the NY and NJ area.
In that short week, Peter visited the first SDB and FMA foundations in New York City and Paterson. He spoke with Salesian students in New Rochelle, North Haledon, and Ramsey. He welcomed a number of students from the NY/NJ area schools who hoped to receive an internship as the DiBOSCo project begins to take form in the area. By their own admission, these students were attracted to getting involved in a financial project that valued social responsibility and the just treatment of its workers (i.e., farmers and those providing services in support of this product).
Peter shared his passion for coffee, Don Bosco’s mission with poor young people, and justice in the workplace with an in-person and virtual gathering of approximately 80 Salesian Family members at Mary Help of Christians Academy in North Haledon. The participants represented many SF groups from Vancouver to Florida. It was encouraging to see their enthusiasm for helping to prepare the young for a better life through their participation in this project. Many of those present were intent on purchasing items of the DiBOSCo coffee and chocolate to give their loved ones as Christmas presents.
Before leaving for his home in Slovakia, Peter Kovac finalized the establishment of the DiBOCo franchise in the US. He met with city planners in Paterson about securing rental space for the establishment of a corporate presence, a warehouse, and a coffee shop for the DiBOSCo brand. He explored a number of sites in the Paterson area that could be suitable locations for this enterprise to take root and grow. In one short week, the DiBOSCo project established a foundation for reinserting Don Bosco’s name and mission into the city of Paterson. It gathered large numbers of Salesian Past Pupils (FMA and SDB) who see in DiBOSCo an opportunity for them and their fellow graduates to continue the work of Don Bosco for the poor in their area.
It was a good week for expanding our Salesian Family outreach on behalf of Don Bosco’s mission. Please look for updates on the DiBOSCo project in future editions of SF Snippets and on the Don Bosco Salesian Portal.