How are we present among the young people? - Japan survey

By GIA Youth Ministry commission

Tokyo, December 2019 -- Listening to Young People is always the first step for Salesian Youth Ministry. However we always recognize that due to many circumstances our personal presence among the youth is getting less - due to our increasing age or due to large amounts of administrative work, the generation gap, or an emotional, cultural distance between the Salesians and the young.

The Youth ministry commission in Japan province launched a simple province-wide survey in November about our presence among the young. The results are not very surprising, but are quite inspiring and formative. A total of 45/ 87 SDB members of Japan province replied to the survey.

Who are the SDBs?

Age: 5/5 SDB (20-29 years), 2/7 SDB (30-39 years), 10/13 SDB (40-49 years), 7/14 SDB (50-59 years), 4/11 (60-69 years), 8/16 SDB (70-79 years), 7/16 (80-89 years) and 2 of 6 SDB who are more than 90 years old.

In what kind of settings are the SDB encountering young people?

• Parish - 19
• School - 12
• Formation, Aspirants- 8
• Kindergarten - 7
• Social works - 5
• Others (total) - 14

How many hours a day do Salesians spend with the young (average)?

• 20-29 years old: 5.2 hrs a day
• 30-39 years old: 3 hrs a day
• 40-49 years old: 3.7 hrs a day
• 50-59 years old: 2.6 hrs a day
• 60-69 years old: 6.3 hrs a day (!)
• 70 years above: 1 hrs a day

What is the age of 'your' young people? (multiple-choices)

• 11-15 years old (27 SDB)
• 16-20 years old (23 SDB)
• 6-10 years old (18 SDB)
• 21-25 years old (15 SDB)
• 26 years above (11 SDB)

So far, just numbers, but the numbers have something to say.

Thanks to the Japan province Youth Ministry commission for this simple and inspiring effort.

Without the (poor) young people any member of the Salesian family can't go to heaven!

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