Pleiku City
(AsiaNews) - To promote and support young people, particularly those from
ethnic minorities is the goal of the diocese of Kontum in the Central Highlands
of Vietnam.
The diocese has 300 thousand Catholics in a population of nearly two million
people and young people account for 70% of the population. The area is very
poor and there is a wide gap in social differences between rich and poor which sees
an increasing number of minority children who are forced to leave school.
This is the reason that led the Caritas of Kontum to open shelters for children
of ethnic minorities. The religious institutes and parishes are providing
support to enable young people to go to school.
A recent survey conducted among 500 Catholic students shows that "the
number of Catholic students who go to Mass on Sunday reaches 95.4%, with 3.7% going
occasionally and there is only 0.9% who do not go to church. Furthermore, 77.8%
of young people believe that following the indications of their faith is very
important, 19.4%, believe it to be important, 2.8% unimportant. Nobody said it
is not important. "
In the current reality, the ethnic minority populations are devoted to
agriculture. They have no training as carpenters, masons, tailors, mechanics,
or in other areas. So Caritas also organizes training courses to help them find
work and gradually integrate into the wider community and society.
"We want to create a support group and help each other" - some students tell
AsiaNews . "We want to organize
meetings, share our work experiences, we want to pray together." Another
group emphasizes "the need for aid from the local churches and religious
orders to learn catechism, to discover the message of Pope Benedict XVI, to
know the views of the local Church in the current social situation. So we may
be witnesses in our life and to other people. "