What's Felices los Niños' motto?

Activity and Joy

1.- Activity:

When we look at this page we have the feeling there's a large crowd in constant movement, and we perceive everyone is moving "at the same rhythm". It is vital for us that our children always are active. Today many speak of "restraint"... which makes me recall some kind of guard who restrains an outbreak, so we better speak of motivation, of enthusiasm, of goals to be accomplished... Those who restrain only think of setting bounds to people, while those who fill with enthusiasm will make movement develop personalities...

GROWTH is development, ordered and at the same time creative movement...

The stagnant water of "some rigid discipline" leads to decomposition (for instance, children sitting for hours in front of the TV, to the eyes of a warder their behaviour is terrific, while actually we don't let them grow).

Like on this screen, children move together in unison, and the rhythm of this movement is our charisma, our style, the one to which WE ALWAYS NEED TO COME BACK: THE CHARISMA IS THE WARRANT FOR THE SURVIVAL OF OUR FOUNDATION:

The charisma is summed up in Foundation's name:

Felices los Niños
means
Happy are the Children

• Always active
• Always supervised
• Always with their educators

Our Educational System is Don Bosco's Preventive System, in which what matters most is

ARRIVING BEFORE OTHERS:

• Before evil,
• before drugs,
• before hunger...
• before ignorance,
• BEFORE SIN!

To do so we must have an agile spirit and be soft in the acceptance of the World of Young People: "Loving what they love, so they will accept both education and the projects proposed by adults" (Don Bosco)

And "loving them is not enough, it is necessary for them to realize that they are loved" (Don Bosco)

THEREFORE, WE MUST NOT FORGET THAT ORGANIZED, PLANNED AND THOROUGHLY EVALUATED ACTIVITY IS THE FIRST PART OF OUR CHARISMA AND THE BASIS OF OUR EDUCATIONAL ROUTE.

2.- Joy:

Saint Paul told the Philippians: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!". He said so not by mere accident, but this is the "quintessence of education". Joy does not reduce to Laughter or Smiles, to hubbub or to an outburst of enthusiasm, it is something that arises from the inside and then feels it must be shown. The world crisis we live today is a crisis of happiness: It is believed that happiness can be swallowed or injected: Never!

Joy springs from the soul in God's Grace!

And what is Grace? It's simply the "accepted" presence of God within us. When God knocks at the door of our being and we open Him, there comes up "veritable joy".

• Regrettably many youths believe joy is in music, when actually the truth is that joy is celebrated with music.


• Some kids believe that joy is swallowed with some liquids, when actually joy is the liquid of our blanced inside in harmony!


• Some adults believe that joy is achieved by large possessions, they do not understand that joy is experienced by sharing a lot!

We want joy to be experienced in our Foundation as an organized and spontaneous expression of music, of theater, of art and poetry, as well as the joy arising from the satisfaction of an "accomplished duty"...

We want our young people live the joy of "giving" through apostolic, missionary, and social commitment groups.

Only thus will our main goal become a reality:

Felices los Niños
means
Happy are the Children

Father Julio César Grassi