The old lady came into my office with a little hand. She told me that she had little time left to live, that the child’s parents had died, and that she was leaving him to me. So, without anesthesia, he turned around and left.
In front of me, with his eyes fixed on mine, was Benson, who barely stammered in English. He came from a village and it was simple, but it turned out to be brilliant. After a few years, he finished his professional training at the top of his class. Then he said to me: “I have a dream: to finish High School”. “Go ahead,” I told him, and he was also the best in his class.
Are you still dreaming?
He taught English and mathematics to the street children. And two years later I asked him: “Are you still dreaming? Yes,” he said, “I want to go to university and study agriculture. And he did it too. But he never stopped dreaming: “Now I’m going for my master’s degree.
And the village boy did his master’s degree in Agriculture. When he brought me all his certificates, what a joy it conveyed. Today he works in our Project Office in the Salesian Inspectorate of West Africa and still dreams of doing his doctorate.
No one is ever lost forever
As long as there is life and the ability to dream, there is always a reason to move on and keep fighting. I repeat it to the hundreds of boys and girls we meet every day on the streets of Freetown. Our happiness does not depend on money, prestige, power or pleasure. It does not depend on others.
It’s something much deeper. It is a state of the soul. Also, it is in our heart and depends on our ability to dream of high and noble ideals. It depends on God’s presence in our lives and on our trust in Him and in ourselves.
I am touched to hear the dreams of our boys and girls
“I dream of being a lawyer to help other girls”, “I want to be a footballer like Thiago”, or “a soldier to defend my country”, “a social worker to help Don Bosco”… There is not even anyone who dreams of being a religious or Don Bosco.
Don Bosco’s dream was to see his poor young people happy here on earth and in eternity. Luther King’s dream was that his children would not be judged by the color of their skin but by their personality. Jesus’ dream was the Kingdom of God; to recreate the world guided by justice, mercy and service.
What is your deepest and truest dream? Dear friend, may nothing and no one rob you of your ability to dream that, after all, that is the key to happiness.