I recently had the privilege of spending time with the Retreat Team at Savio House, to learn more about the work they do, and what keeps them going.

The members of this year's team comes from seven different countries, and with the increasingly international make-up of the schools who visit, this variety of languages and cultures brings a great deal to their work, enriching the team itself and the services it offers to young people.

In addition to Fr Tony, Fr Roman, and staff Polly and Emma, I met volunteers Laia and Alvar, who are both from Spain; Kazzi and Georgia from the UK; and two Salesian Brothers, Greg from Nigeria, and Lukasz from Poland.

I asked what they enjoy most about their work. Georgia said "It's seeing the young people grow during the experience. When I started, I didn't know how much of an impact retreats have on young people in such a short period of time."

Greg is in his second year on the Savio Team, and has seen the same groups of young people return, and notices the difference, "seeing the progression in their lives and in their relationship with God when they come back gives me a sense of joy," he said.

Lukasz also felt the importance of being alongside the young people on retreat, "just to be with them, speak to them, share experiences and, sometimes, give advice: this is a really huge occasion."

Polly identified one of Savio's unique aspects: "This is one of the few places where you live as lay people and religious together, and that makes it really special."

I imagine many people must wonder what that's like, and Laia agreed that until you experience this way of life, you may have misconceptions, "If you don't know about this situation, you may think that if you live with priests you have to be quiet and serious all the time, but it's not like that. We have so much fun!"

While the community changes each year with new volunteers coming into the team, Emma highlighted the continuity, "It always becomes a family. It's welcoming not just for the people who come here on retreats, but also for the members of staff."

We usually describe spending a year in this kind of work as life-changing, and the team members were able to describe just how it's changed them. Kazzi said, " Savio House has given me my direction. It's helped me build my path in working with young people. I've developed my skills and my confidence, and learned what it means to be Salesian."

I asked how the team feels they develop the spirituality of young people, and Alvar explained the approach, "When you hear the word 'spirituality', you think books and boring things. Our work with young people is not always to speak about God. This is the place to connect with the young people more than to read about spirituality.

With each retreat they provide for young people based on Don Bosco's four windows:, home, school, church and playground, the team agreed that they feel Jesus with them in every session and every game of football, basketball or pool.

The work of Savio House is demanding and makes extraordinary volunteers even more extraordinary. They learn and use high-level skills they may not get a chance to develop elsewhere. Although the hours can be long and the work demanding, they find joy in each other and in the young people they work with.

Thank you, Team Savio, for a wonderful welcome, and for all that you do, on behalf of the whole Salesian Family.

Clare Lewis
Salesian Link