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New Delhi:

Book ‘Hand in Hand’ Celebrates Lay Leadership in Salesian Mission

7 September 2026

Profiles, Publications, SPCSA,

News reported by: Bastin Nellissery SDB

The South Asia Region has released Hand in Hand: Lay Leaders Sharing in the Salesian Mission, a visually rich publication on the contributions of lay collaborators to the Salesian charism and mission across the region. Rector Major Fr Fabio Attard released the book in New Delhi and handed it over to Fr Mathew Valiyakattel, the book's coordinator and designer.

Inspired by Don Bosco’s vision of shared responsibility between religious and lay people, the publication profiles two lay collaborators from each of the 12 Provinces of the South Asia Region. It documents, through their stories, the diverse ways in which lay leaders participate in the spirituality, mission and life of the Salesian community, particularly in service of the poor and vulnerable.

The publication also highlights how lay collaboration advances the Salesian commitment to “Mission Poverty Eradication,” showing how Salesians and lay people working together can transform the lives of vulnerable young people and struggling families.

The stories featured in the book portray a wide range of initiatives. Social workers are helping drought-prone communities transform their lands through watershed development. Teachers enable children from disadvantaged backgrounds to acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills, while technical educators are establishing modern laboratories to equip vulnerable youth with skills and opportunities for dignified employment.

The book also features mentors who dedicate their holidays to accompanying children in shelter homes, ensuring that orphans and those without adequate family support are not left alone. It also includes inspiring accounts of former orphans who, after rebuilding their own lives, have returned to build homes and emerge as leaders in their communities.

Hand in Hand serves both as a tribute to the commitment of lay collaborators and as an invitation to a new generation of lay faithful to join hands with the Salesians in carrying forward Don Bosco’s mission among young people and communities on the margins. It closes with a clear call to continue this shared mission together.