One of the most
important characteristics of Salesian movement in Poland is that it is very large. Poland is
divided into 4 provinces of SDB and 2 provinces of FMA. There are about 190
Salesian centres which carry out youth work in the fields of oratories,
schools, parishes, PGS etc. WDM (Salesian Centre of Education and Youth
Ministry) was set up as an organization to coordinate all these youth ministry
local activities and to create the country – broad level of communication. WDM
was started in 1994 in Krakow. It is
beautifully situated by the river Vistula in Krakow. The
structure looks as follows:
- 6 delegates – one
from each province - youth representatives – 2 from each province - workers of
WDM residence in Krakow: Country Delegate (the
head of WDM), a few Salesian priests, office worker (a volunteer) and a group
of youth volunteers
Meetings of the
members initiated mutual communication, the possibility of getting closer to
each other, sharing the materials, knowledge, experiences and ideas. We learned
to make common views, plans and activities. The attention of WDM focuses
basically on the youth ministry in oratories, schools, parishes, centres for
the “difficult” young people etc.