Don Bosco to celebrate 60 yrs in Goa HERALD NEWS DESK PANJIM, MARCH 27 - Where stood a tile-roofed structure for a chapel and an Oratory in 1949, today stands Don Bosco's, Panjim, arguably Goa's best educational campus.
The progress of the Salesians since they first set foot here in 1946 can at the least be described as historic. And, reason enough to call for a celebration. The Salesians, who in the six decades of their presence here have played a stellar role in shaping the lives of thousands of Goa's youth, are launching their diamond jubilee year celebrations on April 4. A rally of all Salesian schools of Goa beginning from Azad Maidan and culminating at Don Bosco, Panjim where a mass will be held will kick off the celebrations. Specially coming from Italy for the event is Fr Joseph Moja, the man who in the company of two colleagues - Late Fr Vincent Scuderi and Late Fr Joseph Carreno - began the brick-by-brick building of Don Bosco's, Panjim. Also planned are a number of other activities through the year - a youth fest, a seminar on Don Bosco's educative methods and a sports festival. It was way back in 1946, that the three Italian priests - Fr Scuderi, Fr Carreno and Fr Moja - are said to have set foot here in Goa with nothing but a football in hand. The priests and the inflated piece of leather brought together young Goan boys by the dozens to script the beginning of the Salesian presence in Goa. With help from the then Portuguese authorities, the trio managed to buy land and set up an English school in 1947 with Fr Moja as headmaster. There were three teachers and 36 students. A chapel was also built in 1949. All this on a 40,000-odd square metres of land where today stands a magnificient campus of Don Bosco's Panjim. Soon after Goa's liberation, the Salesians moved to other regions of Goa, setting up educational institutions and farms at Sulcorna and at Quepem in 1962. Eleven years later, they set up a technical scool and an Oratory at Fatorda. In the 1980s, Odxel in Taleigao saw the Salesians set up a centre. Committed to the core to the stated objectives of their founder Don Bosco, the Salesians didn't rest with merely setting up educational institutions in Goa. They've also devoted their energies to reaching out to the under-average youths who in the melee of formal education, fall by the wayside. With these drop-outs in mind, the Salesians set up the Don Bosco Technical Institute at Loutolim where trades like steel fabrication, carpentry and electric repairs are imparted. The stress on informal, hands-on methods of training here make this unique institution an ideal learning experience for the slow learners, who can walk in for admission, any time on any day. At Parra in Bardez, they run a child helpline soothing the ruffled emotions of homeless and troubled children. The Salesians also administer a parish at Tuem in Pernem, where they have also set up a school and a boarding. ~(^^)~ Avelino _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
