This article appeared in the
Solomon Star, Honiara.
“Don Bosco Henderson”
evaluates its presence to be dynamically faithful.
-
Fr.
Ambrose Pereira sdb
Saint John Bosco founded the
Salesians in 1954 who since then run 5000 “DON BOSCO” educational Institutions
in 130 countries including in the Solomon Islands for the past few
months.
The students
of Don Bosco Training Centre, Henderson are about to complete the first of the
four modules, that commenced in September 2000 and will conclude in May
2001. Successful candidates will
then be admitted to the next module.
Automotive Mechanics, Welding and Fabrication, Agriculture, together with
Communication Skills, Mathematics, Technical Drawing, Spiritual Guidance and
Value Education have been dealt with in this first module.
Don Bosco now
welcomed the arrival of Fr. Stephen Fujikawa, Provincial of the Province of
Japan and overall responsible for the Salesians in Japan and Solomon
Islands. He was accompanied by Fr.
Aldo Cipriani sdb Provincial Economer, Fr. Orlando Puppo sdb, Provincial Vicar
and Fr. Iida Tetsu sdb, Japanese Salesian Priest and electrical engineer who
will join the team in Henderson. Together with the Solomon school staff they
will evaluate the present educational and evangelization work and see if they
have been true to the charism of the founder: Saint John Bosco. In response to the many requests for
application forms plans for further development will also be
discussed.
“ It has been
a powerful experience for me as I spend my quality time with the young men and
accompany them in their process of growth.
I was deeply touched when one of them brought me a bunch of cabbage,
fruit of his hard work from the plot he worked on with a sincere ‘thank you
Father’. I look forward to the day when these young men will be even more responsible persons in
the sector of society in which they live in”, states Fr. Luciano Capelli sdb,
Director of the project in Solomon Islands. “We are hopeful that these youngsters
will in turn, reach out to inspire others youth of their age, now, and their
children in the future”.
“Our focus
here at Don Bosco’s is on punctuality, dedication and hard work. While every candidate is interested in
all that Don Bosco has to offer, be it studies or extra-cultural activities, it
calls for commitment and oneness of purpose to reach the completion of the
entire programme” comments Fr.
Ambrose Pereira sdb. “The
youngsters are talented and the capable of much. Education is possible with parents and
family members and hence we have visited the homes of every student. We encourage parents and guardians to
contribute to the growth of their child through constant dialogue between the
staff of the institute. It’s marvelous to see the response and the growth of
quite a few candidates”.
Mr. Atu
Balekana, the first Don Bosco collaborator in Solomon Islands has his heart with
the boys. He is pleased to see the
results of the boys and what they are capable of. Former teacher at SICHE, he believes
that firmness and kindness are most necessary for the youngsters. “I have joined Don Bosco, following an
inspiration of the Lord, who called me to go cast my net out into the deep. I am firmly convinced that Don Bosco
must maintain its standard and each one of us must to work hard to achieve his
objectives of building good Christians and honest citizens”. He constantly encourages the youngsters
to be aware of those who draw them away from their goal and their focus in
life. His constant presence in all
the activities – study, work, games and music - of the boys is much
appreciated.
“I have
noticed a gradual change in the candidates over the past few months. They are respectful, helpful and
concerned about others”, is what Mr. Waisea Banivalu, in-charge of welding and
fabrication has to say. “At times,
it could get discouraging and it does challenge me to work even
more”.
True to its
ideal of forming “Good Christians and Honest Citizens”, the Salesians and staff
of Don Bosco are striving to give of their best to work for these
out-of-school-youth, who have no possibility of further education. “The process is slow and the road long,
but we are planting seeds that will bear fruit in the years ahead” concludes Fr.
Luciano Capelli. “We are confident
that our youngsters will grow up well and their children will live a much better
style of life.
