austraLasia #2449

Eight years on for Don Bosco Agro-Mechanical Technology Centre

LEGAZPI (FIN): 28th June 2009 --  Cardinal José Tomás Sánchez might be a few months short of nonogenarian status, but he is sprightly, and his connections with Legazpi City go back to his very active pastoral days as a young priest, as well as his connections with the Don Bosco Agro-Mechnical Technology Centre - he was there at its inauguration, after all. It was fitting, then, that he should be available to celebrate the eighth anniversary of the Centre, along with Bishop Sorra who was instrumental in bringing the Centre into being, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Edward Adams - and Bro Louie Parolin, a dynamic Venetian-turned-Filipino who helped conceive and plan the centre, and is still there at the heart of it.
    It was in the early ‘80’s that the Bishop of Legazpi invited the Salesians to establish a vocational centre in the Diocese but just at that time the superiors in Rome had suggested that the Philippines province expand to Papua New Guinea, which shelved the presence of the Salesians in the Diocese of Legazpi for the time being.
    In 1996, Bishop Jose C. Sorra again presented the Provincial with a request for Salesians in his diocese. He offered land in a hilly area with coconut plantations about 18 km south of the City. Aware of the geographic location Salesians locally strongly suggested opening a vocational agricultural center. The Bishop was surprised at the 'agricultural' suggestion, but trusted the Salesians, on two conditions: that they train youth in employable skills, and impart values and attitude formation (good Christians and honest citizens).
    Bro Louie Parolin was assigned by the then Provincial, now Bishop Luciano Capelli, to plan for the Centre. Since the land belonged to the diocese and remains with the same, the Bishop agreed to provide the structures and its main equipment. He approached and obtained from CEI (Italy) and Misereor (Germany) the amount he needed. Bishop Sorra with the auxiliary bishop blessed the cornerstone for the Center on September 11, 2000. After about 9 months the structures of the Center, with main equipment, were ready.
    June 28, 2001 was set for the inauguration and solemn Blessing. Present were His Eminence José T. Cardinal Sánchez, D.D., by then prefect emeritus of the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy (he served in that role from 1991-96); His Grace the most Rev. Antonio Franco, D.D., the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines; Bishop Jose C. Sorra, Bishop of Legazpi, his auxiliary bishop, and 6 other Bishops.
    Bishop Sorra set this date for the blessing of the Centre to coincide with the solemn celebration of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Diocese which was celebrated in that afternoon at the cathedral with a Pontifical Mass. Worth noting is that the Salesians were also celebrating the 50th year of the presence of Don Bosco in the Philippines.
    In the first few years, the establishing of an agricultural school in hilly countryside with coconut plantations was not understood by a number of Salesians who had expected good, flat land, good sources of water, no typhoons, closeness to the city. Of the 12 hectares of the Centre, only about 15 to 20% of the land can be tilled with plow and tractor. To practice agriculture in these conditions is not easy, but it is possible and it must be done since about 40% of the land of the region is hilly. The fact is: there are many farmers who do not know how to make hilly land productive therefore they cannot get out of poverty.
    But Bro Parolin saw that it could be done. He saw the challenge and a big opportunity for Don Bosco through this Centre: to practise and adapt agricultural technology suited to the land, transfer it to youth, assist the same to implement it in their own farming practice. The Clergy, the government and the people have grown to very much appreciate Don Bosco AMTC since it answers the needs of the farmers and of the country.
This year, ’08-09, the Centre is training 160 youth in 3 skills: agriculture, farm mechanics and general electricity. They keep on developing and adapting the technology according to their means.
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Title: australasia 2449
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces FIN DBAMTC Legazpi
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|2449