austraLasia #2797 Shortland Islands: not 'the' statue, but a Don Bosco
Statue procession, nevertheless!
Bishop Luciano Capelli sdb
NILA (Shortland Islands, Gizo diocese, Solomon
Isalnds): 3 February 2011 -- When I first heard of the
name of the Saint John School at Nila I inquired about who
that saint John was:
"John the Baptist, John the Evangelist or John who, nao?
"John Bosco" was the reply.
I could not believe my ears, the Saint
whom I took as a model for my life, the founder of the
Congregation to which I have belonged for 45 years, the John
after whom I named the first Don Bosco School in the
country... has been waiting for me as the Patron Saint of a
Primary school built by the Dominicans decades ago. Right
there and then I knew what the name of the Secondary school
wanted by all the chiefs in the Shortlands would be: Saint
John Bosco Senior Secondary School and Training Centre.
This is the school that was blessed and
inaugurated on the feast of Saint John Bosco last January
31, 2011 at Poporang Island (the cradle of Christianity in
the Shortlands 110 years ago) as part of the mission of the
Nila Mission Station belonging to the diocese of Gizo.
The first students have arrived, majority
graduates from Tuha Junior secondary school and others from
the rest of the diocese. The staff are all well experienced
Don Bosco Trained Instructors and educators from the
Philippines and some of the early graduates and instructors
at the Don Bosco Technical Institute, Secondary School and
Training Centre established at Henderson in 2000
The new school set up in Nila will
pioneer the much awaited and talked about TVET curriculum
students for students who passed Form Three, consisting in a
curriculum of 60% academic and 40% technical. In agreement
with the ministry the same school will also give the
possibility and be open to those who failed Form Three but
have a strong motivation to pursue a TVET curriculum in
Forms Four and Five (70% hands on skills development and 30%
academic subjects)
The school believes in the educational method of Don Bosco
in forming honest Citizens because they are good Christians.
A good education is the best prevention of all forms of
criminality by bringing out the best from every young
person, am image of God with dignity and a destiny.
Hundreds of community leaders and members
joined in the affair and expressed their support to the new
school with a great sense of pride and achievement. Many
chiefs promised to sustain the efforts for the incoming
Phase two of the school. Italian Volunteers who generously
supported the Don Bosco Henderson and Tetere projects have
been very much involved in the project and will do so till
the end of phase three.
The statue of Don Bosco was brought in procession to the new
school through a new road built by the Italian volunteers
through the hillside... away from the danger of Tsunamis...
Meantime The FAMOA chiefs have donated
the lease of the Tuha Land to the Diocese of Gizo for 50
years for the purpose of running and improving the Tuha
Junior secondary school which is in very pitiful condition.
Maintenance and renewal works are ongoing and will soon
provide Tuha with a new face and a new name: Saint John
Bosco Tuha Junior Secondary School, following the TVET
program for secondary schools as piloted by Don Bosco
Henderson as a new way of running secondary schools in the
country. Some of those who graduated from Don Bosco TVET 6
year program in secondary school are now being trained in
Vanga Teachers college (run by the Catholic church of Gizo)
to provide a new kind of teacher for the country. _________________
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