austraLasia #2443

Chiang Mai Thailand's Don Bosco Home now officially opened
(and many thanks to those who have sent in news items over the past 12 hours!)

CHIANG MAI: 21st June 2009 -- Today at 10.00 a.m, Bishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana, the bishop of Chiang Mai Diocese, retired Bishop Joseph Sangwan Surasarang of Chiang Mai and 16 priests celebrated the Holy Eucharist for the official opening of Don Bosco Home, Chiang Mai with the participation of nearly 700 people.
    Don Bosco Home, Chiang Mai was founded in 2006. It is located on an area of 3.6 acres (9 Rai of land).   
    Don Bosco Home is a youth training centre for boys with the objective to help teenagers from hill tribes and ethnic groups in Thailand to receive the opportunity to continue their education in a 3-year career training programme. By so doing, the teenagers will have sufficient knowledge and competence to be able to make decent living, support themselves and their families, live their spirit-filled lives with dignity in the society and perform their religious activities. They will also be able to grow into ethical and moral persons according to the intention of Saint John Bosco, the father and teacher of the young and founder of the Salesian Congregation.
   At present, Don Bosco Home, Chiang Mai, has 3 dormitories for boys (each unit can accommodate 20-25 persons), 3 shower and toilet buildings, 2 laundry buildings, one dining and kitchen building, one library, one study room, one football field, one basketball field, 2 worker houses and one priest house. There is also Mary Help of Christians chapel in the centre of Don Bosco Home.
    Don Bosco Home can offer career training for 80 boys and Salesian vocation training for 20 boys (open for students of Grades 7-9). There are now 70 teenagers studying for certificate of profession and 7 students of Grade 7 are receiving Salesian vocation training (beginning for the first year). All of them are from hill tribes and ethnic groups including Pagayor, Arkha, Yao, Lahoo, Mong and locality. The teenagers also learn the gospel and receive evangelization and spiritual direction from the Salesians. They are encouraged to develop themselves physically, intellectually and morally as complete persons. They are as well educated and trained in the principles of loving kindness, reason and the standard of ordinary Christian living in accordance with Saint John Bosco’s preventive system of pedagogy.
    At the end of the celebration, Fr. John Bosco Thepharat Pitisant, the Provincial of the THA Province expressed his gratitude to those who helped construct Don Bosco Home. The official opening concluded with lunch and music in Salesian style.

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Title: australasia 2443
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces THA Chiang Mai DBH
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|2443