by Cleric Justus Mendis
PUNE, AUG 16, 2017: Twenty-five youth from various Pune-based parishes, like Sacred Heart Church- Yerwada, Our Lady of Perpetual Help- Tadiwala, St. Anne's- Solapur 
Bazar and St. Ignatius Church- Khadki participated in the 'Dialogue Yatra', at Don Bosco Youth Centre in Pune (DBYC) on August 13.
The programme aimed at highlighting the importance of dialogue between diverse groups of people. Marina D'costa, from Mumbai, together with her co-hosts Jacinta David from Khadki and Salesian brothers Bryce Rodrigues and Justus Mendis from Koregaon Park in collaboration with St. Ignatius Church Youth Group, Khadki organised the event.
The yatra began at 11am on the walking plaza bridge of Yerwada, where the youth were briefed about the event. The participants were paired with buddies and given a bucket list to be fulfilled on the streets of Yerwada. The bucket list consisted of tasks like appreciating a person's work, knowing a rickshaw driver, singing a song on the street.
At 12.30pm, they gathered at DBYC and shared their experiences of intentionally making meaningful conversation with the local people of Yerwada. Participants were made aware of the struggles of people on the streets and also the joys and hopes with which they live their daily life.
D'costa, the host, at the end enlightened the group about the value of dialogue through meaningful conversations contrasting to the merely 'Hi-Bye' type of conversations in our families, neighbourhood, parishes and society at large.
Father Derrick Coutinho, the youth in-charge of Khadki parish, lauded the creative effort of the youth and the team in building meaningful friendships through meaningful conversations.