By Sheena Aery
VADODARA, JULY 26, 2018: The crux of the Salesian mission world-over is to cater to the marginalised sectors of society. The Salesians have championed the cause of the poor for decades. In Vadodara, Gujarat, a special felicitation programme was held on July 25, for the first batch of 'star kids' or underprivileged students to pass out of standard 12 from Don Bosco High School (DBHS), Vadodara.
The new graduates benefited from the 'E-Andolan' project which was launched in 2004. The mission of the project, now rebranded as Roshni project, was to educate underprivileged children. It was initiated by Don Bosco school under the guidance of, the then Rector Father Savio Silveira - pioneer of the E-Andolan project.
Various localities around Don Bosco school were identified and teachers from the school took an initiative to teach the students the basics of education for a month, before beginning their formal education. Fifteen students with a keen interest to learn were admitted to the main stream of DBHS, Vadodara. These students were called 'the star kids'.
The first batch of star education project passes out of standard 12 this year. One student will opt for medical, one for engineering, four will pursue graduation and one will be pursuing a para-medical course. Of the batch of 10 students, two opted for technical school after class 10 and one registered for National Institute of Open School (NIOS).
The programme began with a prayer, followed by Jagruti Patil, the coordinator of the Roshni project, taking everyone down memory lane. The Roshni project has also opened Self Help Groups (SHG) for the empowerment of women as a primary focus and income generation as a secondary objective.
Father George Miranda of Bosco Snehalaya, Vadodara congratulated all those involved in nurturing these boys. "Train your mind to see the good in every situation. Be yourself," he said.
Kiran Lohani, a retired teacher, wished the students luck and advised them to be good citizens of India and make DBHS proud. Lourdes Mary, another retired teacher, added, "The DBHS fraternity feels proud of raising the shining stars, and the success they have achieved through their hard work, commitment and determination," she said.
Rahul Bhaviskar, a star student, who will pursue engineering said, "I am very grateful to the school management, staff and my parents for nurturing and guiding me with love and affection."
Nilesh Devre, another star student, who will pursue graduation said, "I am indebted to the management for the facilities and opportunities provided to us by the school in sports, co-curricular and studies."
Father Anthony Pinto, the Rector and Principal of DBHS, Vadodara addressed the students, saying, "Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is success."