Leslie: A Friend, A Coach and A Benefactor

Just few days back, I happen to see something extra ordinary about this simple man, Mr. Leslie, that my heart compels to write something about him. As Salesian, who are called to work for young people, made me feel a bit ashamed when I saw his dedication, hardwork and commitment.
Mr. Leslie has been a football coach in Don Bosco Matunga for many years and he is still faithful to his work. When Br. Ramesh D calls him to coach our rathwa boys and girls, he makes it a point to sacrifice all his works and benefits just to be with them. What is more surprising is the fact, that he doesn’t take a single pie, plus he spends his own money to come here and he gets lots of coaching material for kids. His bag is always full of clothes for the boys when he comes for coaching and he goes empty. Even at the last minute, he makes it a point to travel by general compartment, without getting proper sleep to be with us. There are other institutions who call him during the diwali and summer vacations but his heart and mind is in the mission to serve the poor tribal boys and girls. His commitment is amazing. He gets up early in the morning and coaches till 12 p.m. and then again he starts at 4 till 7 p.m. His hard work and commitment is amazing. He doesn’t make any fuss about the food or travel. Very simple and un assuming. He makes it a point to know where the boys and girls have reached during the tournament and if any material is needed for the kids, he makes it a point to send it from Mumbai. The Salesian Community is amazed at his dedication and commitment towards our Rathwa boys and girls. Praise worthy. Can we see this same commitment in our Salesian? The lay people today are really doing well without any benefits or perks. We need to learn from them and be like them. Time has come to look at the other side of life and learn from them.
Gregory Almeida sdb

Coaching camp: Preparing Tribal kids for the Nationals

In the field of sports Don Bosco Kawant has been exceptional this year especially in Hockey and Football, as our teams were the champions in the District level.
To sustain this performance of our kids there is a coaching camp held in our campus for our kids during the Diwali holidays. Our kids are sacrificing their holidays to improve themselves in skill and stamina so that one day they to may reach Delhi to play in the National’s just as their seniors did. This coaching camp was fully planned by Bro Ramesh D sdb. He makes arrangements for coaches to come and give training to our Adivasi kids who are ready and willing to learn.
We have 3 coaches that comes all the way from Bombay to train our kids, each sacrificing their time for the love of our children here in Kawant, Gujarat. They are Leslie, Javed and Michael. It is through their special guidance and presence our children have picked up the skill and insight to the game they are learning. The kids are having a good 8 hours training in the day. That is from 6:00 am till 11:00 am in the morning and then 4:00 pm till 7:00 pm in the evening. The good number of hours of training is helping our kids to gain skill, accuracy and a lot of stamina.
All the sacrifice, pain and hard work put in by our children will surely pay back in the future. We wish them all the very best as they pursue their interest in sports and for the tournaments they shall partake in the future.
Shawn D’Lima

Mini Boscoree at Don Bosco Kawant

In preparation for Boscoree, which will be held in Dimapur in the month of December 2010, there was a preparation camp held in Don Bosco Kawant, from the 30th of October 2010 till the 2nd of November 2010. 2 schools participated in this camp i.e. Don Bosco Kawant (24) and Don Bosco Chotaudepur (31).
The camp schedule was prepared according to the Boscoree schedule so that the scouts and guides familiarize themselves to the needs that are required. In the schedule there were March pass, Theme presentation, Camp fire items, Cultural songs and dance, Gadgets making, Pioneering projects and Cooking competition. The scouts and guides got a really good picture and idea on what was being demanded from them and what was going to happen in the Boscoree which will be held in Dimapur.There were 4 patrols in the camp and among them there was a really good competition in all the activities and projects that were conducted for them.
The theme of the Boscoree this year is Peace on Earth. Educating the younger generation of the importance of peace and respect for life is very important and all this is reflected through the skits and charts that are made by the scouts and guides. Through the skits and charts a lot of beautiful values were conveyed about love for life, animals, nature and one another. The camp though for a purpose i.e. preparation for the Boscoree was indeed fun and enjoyment for all, as they just finished their first term in school and they were all set for some practical activity.
The children at the very out set enjoyed themselves as they got themselves in union with nature. Gadget for all the kids were something very interesting as they were making use of all the natural resources to get themselves organized in the camp. In the hike the kids enjoyed trekking and woodcraft signs and the many games that were organized during the journey. Pioneering project in a very special way was a discovery for all the scout and guides, as all the theory of knots and lashings had all become practical. The grand camp fire was enjoyed by all the kids as they each performed contributing something that was their very own.
At the end of the camp the Lion patrol appeared to be the champions of the whole event that was held. This patrol represented Don Bosco Kawant. In the second place was the Tiger patrol representing Don Bosco Chotaudepur.
My personal experience about this camp is geared towards the motto Be Prepared and the Scout Laws. A good scout or guide who has all this in born talents or develops them within them does not make only a camp successful but also his/her life. Once a scout, always a scout.
By Shawn D’Lima sdb.

Tribal Teams to Represent Gujarat at National Hockey Tourney

VADODARA: Two teams from the tribal belt of central Gujarat have been selected to represent Gujarat at the national level hockey tournament to be held in New Delhi.

Teams from tribal talukas of Kawant and Chhota Udepur of Vadodara district have been selected for the forthcoming Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Tournament which will be held at Dhyanchand Stadium in New Delhi.

A girls team from Don Bosco, Chhota Udepur, and a newly formed boys team from Don Bosco, Kawant, will represent the state in the tournament. Interestingly, it is for the ninth time that the girls team from Don Bosco, Chhota Udepur, is representing Gujarat at the national level hockey tournament. Students from these tribal talukas have been trained by chief hockey coach T C Pothiwala.

The teams have been trained by Sports Authority of Gujarat at special training camps. So far, nearly 350 girls and boys from Don Bosco, Chhota Udepur have participated in various state and national level tournaments.

Read more: Tribal teams to represent Guj at national hockey tourney - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/Tribal-teams-to-represent-Guj-at-national-hockey-tourney-/articleshow/6811484.cms#ixzz13Y4MeVW1

Don Bosco Kawant Gujarat State Champions U-15

A fruitful result was seen after all the hard work put in by our boys to achieve such a memorable task. Being the district champions of Vadodara taluka, they qualified to play the state tournament matches which were held in Don Bosco Narukot on the 25th to the 28th of September 2010. Hours of practice brought confidence in the eyes of our boys. In the state tournament matches they defeated Surat 3-0, Ahmedabad 2-0, Gandhi Nagar 4-0, Narukot 1-0 and Rajkot 2-0 to achieve this title as State Champions of Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Cup Under 15. To achieve this feat is very difficult in todays world as the number of good well equipped schools are increasing. Our team in its simplicity has won great fame inspite of the tough competition. We thank all our coaches Bakesh, Javed,Bro Ramesh and Cl. Shawn who assisted and supported team through their journey of success.
We also thank all our benefactors and volunteers for providing us with all the necessary equipment that has helped us to reach such good results. We wish our boys all the best as they journey to Delhi to play in the National Level, Jawaharlal Nehru Cup, representing the Gujarat State.
Congratulations Boys we are proud of you’ll.
Cl. Shawn D’Lima sdb

Extra Ordinary Visitation to Don Bosco Kawant

The 12th of September 2010 was a say of blessing for the house of Don Bosco Kawant as Fr Maria Arokiam, the regional of the South Asia of our Congregation, came to our community in the name of the Rector Major.Fr Maria was welcomed solemnly at the entrance gate of our Institution. There was then a Rathwa dance from the gate to the boarding hall expressing the culture of this place. Fr Maria and Fr Vinod were escorted by the Salesian confreres residing in the place.
After a short break there was the holy Eucharist with the Salesian family. Just after the mass there was a small program expressing love and gratitude to Fr Maria for his presence among us. Fr Maria then encouraged our people with his inspiring talk. He was touched by the work that was done in Kawant. He was also very happy as he distributed the prizes that were received by our institution in the field of sports as this year the school had won 5 major tournaments. After the short program Fr Maria planted a Neem tree in front of our boarding hall that showed his love for nature and so also leaving behind a mark of love and gratitude for his behalf.
He visited villages where we were working and was touched by the effort that was made by us to reach out to these children in the VEP. The children of the Nakal village in turn expressed the love they had for Father Maria through a short program that was organized by them for him.
Fr Maria then meet the confreres of Kawant personally. Then he meet the Salesian family and thanked them for the lovely work they were doing in this mission land. The Salesian family also out of love and gratitude towards Father Maria expressed it through the gifts they had brought for him.In the final conference where he met the whole community together, he read the report of the community. He then motivated the confreres and asked them to evaluate the work they were doing. He made us aware that we were religious and so also men of God and that we were different from Social workers.Fr Maria’s visit to Kawant was a memorable one and our community was blessed truly blessed by his coming.
By Shawn D’Lima sdb

Training on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan at Kawant Don Bosco

Twenty-nine development staff from across Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh met at DISHA Development Centre (Don Bosco Kawant) for a training session on the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) and the newly-enacted Right to Education (RTE). The centres represented were Kawant, Chhota Udepur, Kapadvanj, Alirajpur and Jhabua.
The aim of the session was to gain an understanding of the provisions of the SSA and RTE, and to learn how to enable people in the villages to secure their right to education under these programmes. The first resource person for the day was Ms. Rita Bhatt, the Director of the NGO ‘Abhiyaan’ (Baroda). She stressed on the need for development workers to secure people’s participation to ensure the success of community-based programmes. She also explained that the SSA does not confine itself to mainstream students but also has provisions for children with special needs. The challenge is to secure the correct enforcement of these provisions despite government apathy.The second resource person was Mr. Ramanbhai Rathwa, the head of the SSA Block Resource Centre of Kawant taluka. He explained the structure of the SSA implementation system, and also the roles of people’s committees such as the Village Education Committee. The staff understood that a significant amount of money is sanctioned by the government for educational facilities; however, the quality of education remains low.
The program gave the participants the chance to understand two different points of view—that of the government and of an independent NGO—on the functioning of the education system. The staff from all the centres thanked Fr. Gregory Almeida and the development team at DISHA Kawant for organizing this program.
Lyra Pinto