We are in the month of the October. The Focus of The Month is EMBRACING THE CALL TO BE MISSIONARY DISCIPLES AFTER THE HEART OF JESUS AND MARY. There are a number of Missions where Salesian priests are catering to the needs of the marginalised and the needy. One such mission centre is the Kapadvanj Don Bosco Society (KDBS)
KDBS is a Salesian institution situated in Kapadvanj and is a part of the Salesian Province of Mumbai. Almost twenty-six years ago, on March 24, 1994 the building of KDBS was blessed by Fr. Aurelius Maschio SDB. Today, it successfully runs two major initiatives—AMRUTDHARA and DRISTI.
AMRUTDHARA
AMRUTDHARA is the Catechetical Centre of the Gujarat Region of the Salesians of the Mumbai Province. It conducts a number of activities focussed on faith formation, value education and career guidance. Amrutdhara has gone beyond the Salesian presences and also serves the four dioceses of Gujarat—Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Ahmedabad and Baroda. Today, Amrutdhara also reaches out with its animation programmes to youngsters in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Recently, AMRUTDHARA started its in-house Audio-Video Production facility that produces content for faith formation, specially in the regional Gujarati Language.
DRISTI
DRISTI is the social development wing of Kapadvanj Don Bosco Society. DRISTI is instrumental in providing holistic development to the poor, the underprivileged and the needy in 62 talukas of Kapadvanj.
The social development works carried out by DRISTI include education, health camps, self-employment training and empowerment through Self Help Groups (SHGs). They work not only for the youth but also for the working classes, especially the poor and the marginalised.
Value Education Programmes (VEP): Initially there were only 10 to 12 kids who joined these classes. They did not know to read or write even Gujarati. Now, many parents want to enrol their children in these classes. DRISTI has employed VEP teachers in every village who ensure admission of every child in the local schools. They also follow it up with coaching to help them cope with difficult subjects.
Women Self Help Groups: Keeping women empowerment in mind, DRISTI initiated SHGs for women. The women in these SHGs make small savings—some Rs 50, some Rs. 100 and some even Rs 200. Banks have come forward to help these women SHGs. “Whether Salesian presence is there or not, these women should manage by themselves. That is the reason we provide leadership training to these women. Creating women leadership has been our priority so we have organised a number of training camps for them," informs Fr. Mayank Parmar SDB.
Awareness about Government Schemes: Schemes like the National Food Security Act entitles 35 kgs of food to deserving families. But many are not aware of these schemes. DRISIT organises training programs to spread awareness and help the needy take advantage of such schemes.
Livelihood Training: DRISTI organises regular livelihood trainings like book binding, kite making, etc. They do not provide them with money for startups. They only emphasize on skill training.
Health Awareness: The quality and availability of primary health services in the villages is very poor. DRISTI conducts free health camps in different villages where they provide free treatment and medicines.
Comentarios