BOYS’ HOMES IN THE CONGREGATION
Boys’ Homes, hostels, boardings and orphanages – for boys and girls – were always an integral part of the missionary apostolate right from the inception of our Congregation. Until very recently the Provinces in the West had a number of so-called Juvenates catering mainly to the promotion of genuine vocations to the Congregation. The early missionaries in Visakhapatnam and Nagpur had given a prime place in their mission plan for such boardings for both boys and girls besides establishing a number of apostolic schools in view of promoting local vocations. It is very gratifying to note that this noble tradition continues to be an integral part of the Congregation’s mission in all the Provinces in India as well as in all our mission units in Africa.
BOYS’ HOMES IN THE SOUTH-WEST PROVINCE
In the South West India Province there are a total of 9 Boys’ Homes out of which 6 are in Karnataka, 2 in Kerala and 1 in the Chad-Cameroon Mission. The 6 Boys’ Homes in Karnataka are those of Gokunte, Kadisenahalli and Chintamani in Kolar district, Mundargi in Gadag district and Pratheeksha Boys’ Home at Hebbagodi, Bangalore and NEST Boys’ Home at Kengeri , Bangalore. Those in Kerala are : SFS Boys’ Home at Ulickal in Kannur and ITTSCAT-India in Trivandrum. SFS Boys’ Home at Bero is the only boarding we have in the Chad-Cameroon Mission in Africa. Construction of a new Boys’ Home at Doba is underway.
The Boys’ Homes in the Province are designed as an integral part of our mission of reaching out to the “little flocks” whom we serve in most of the above mentioned mission centres. Most of these Boys’ Homes are attached to our own parishes where we have also a school. A large number of poor children from our own mission centres as well as from other parts of the country do benefit from this very noble ministry that the province is rendering towards the education of the poorest of the poor. Orphans, semi-orphans and children from broken families are always given special consideration. A number of very deserving children from other faiths are also accepted as part of our ministry of compassion and concern towards the poorest.
Faith formation had been the original missionary intuition of Fr. Peter Mermier, our Founder when he made the clarion call “I want Mission” and ventured into the founding of our Congregation. Education of the young was another prime concern of our Founder. Hence this original spirit of our Founder finds its fullest expression when our Boys’ Homes are truly developed into centres of faith formation promoting their human and spiritual growth besides imparting quality education. In recent times the Province has witnessed a massive expansion of its educational apostolate. Thousands of children are given quality education through the numerous educational institutions that we have built up during the past 25 years. We have to admit the fact however that most of our schools continue to cater to the needs of the
middle and higher middle class sectors of society. Most of our schools do however reach out to the poor and disadvantaged children offering them free education or granting them appropriate concessions on school fees depending on the financial viability of the institutions concerned.
Vikasjyothi as the Mission Procure of the Province is committed to strengthening and and supporting the existing Boys’ Homes in the province. It is estimated that around 200 children are now benefitting from these. We should be able to increase the number of children in these homes if more resources are available. An equal number of girls from the poorer section of society in our missions can also be educated through this program.
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