Page 21 - Salesian Bulletin 2016 [01] January-March

Kontagora school in construction
wall around the parish and have set up a security committee with people taking turns on guard, but the risk is still present. In fact, two weeks after the Salesians came to Kontagora, there was the first terrorist attack in the city: a girl with a bomb attached to her belt blew herself up at the entrance of a school, killing two guards.”
teachers to identify, handle and address students’ special needs within the regular classroom, there- by enabling inclusive education.
several technical schools in Nigeria, his eyes shone and he said: ‘This is exactly what we need here. Our young people are constantly idle. They have no professional training to enable them enter the world of work.’ So, we were not offered land to build a church and a technical school, but all the land we needed has been put at our disposal.”
INDIA: SPECIAL NEEDS
While teachers should educate themselves more about learning dis- abilities, parents also have a role in handling disabilities. Fr John Alexander, Rector of DB Egmore, points out that a learning disability is not a sickness, only a difficulty in reading, writing and other things which can be overcome. The school- based training programme will help parents avoid having to look for remedial education for learning dis- ability outside the school.
Today, while there is respect for Christians socially , Provincial Fr Jorge Crisafulli regrets the political
In association with the CARE Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Chennai, last November DB Egmore launched the Don Bosco Remedial Education Services to help train
hostility . “Not
ment not give us land to build a church, but there has also been a sit- uation where two of our catechists had to convert to Islam to be allowed to lead their communities. If a Muslim wants to become a Christian, he must explain his rea- sons, fill a thousand documents and pay for it to be authorised. And Christians are not allowed to hold processions.”
only does
the govern-
PHILIPPINES: PAST PUPILS HOLD MEDICAL MISSION
Known as DB Egmore, Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Egmore, Chennai, was established in July 1958 with 140 stu- dents and Dungannon Salesian Fr John Mallon as Principal and has since grown to over 3,000 students.
The remedial education service, launched on the occasion of the bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco, will be opened up to teachers of other schools from January next year.
However, if there is one thing that hinders the work it is the constant threat of religious terrorism. “Although these groups operate mainly in the northeast,” says Fr Jorge, “the tension is felt every- where. Despite this situation, we have been taken precautions. The people and the Salesians have built a
The initiative was able to serve 285 patients with a good num- ber of senior citizens and pediatric patients among them. Around 197 packs containing two kilos of rice with noodles were also distributed along with free medicines.
The Don Bosco Past Pupils of Lawaan (Talisay City, Cebu) held a medical mission at the end of November at their former school. This annual event was held in cooperation with a local govern- ment official. Through his social workers, the poorest and those in need of medical attention among his constituents were identi- fied and given a ticket for them to avail of the free medical check- up.
The medical team was coordinated by Dr Alex Junia, a cardiol- ogist, and current President of the Philippine Heart Association. Among the services offered during the medical mission were medi- cal consultations, pediatric clearance and referrals, glucose test, blood pressure examination, ECG and medical ultrasound.
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