Don Bosco Centre in Silchar - a decade of efforts for the poor.

Now in Silchar, I need to say something about this center.

Anthony Valluran is the founder of this school and center. It is amazing really to see all he has done. I will post some photos and try to describe the work with them. This will make it easier.

In the year 2000 this area was nothing but swamp and field. The Salesians were interested in developing a presence for youth here for several reasons. One is that they had become aware that Silchar and the villages surround it were beginning to grow, thanks to an influx of immigrants from Bangladesh. Secondly, the province of Guwahati had outposts with missions in Misoram state and in Tripura and in the hills of Meghalaya, but these were very distant from one another. Silchar was between them. Having centers there could help the communication and travel between the mission stations and Salesian schools.

For this reason, Anthony Valluran, who had been instrumental in developing the Salesian works in Misoram, was asked to set up some new presence in the area of Silchar.

The work that Anthony developed is quite complex, as I hinted yesterday: a center for training teachers that can also serve as a retreat and conference center; a trade-training center for young men and for young women, specializing in the kinds of trades that are both needed and marketable; a school for local children that begins with elementary and continues into secondary; a boarding or youth hostel for young men (ages 17 to 22); a boarding or youth hostel for young women (ages 18 to 22). Both hostels cater to youth who come to learn trades, or English, or both. There are plans to transform the main building of the center to include accommodations for young teachers in the very near future.

Don Bosco School

Don Bosco School

Don Bosco School (or St John's School) begins with the primary grades and continue until grade 10, which is the last year of mandatory schooling according to Indian law. In the near future the Salesians plan to expand to include grades 11 and 12, which are a pre-university type of structure and, in many places, can stand alone. Years 11 and 12 do not receive the full government funding that years 1-10 do, and until now, very few in the area of Silchar ever dreamt of university education for their children. Don Bosco School is changing all that.

Inner patio of Don Bosco School, where the younger children play; older children play in the field behind the school building.

As soon as years 11-12 are functioning, the school will add a kindergarten and pre-K program. As it is now, the school functions in levels. The primary and elementary grades operate on the ground level; the middle and superior grades operate on the upper levels. A library is being developed that will serve all levels of the school, as well as a computer learning lab for the older children.

Don Bosco Technical Training Centre

Don Bosco Technical Training Centre

Don Bosco Technical Training Centre is more than a trade school: DBTTC includes a youth hostel for boys, shops for carpentry and welding, training in building contracting, language laboratory for English, a kitchen and dining facility for day students and hostel youth. The young men staying there showed us around the facility, beginning with their dormitory, where their bunks are clustered together in an airy upper storey room. They proudly explained their programs and told us of their hopes of future job opportunities, speaking to us in English as best they could. Some have only begun to learn English in the last two months, and we were impressed by their progress.

Don Bosco School and Training Centre seen side by side

There is a long pond between the school and the training center. This is not by design, but because one of the landowners refused to sell the parcel. He is not developing it. Everyone thinks that he sees the opportunity to let his land increase in value to sell it later to the Salesians… Little does he realize what a hand-to-mouth operation Don Bosco really is.

Don Bosco Conference Centre

The main building of the campus is Don Bosco Conference Centre. The Salesians live here in this building, although I am told that this is a temporary arrangement. On the ground floor there are dining rooms and a central kitchen, a library/resource center and a computer lab. Upstairs there is another dining room for the Salesians, a community chapel, a meeting room, laundry and residents for the Salesians. The plan is to amplify this facility so that it can house visiting teachers. The Salesians will be housed in a different structure.

Don Bosco Conference Centre (soon to expand to Teacher Training Centre)

Immediately adjacent to Don Bosco Conference Centre is what is now called the Girls Boarding. This residence can accomodate young women who sleep four or six to a room, and is similar to the boys' boarding across the campus. Since many of the primary teachers are women, the hope is that, as the Conference Centre develops, this facility may serve as housing for women who will frequent the short courses that will be put on offer. For the time being, however, the Girls Boarding welcomes young women (teens and early twenties) who enroll in computer, music and courses in Spoken English.

Don Bosco Girls Boarding, with girls participating in English-language courses this summer. Fr Anthony Valluran poses with the group.

View of the Girls Boarding as seen from the Teacher Training Centre

All in all, Don Bosco Silchar center is both complex and totally amazing.