Indian Salesians celebrate Youth at Risk Day

The two days saw sharing of experiences, making new friends and a wonderful growing experience for all.

India:  The annual Young at Risk (YaR) day celebrations for the Telugu speaking Indian states of Andhra and Telangana were held at Don Bosco Navajeevan (DBNJ) in Ramanthapur in Hyderabad from December 05-06.

All activities for the two days centred on the themes ‘Family is my right’ and ‘No bullying’. Children from eight Salesian centres along with staff and volunteers, a total of 400 people, participated in the event.

Taking the annual celebrations to a higher level, the hosting community planned for a day of animation followed by a day of outdoor activity rather than hosting only a sporting event.

Father Swarna Bernard, Vicar General of the Hyderabad archdiocese, was the Chief Guest and Ms Chandana, representative from NGO ‘Save the Children’, was the Guest of Honour.

Father Sudhakar Bellamkonda, Coordinator of the Youth at Risk Commission of the Salesian Province of Hyderabad and Director of the hosting community, welcomed all the children, directors, staff and volunteers from the different YaR centres - Hyderabad, Auxilium Navajeevana, Vijayawada, Vizag, Rajahmundry, Ongole, Warangal and Kurnool.

The two days saw sharing of experiences, making new friends and a wonderful growing experience for all. After the inauguration, the children were divided into senior and juniors as per their age for two interactive sessions on the themes, ‘Family’ and ‘No bullying’. The sessions were animated by Mrs Sumathi, Ms Samyuktha, Father Thomas Pallithanam and Mr Ambedkar.

Another noteworthy feature of the whole event was the participation of the children from the local community at all levels: planning, organisation, coordination and active involvement.

Besides the external jury for the cultural evening on the first day, there was also a ‘baladalat’ (childrens’ jury) with a representative from each centre. The campfire that concluded day one’s activities was an exciting experience for the children with creative games and activities.

The second day was dedicated to sports and outdoor activities and witnessed children bring life to the campus. A concluding ceremony was held late in the afternoon. Specially designed trophies were given out on the basis of a surprise random survey conducted during the two days. The participants took a solemn pledge marking their commitment to end bullying. Each participant then imprinted his or her palm-print on a banner to endorse the same.

A telugu devotional CD, produced by Father Gnana, the Principal of DBNJ, Ramanthapur was released.

Source: Salesians website