India - The mission of the Salesians in Garigaon: a better school for vulnerable children

15 March 2017

(ANS - Garigaon) - Garigaon is a small settlement located in a strongly tribal region, in the state of Assam. Most of the inhabitants belong to different ethnic groups. They came there as migrants, either because they had abandoned their inaccessible areas of origin in search of a job, or because the lands they cultivated were expropriated. But the living conditions of these families have not improved after migration, with the added weight of the misery of displacement. The Sons of Don Bosco are working to help them.

The Salesians of Guwahati have been active in the area for many years. When migration from tribal areas began, the village streets were filled with very young children who spent their days outdoors, unsupervised, and with no care. In 1988 the Salesians constructed a kindergarten which over the years has been expanded to accommodate up to 700 vulnerable children of tribal origin. They attend not only the kindergarten but also the elementary school which started in the same complex in later years.

But currently there is a need to intervene to improve the efficiency of the building and thus also of the teaching. We have to repair the roof which is badly damaged, and to expand the building. We need 3 new classrooms to accommodate more pupils. We also have to purchase desks and chairs, because the children currently attending classes have to sit on the floor, a problem that becomes more severe during the monsoon season, when sometimes the classrooms are flooded.

Following the example of Don Bosco, who trusted in Providence and got busy personally knocking on the doors of many benefactors, the Salesians count on being able to restructure their school in Gariagaon, in order to continue to have an important positive affect on the lives of these children and to help create the conditions for a real change in this backward area of ​​India.

Additional information on  Missioni Don Bosco.

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ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

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