DBDS #020 ANOTHER STEPPING STONE FOR BOSCO PLUS

Natasha Almeida MUMBAI, AUGUST 4, 2009: An enthusiastic air and hopeful eyes filled the A. V hall at the Provincial House, Matunga on the afternoon of August 3, as students from the batch of May 2009 of Bosco Plus gathered for their certificate distribution ceremony. This event marked the closure of the batch of 23 students who had enrolled themselves for the month long training in spoken English, life skills, basic computer skills and retail management. This certificate distribution ceremony was held on behalf of Bosco Plus and Tata Trent Ltd., who collaborated with the former in conducting examinations and interviews with the students.

The event was graced by the Guest of Honour Mr. Harshwardhan Goswami, Senior Manager Trainings, Tata Trent Ltd. Besides the team from the Mumbai Development Office, in attendance for the event were Fr. Savio Silveira, Fr. Elson Baretto, Fr. Edwin D’souza, Fr. Bernard Britto, Mr. Robin Thomas, Program Co-ordinator, Tata Trent Ltd. and Mr. Niranje Amte, Examiner of Retail Management at the Garware Institute. The event commenced with the opening address by Ms. Surekha Pednekar from the Development Office which was followed by a prayer song by a student from the current batch. The students of the current batch showed their whole hearted participation by also singing a welcome song ‘Bosco Parivaar’.

Mr. Anand Raj from the Development Office explained briefly the build up of Bosco Plus and how Tata Trent Ltd. got involved with Bosco Plus. Fr. Elson Baretto in his address narrated a motivational story to get the students going. Mr. Goswami, Guest of Honour spoke about his own example. He explained that to move ahead the students will require a healthy balance of hard work and smartness in work. “Show your worth by creating an example”, he added. Mr. Amte provided the students with inputs on developing the habit of reading. Before the certificate distribution could begin Mr. Robin made a mention of ‘Saksham’ i.e ‘Empowerment’: the most important motive of Tata Trent Ltd. for the tie up with Bosco Plus.

The motivational words were followed by the most important part of Distribution of Certificates. The faces of the students had a sense of achievement. Mahesh Sonawane was awarded for his hard work as the outstanding achiever of the batch. For the students it was not any other day of celebration but an opportunity to take the learning ahead. All 23 students fared well in the examinations conducted and 7 of them are already well placed with jobs. Mr. Nabil Ansari proposed the Vote of Thanks. Surely, this is another stepping stone for Bosco Plus and Don Bosco Development Society towards empowering the youth.