The third annual seminar cum workshop of the Participatory Action Research (PAR), now in its fourth year of momentum, was held at the Institute of Rural Studies and Administration (IRSA), at foot of the scenic Kondaveeti hills at Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India from 5 to 7 of March 2018. . Read More »

Desayunador, the happening place in Tijuana for migrants, refugees and street-dwellers, the best symbol of Salesian commitment to the disenfranchised will soon be celebrating 80 seasons of dedicated service to the last and least of the people that live in this city bursting at the seams with a population growing by the day due to migration and deportation. The wonderful work being done by 9 Salesians and a host of volunteers in this Mexican - American border city of Tijuana is nothing short of the miracles in the Gospels. Fr Pallithanam Thomas, the Salesian representative at the UN, recounts his experience at this 'feeding of the 5000'. . Read More »

Dr.Jose Maliekal's doctoral thesis, Standstill Utopia - Dalits Encountering Christianity , now a book published by Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK) was released in the presence of community leaders, academics, government officials, church ministers and activists at Ekalavya Training Centre, People's Action For Rural Awakening, Ravulapalem. It was only fitting the that the release was done at Ravulapalem, which is the gateway to Konaseema, the site of the research on Madiga Community's encounter with Christianity.. Read More »

The second annual seminar on Participatory Action Research (PAR) for Transformation of Don Bosco Homes for the Young at Risk in South Asia was held at Don Bosco Provincial House on 27-28 March, 2017. There were presentations from 22 PAR research coordinators. Coming from 16 centres in 9 cities and 6 states of South India, they showed how the participation of children really made a difference. They were now part of the solution to problems that frequently occur in these centres. The centres were slowly but surely being transformed as child-friendly and child-directed. The same is now sought to be replicated in the entire YaR (Young at Risk) sector in South Asia.. Read More »

Participatory Action Researchers from six South Indian States gathered from 5-7 October for three day training programme. The researchers are all working with children at risk at 19 Don Bosco centres. The children, boys and girls, are eight to eighteen year olds. The programme was inaugurated by Dr. Diana Monteiro, the Director of Hyderabad Academy of Psychology and Counsellor at NALSAR Central Law University.. Read More »

The annual philosophical symposium based on the theme of 'Liberalization in India' held at St John's Regional Seminary, Kondadaba witnessed a lively intellectual fervent among the students even before it actually began. The talks and discussions carried out an audit of the ongoing phenomenon from an ecological and political perspective, with alternatives being proposed from the common man's experience. The event took place on September 2, 2016 and was facilitated by Prof. Dr V.B.T. Sundari, from the Department of History, St Joseph's College, Waltair, Andra Pradesh. . Read More »

The third conference of major superiors of the Salesian Family (CMS-SF) of South Asia was held at Don Bosco Provincial House, Bangalore on August 29 and 30, 2016. Altogether 29 members including one founder, one Mother General and Provincials, were present for the conference which was chaired by Father Maria Arokiam, the Regional Councillor of South Asia. . Read More »

The South Asia Formation Commission (SAFC) members commenced their annual meeting at Don Bosco Provincial House, Hyderabad on August 16, 2016. The five day meeting will focus primarily on the role of the Salesian Rector, the two dimensions of the Salesian vocation, the formation plan of the region for the next three years, and the dynamics of the accompaniment process. The meeting is being attended by Fr Ivo Coelho, the General Councillor for Formation, Fr Joyce Thonikuzhiyil, the Provincial delegate of the SPCSA and the 12 formation delegates from each Province of the region. . Read More »

A three day workshop was organised by the Don Bosco National Forum for the Young at Risk (DBNFYaR), to jointly study with a group of Salesian Formation guides the various aspects of furthering the benefits of Participatory Action Research (PAR) in the area of formation. As a research module, PAR is already being carried out in 10 YaR centres of South India with a view to making them more child-directed. Participating in this enterprise were 40 Salesians and lay persons from South India, with representatives also from the North-East. . Read More »

The first regional Participatory Action Research Seminar held on March 14 and 15, 2016 at Don Bosco Navajeevan, Hyderabad, was the culmination of a yearlong endeavor to learn by practicing. The teachers were the children at 27 Young at Risk (YaR) centres situated in nine cities and six states of South India. The whole exercise was an effort to shift roles from being the bosses and teachers of the young to seeing them as subjects and as teachers of what they are and what they wish to be. . Read More »