New Delhi, Palam, Feb. 8, 2018: The YaR Governing Body Meeting was held from 5th February 2018 to 7th February 2018 in Goa. There were 19 members present for the meeting including Fr. Albert Johnson and Fr. Maria Charles from SPCI.
The Holy Eucharist was presided over by Rev. Fr. Felix Fernandes, the Provincial of Panjim. The group gathered in a conference hall at 10:00 a.m., Fr. Joe Fernandes, the YaR Province Coordinator of Panjim, led us in prayer, invoking the Holy Spirit to guide to through the discussions and decisions that would take place for the betterment of the children at large. The children from MBBS (YaR Centre in Panjim) performed a small skit and a mimicry act to remind us that the thousands of children on the street need our help. Fr. Felix in his welcome speech exhorted the Salesians to continue to fulfill the dreams of Don Bosco by reaching out to the neglected and marginalized children in the society. Fr. Koshy introduced the topic and the animator, Mr. Daniel Edwin Jaya Das.
Mr. Daniel Edwin Jaya Das, (Institution Development, Equity, Inclusion, and Change Management) a specialist animated the two day discussion on “Imagine YaR Ministry: Journey Together into Tomorrow.” There were four sessions which helped to evaluate the work and the challenges faced by street children.
During the three days, they worked on common parameters and 3-5 tools that the centres and the commission heads could use to carry out the process of evaluation.
The review/self-reflection could be on the expectations of the four major constituencies:
- Internal (the forum and /SDB).
- The Children
- The Government (legal compliances)
- Civil Society (national and international standards, best practice)
The tools are:
- Questionnaires, checklists (based on SDB values and manifestos)
- Games, group discussions, interviews with present and former YaR groups.
- Checklists (based on legal requirement)
- Focus group discussions, interview, basic questionnaires
Fr. Thathireddy Vijaya Bhaskar concluded the three day General Body Meeting with words of encouragement and appreciation.
(Fr. Swanoop Dev Choudhury)