Summer Courses That Made You(th) AWESUMMER!
2019, being the Year of the Youth, St. Andrew’s College, Bandra, in collaboration with Diocesan Youth Centre (DYC) and St. Paul’s Institute of Communication Education, Bandra (SPICE), organised Awesummer 2019 for youth in the Archdiocese of Bombay. Conceptualised by Fr. Magi Murzello (Rector, St. Andrew’s College), this unique programme offered the youth an opportunity to discover hidden facets of their personality and enhance their skill sets. Held across multiple Bandra venues, the courses ranged from the fun Social Ballroom Dancing and Baking to the creative Graphic Design and World of Poetry to the off-beat Mystery Writing and Handwriting Analysis to the essential Personality Development and Better Communication. There was also a workshop on the Gospel according to Luke. Kept to a duration of either ten or twenty hours, each course’s content was designed to give the youth a fair idea of the subject without boring them with an excess of information. The courses were open to youth of all faiths.
The core team encountered an ally in Bishop Barthol Barretto (In-charge of Youth Ministry) who immediately galvanised his army of SCC Co-ordinators to take this programme to the youth in their respective parishes. Deacon Ivan Fernandes reached out to yet more youth via Careers Hangout and the Quo Vadis retreats. The team then sat back with bated breath hoping the youth would show some degree of interest in this opportunity for self-improvement. They definitely did not anticipate the enthusiasm and go-getter attitude that the youngsters would display. An incessantly ringing phone, a queue at the registration desk as parents and youth patiently awaited their turn, pleas to faculty to “organise just one more batch, please!” or “take this last student only”, the regret of the Awesummer Co-ordinator as she turned yet another student away from a “house full” course – all became hallmarks in the lives of the team members. Fr. (Dr.) Dominic D’Silva SSP (Director, SPICE) and Dr. Omkar Bhatkar (Head, St. Andrew’s Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts) did their best to accommodate as many students as possible.
This contagion even infected the faculty members who thought nothing of walking the extra mile for their enthusiastic and grateful students. Two-hour long classes ran to two-and-a-half hours as parents worried over their ward’s whereabouts. But the scolding would die on their lips when they’d see their child’s happy face. Feedback forms were filled with comments of “Sir Eric/ Sir Abhishek/ Cordelia is just the best!!”, “Marie Ma’am/ Saniv Sir/ Inez Ma’am patiently answered all our queries”, “Chef Allan/ Christine Ma’am taught us little tricks to remember our stuff” and “They made us realise just how simple dance/ graphic design/ baking is.”
The seventeen Awesummer 2019 courses touched the minds and hearts of three hundred and fifty youth across the city. This was evident at the graduation ceremony held on 30th May, 2019 at St. Andrew’s High School grounds, Bandra and presided over by Bishop Barthol Barretto. The gratitude, respect and admiration of the youth for their teachers was plain to see as they huddled around them to talk and click photographs. Invitees to the evening’s ceremony included Fr. Saturnino Almeida sfx (Managing Director. Fr. Agnel Technical Education Complex, Vashi), Fr. Godfrey D’Souza sdb (Provincial of the Salesian Province of Mumbai), Fr. Colbert da Silva sdb (Director, Don Bosco Institute of Technology, Kurla), Fr. Keith D’Souza sj (Rector, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai), Fr. Luke Rodrigues sj (Socius to the Provincial) and Fr. Alphonso Elengikal ssp (Editor, The Teenager Today). Ably assisted by the Women’s Cell of St. Andrew’s parish, Bandra, the core team brought the successful Awesummer 2019 to a close.
While the graduates of the pioneering batch continue bonding through their respective Whatsapp groups, plans for Awesummer 2020 are already underway. The challenge now is to reach out to many more youth across the city. This entails bringing a few more institutions on board so that youth do not have to travel to Bandra to avail of these courses. It would also allow students access to a wider range of facilities and courses.
Here’s looking forward to many more Awesummers for the youth in Mumbai!
