“He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” – John Cotton Dana
Fr. Magi Murzello is an ordained minister of the Catholic Church & is actively involved in faith-based projects which revolve around Christ–centred appreciation & encouragement.
As the Rector of St. Andrew’s College of Arts, Science and Commerce and Principal of St. Andrew High School, Fr. Magi Murzello, has changed the way youngsters attend school and college. He has brought in the innovative & creative Mission Sunshine whose main aim is to transform Criticism into Appreciation and Encouragement. Mission Sunshine was inaugurated on 31 July 2010.
Thus, St. Andrews High School is draped in sunshine. Not only the school lobby and corridors but even his office (a yellow desk, yellow walls, and most of the books with yellow covers) all resemble sunshine, transforming darkness into light. Every Friday, students are encouraged to wear their Mission Sunshine T-shirts instead of the routine school uniform.
Mission Sunshine has been introduced in more than 400 schools across Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi and Goa.
Fr. Magi’s work has taken him to the poorest of the poor. He has been actively involved over the years with orphanages, especially Shraddha Vihar Ashram at Andheri, Mumbai. He organises many events throughout the year for different orphanages and senior citizens' homes.
In December 2017, the Yeh-lo Santa project was initiated. Red Santa gives gifts whereas you give gifts to Yellow Santa for the poor. Donors could sponsor a ‘sunbox’ or volunteer to pack the sun boxes. Besides goodies, each sunbox worth Rs.250/- had essential items like soaps, pencils, books, etc for underprivileged children. College students packed more than 2000 sunboxes and travelled personally to rural areas in Maharashtra to bring sunshine. Last December, the fifth edition of Yeh-lo Santa focussed on carbon emissions through the project, Zero Out Carbon. He had joined hands with the Swedish Consul General to promote environmental initiatives. Recently on 23rd November 2022 Fr. Magi conducted a session for 140 delegates of the United Kingdom’s South Asia Trade & Investment (Staff Conference) held at Taj Santacruz.
In 2017, after a visit to L’Arche International in France, Fr. Magi started a certificate course for adults with intellectual disabilities at the hospitality section of St. Andrew’s College. The participants are trained in basic culinary skills without paying any monthly fees. In fact, Mumbai’s iconic five-star hotel Taj Lands End at Bandra expressed interest in offering employment to these adults.
He has been quizzed on the popular television show, Bournvita Quiz Contest, by Derek O’Brien and made Mumbai proud.
Fr. Magi is the Editor of ‘EduFOCUS’ which is circulated among 156 educational institutions affiliated with the Archdiocesan Board of Education (ABE). The EduFOCUS team in November 2019 collaborated with Design for Change (DFC) to invite & encourage ABE schools to take up the ‘I CAN’ global challenge. St. Andrew High School was the only ABE school invited to participate in the global summit in Rome. It was the largest international gathering of school children from more than 40 countries. His Holiness, Pope Francis addressed the young gathering. One of the projects of St. Andrew High School was selected for ‘100 most inspiring stories of change’.
Fr. Magi is also actively involved with the in-service training programme, ‘Cerebration’ & ‘JoyFuelers’, conducted by the ABE.
On 26th January 2018, Mumbai University conferred “Best College” on St. Andrews College. A few months later, Fr. Magi was nominated by the Governor to the Senate of Mumbai University.
The successes (and failures) of the previous years have made Fr. Magi more resilient. Although he has his hands full with work, he is set to take on whatever the Lord sends his way.