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| Don Bosco Boys Home, Bastora. |
- Brian Mendonca
Today we had lunch at what we assumed was the Don Bosco Boys' Home at Bastora, Goa. We thought it would be a nice gesture after the feast of Don Bosco on 31st January.
The place is a shelter for boys and and is named after the mother of Don Bosco, i. e. Margaret Bosco. It goes by the name of Margaret Bosco Bal Sadan (MBBS).
I was delighted that it was so close to Porvorim, practically 13 minutes. It is a little distance away from Cheryl Printers and by the side of a temple.
It was a Sunday and we had arranged food for the boys and the staff. We were eagerly looking forward to the visit the whole week. This was after I met Fr. Savio Dias recently quite serendipitously.
Fr. Savio had concelebrated the feast Mass last Sunday (26th Jan) along with the Auxiliary Bishop Fr. Simiao Fernandes at Holy Family church, Porvorim. As I walked in for lunch hosted for Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) members that day, I found only one chair vacant in the hall. That chair was next to Fr. Savio.
As I got talking to Father he told me about the boys' home. I said that we had been looking for a place to visit for a long time. I specially wanted to take Dwayne (14) my son to interact with the boys. He is in Don Bosco, Panjim.
The wide open gate of the Bal Sadan beckoned to us as we approached. Fr. Savio was there to receive us and motioned to us to come right up the driveway and park in front of the house.
The house is a refurbished old Goan house with Mangalore tiles. It is well-maintained with a spacious hall, where we sat after lunch. A new wing - the colour of chocolate- has been added with a guest room. The beautiful playground which fronted the porch made you want to play football like in my school days at Don Boso, Matunga.
As we walked in, the boys, from 5 to 18 years, were engrossed in savouring the chicken biryani with raita. We were happy to see them enjoying it. A Father was with the boys helping them if they needed more. We also met another Father who takes care of the mission activities.
"'Margaret Bosco Bal Sadan' is the think tank of the Don Bosco activities," Fr. Savio was saying over lunch. 'The boys here go to different schools. They wash and iron their own clothes.' Each boy is assigned to the home by the government which keeps close tabs on the boys' progress. However they do not get any funding, having to rely solely on benefactors.
When we joined the boys after lunch (with a rotating wooden table) we were taken aback when all the boys stepped up to say 'Thank you' to each of us, and shook our hand. They prayed over us and gave us their blessing, after which they soulfully sang Besanv tujea podum re (God Bless You) in Konkani.
In the music session the some of the boys played the guitar and keyboard very well. I opened on my guitar with some hymns sung for the feast Mass of Don Bosco which we had celebrated in our ward. These were hymns we used to sing in school in 1978-81, like 'Great Indeed are your Works, O Lord' and 'Come Jesus Come.' All joined in to sing ''All Hail to You Don Bosco' with gusto.
Then the keyboardist regaled us with the haunting instrumental 'River Flows in You'. Yes, I felt, we all have a river flowing within us. It is for us to touch the lives of other people and sip of the springs of living water.
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Updated 3/2/25.
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