The Christian Brothers in India

The students at Trinity College make “India” the primary focus of their fundraising for the Missions. More than half of the funds raised are donated to the Christian Brothers for “special projects”. In recent years these projects have included the lunch program at St. Georges Poor School, Bow Bazar, Kolkata; St. Mary’s Orphanage, Dum Dum, Kolkata; English program for pre-novices, Asansol; St. Peter’s School Mawjarong, Meghalaya; ceiling fans & drains for Jagruti High School, Mandal, Gujarat; buildings for St. Joseph’s, Bajpe, Mangalore; Edmund Rice women’s self-help project, Bangalore; Sangram, a remote village in Arunachal Pradesh, and more!

Trinity students on pilgrimage have spent time with the Christian Brothers in these places and are then able to come home to tell the story of how the little sacrifices made by Trinity students have an enormous benefit for the children in our brother schools in India.

What follows are some of the stories of these projects.

Jagruti High School, Mandal, Gujarat:

“I consider the Mandal project to be one of our success stories. The Gamit tribals were being brought into hostels in the town of Viyara and attending Gujarati medium schools there.  While the Sisters did a great job with the hostel girls, the priests were too busy with ministry to give full attention to the boys. 

After a long process of discernment, the Brothers, wonderfully supported by Fr. J.M. Corral sj, opened a co-educational school in Mandal in 1986.  First there was only Class VIII, but now the school has grown to include all classes from VIII to Class XII.  The results of education are tangible.  The students are happy to be educated in their own environment where respect is paid to their language and culture. 

With education came employment and we are happy to have some of our own ex-pupils as qualified members of the teaching staff.  Others have gone into government service.  It is wonderful to find an Advocate, working as a lawyer in a nearby town, and yet coming home to live happily in a Gamit village.  There are many other instances.
 
The quality of life has increased enormously without erosion of traditional values.The people of the area are very conscious of the fact that the early Brothers lived in Gamit conditions, making sure that the students were first housed in permanent structures before building their own simple home.
 
Results from the school have been excellent over the years, thank God.  Right from the first years we have had Australian visitors coming in groups to Mandal to experience the unique warmth and hospitality of the Gamit people.

Some of these pilgrims made it back on their own - ignorance of the language being no barrier.  The Gamit people understand the language of the heart very well.”

Brother Baptist Finn