Don Bosco Feast Day Celebration at DBSTC
Simbu, PNG, 24 August 2018 -- The Birthday Day St. Don Bosco is a very special day in any Don Bosco educational institutions around the world. It is a day of great joy in the lives of Bosconians as we commemorate the day of our Saintly founder. Don Bosco Simbu Technical College had our celebrations from 22nd to 24th of August 2018 three solid days of celebrations.
The celebration started on Wednesday 22nd. The dawning of the first day has seen students exhibiting their raw and unique talents in dancing as they break it down on the floor in front of a packed audience who were entertained and kept in suspension throughout the program. The gymnasium was filled to capacity as we witnessed and participated in another thrilling activity – The Hip hop Dance Competition.
An event without the music is very well said to be like a body without the soul. Citizens of this contemporary digital age crave so much for something that at times it seems they cannot live without it – Music. The “Battle of the Bands” was successfully hosted on the second day with the participation of ten band groups within the school. It’s an avenue we witnessed the rich talents of most Bosconians in music as the teams contended. A lot of creativity blended with their unique cultures was exhibited. There was so much love and passion shown for music as they performed skillfully on the stage. To some extent, the audience could not control themselves but took it out on the floor as they rock and rolled and swayed to the beats of the music. The gymnasium was filled with loud joyful chants from small hearts burning with inevitable joy and happiness. As our founding father Don Bosco himself have said, “Run, jump and make noise but do not sin.”
The third day was an icing on the cake as we reached the climax of the Don Bosco Feast Day celebrations – 2018. On this auspicious day, some Bosconians turned out in their respective traditional cultural costumes which really complemented the natural beauty of the college. The day commenced with the Eucharistic Celebration in the morning with Most Rev. Bishop Anton Bal as the main celebrant. We were so fortunate to have with us during the Holy Mass some important dignitaries in the Governor of Simbu Hon. Michael Dua, the Provincial Administrator Mr. Joe Kunda Naur MBE, Mr. Essy Walkaima, the PEA and the Hon. Bari Palma, MP for Kerowagi and the Vice Minister for Mining. The Bishop has delivered a very challenging homily urging every Bosconians to adapt the vision of Don Bosco to help people to change and make meaning out of their lives. He further reiterated that God has concern for His people and wants to help them. However, God is spirit and so He needed people, an instrument, to use to execute His plan of salvation. Don Bosco was an instrument He used to accomplish His plans. As Bosconians, we all share the vision and dreams of Don Bosco to bring hope and salvation to the young people who have gone astray. It was a beautiful Eucharistic Celebration animated by the Bosconians in the style and spirit of Don Bosco.
After the Holy Mass, the guests were ushered to the Salesian convent for the morning tea while the rest of the Bosconians gathered and waited patiently for the next program to unfold – The Ground Breaking Ceremony. Don Bosco Simbu Technical College from its humble beginning in 1995, will now witness yet another massive milestone, a three storey building for the Business Department. This remarkable state of the art building will continue to stand and serve the generations to come. This also will change the face of the college in terms of its infrastructural development. This is one of the dreams of the pastoral community of DB Kumgi to build this very much needed building and according to Rector and Principal of the college Fr. Robinson Parappilly SDB, approximately cost K6 – 7 million.
As the program commenced, many inspirational speeches were delivered from various speakers as the surrounding communities together with the Bosconians wait patiently under the clear blue Kumgi sky. Most Rev. Bishop Anton Bal spoke on the relationship between the church agency and the government as “Partners” working hand in hand to provide quality education to the citizens of this beautiful province and PNG as a whole. The church agency not only nurturing intellectual growth, however, the cultivation of spiritual and moral growth of a person is viewed as extremely paramount. It will help him/her to live according to sound moral principles in their societies and live an upright life.
Honorable Bari Palma speaking on his vision and dreams of Kerowagi district has highlighted some of the projects which will be rolled out in the near future. He spoke on developing Kerowagi district into an economic hub for the province. Furthermore, he mentioned plans for the college to offer Aircraft Engineering and Maintenance. Hon. Bari Palma has pledged K100, 000 towards the construction of the building.
The governor Hon. Michael Dua also shared similar sentiments and plans for the province. However, he challenged those were present that if they want “Koble” a terms used to refer to money; it’s on where they were standing. It’s in the soil. People have to sweat to live a better life. People should not expect the government to do everything for them; they must help themselves and the government to bring many developments in the society they wish to see. The success of the province depends very much on individual contributions. We are all called to be part takers and not spectators in the advancement of our province in terms of service delivery and developments. The honorable governor has pledged K100,000 towards the building construction.
The students, staff, administration and the community of Kumgi were deeply delighted to receive support from our MP, Hon Bari Palma and the Governor, Hon. Michael Dua. The funds will go directly to where it is due. This shows and further strengthens the relationship between the government and the church as they continue to serve the people of God here in Simbu and Papua New Guinea.
The day’s program ended with Bishop blessing the new machineries and the “Open Houses”. Many new types of machinery were bought and installed in the various workshops. Students from different secondary and high schools within the province were also invited to participate in the open house. During which, the college also opened the doors to its different workshops to the students to see what the trainees are doing in their respective workshops. This is also part of the college’s initiative to advertise and promote the various trades/programs offered. This will consequently helped students especially grades ten and twelve to make informed decisions at the end of their studies.
All good things must come to an end and its true too that all our celebrations and excitements must come to an end. Exhausted after three solid days of celebrations, the Bosconians ended the program very well with the rest of the public. The guest were again ushered to the convent for a light refreshment before departing while the students make sure everything in the workshop was in order before departing for a long weekend. What a celebration we had, all is gone but we will cling to the beautiful memories we have written about Don Bosco Feast Day 2018. All hail to St. Don Bosco. God bless Bosconians.
