BORDUMSA CALLING Visit Don Bosco School Galenja-Bordumsa. You can be sure of a warm welcome provided by young hearts bubbling with love. The youngsters here are genuinely simple, lovable, generous, cheerful and enthusiastic. Well, for those who have not visited this place, DBS Galenja is situated at the outskirts of Bordumsa township in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh. It is at the border area of Tinsukia district of Assam. There is a road here that demarcates both the neighouring states. Our centre has nearly 600 students from Nursery to class VIII. We have 40 hostel boys, a teacher warden, and two Salesians (Rev. Fr. Jose Edamala as Rector & Administrator; Fr. Michael Hingba as Vice Rector and Headmaster). The Vedruna Sisters collaborate in the school and run a girls’ hostel with 34 hostellers. There are around eight other small private hostels that cater to our students. We as Indians are familiar with the idea of ‘unity in diversity’. There is a miniature India here at DBS Galenja-Bordumsa. It is amazing to see various tribes and communities in the school. We have nearly 20 different communities in our school: Khamtis, Deoris, Singphos, Ponthais, Tangsas, Noctes, Mossangs, Wanchos, Ollos, Tutsas, Mishmis, Chakmas, Assamese, Adivasis, Boros, Nepalese, Bengalis, Biharis, et al. Although the children come from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, yet they form a beautiful tapestry of unity and fraternity. That is the beauty of DBS Galenja-Bordumsa and it’s
something to be proud of. By and large the people here are Buddhists and Hindus. There are some who practice Dony-Polo, and other indigenous religions. There are a handful of Christians in and around. There are no incidents of religious intolerance as they respect one another. The history of this centre can be traced back to 2002 or so when Fr. Theophilus Ganlari Sdb and two dedicated teachers Ms Asiisa and Ms Athia started the school in a thatched h o u s e . They really worked hard and faced untold difficulties in order to bring up the centre. As a result the school has grown and is still journeying ahead to progress. Successive Salesians who worked here have contributed in their own ways. If I remember rightly the headmasters in succession were Fr. Lonuo Linus sdb, Fr. E.C. Michael sdb, and Fr. Athishu Anthony sdb. Many boys and girls have benefited and there is great rush for admissions to this beautiful institution. Soon the school is going to have inspection for ICSE board recognition. Most probably, it will be sometime in the month of October or beginning of November 2016. Necessary preparations are being followed up by the Fathers and collaborators. Your prayers for the successful inspection and subsequent recognition of the school will be highly appreciated. - Fr. Hingba Michael Sdb
16 / Dimapur Links: July - August 2016
