Triduum Celebration at Our Lady of Happy Voyage Church, Howrah

 

Our Lady of Happy Voyage Church, Howrah did not only celebrate 77 years of Independence but two more great events that is The Feast of the Assumption of Mother Mary and The Feast of the church on 15th August, 2023. The day began with hoisting the Indian Tricolour flag, while little children waved the miniature version in pride. 

The day cannot be complete without the Word of God. The main celebrant for the bilingual mass was His Grace Thomas D’ Souza and the co-celebrants were Rev. Fr. Sunil Kujur the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Devraj Fernandes the Principal of St. Aloysius School and co pastor of the parish and Rev. Fr. Anjeet Ekka. At the end of the mass His Grace was felicitated as he is celebrating 25 glorious years of his Episcopal Ordination. 

After mass there was a cultural programme organised by the various groups of the church. The congregation gather in the school auditorium and enjoyed skits, songs and dances based on Mother Mary and the nation. During the programme around 30 plus children from Sunday school (English and Hindi section) was awarded for regularity by the Archbishop and 20 plus were felicitated as they accomplished success in various educational fields.

There was a scrumptious lunch served for all who joined in the celebration. The day ended with a football tournament organised by the parish youth. The youth of the church of OLHV had organized a intra parish futsal tournament for the youth of the parish. There were 6 teams and each team consisted of 6 players and after a day of great enthusiasm, dedication from the players the winner was Howrah Fc United , and the team who secured 2nd position was Jerusalem United and the team secured 3rd position was San Antonio Commanders. Among the players Anil Sebastian was the Best Goal keeper and Daniel Govia was the highest goal Scorer.

Kolkata WeCare & Seva Kendra combined to work with KMC

On 22nd July, 2023, Saturday, the Director of Seva Kendra Calcutta, Fr. Anthony Rodrick together with Fr. Dominic Gomes, Vicar General organized a gathering for the staff of Seva Kendra Calcutta, distinguished personalities from different fields of work and Principals of prestigious schools of Kolkata at the premises of Seva Kendra Calcutta. 

At the gathering the core committee of Kolkata WeCare got an opportunity to learn about the genesis of Seva Kendra Calcutta, it’s Vision and Mission, the thematic areas it covers, namely- Environment, Health Care, Education, Social Justice, Livelihood, Food Security and Campaigns & Events, its areas of operation within the Districts of West Bengal, namely – Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Jhargram, 24 Parganas (N) and part of Bankura . 

The presentation touched several facets of work and involvement of Seva Kendra Calcutta within its area of operation. Rapport building and networking with the stakeholders of Khanaberia, Junior Balaka Sangha, Boinchtala, Kolkata Municipal Corporation, NRS Hospital D.N.DE. Homeopathy College&Hospital to name a few. 

Over the years and through many projects, Seva Kendra Calcutta worked in collaboration with Kolkata Municipal Corporation to create awareness on various subjects, life threatening diseases (such as Dengue, Malaria, HIV AIDS) would be one of them through rallies, auto campaigns, to reach out to a large mass of people within several wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Over the years through various projects, Seva Kendra Calcutta has been successful in empowering the CBOs or Community Based Organizations or the beneficiaries – the children, the youth, the women, the men and the elderly through various workshops on Group Building, Community Led Development & Group Management for the Social Act ion Group and Community Action Group members, Situation, Problem and Stakeholders Analysis, 74th Amendment & Social Legislation, just to name a few, which subsequently resulted in the incontestable and incredible initiatives taken by the community members to improve their neighborhood, the environment, the social environment etc. 

Some of the incredible initiatives worth mentioning are – dropout re-enrollment in schools, pond cleaning in Motijheel, construction and repair of toilets in Motijheel and Vaishali, transforming Barua Maidan in Motijheel from a dumping g round into a playground for the community children and the youth of Motijheel, installation of compactor machine opposite Loreto Convent to improve conditions of sanitation, plantation drives within the community and at schools. 

Seva Kendra Calcutta has conducted several activities at schools such as health camps, plantation drives, awareness generation programs etc. in a bid to create awareness of environment, health & hygiene and social environment. 

SKC is privileged to run a project on Prevention of Substance Abuse and Tuberculosis wherein, it deals with drug addicts and links the latter with rehabilitation centers for recovery. SKC is currently, producing cotton bags to replace the use of plastic in a bid to save the environment. Thus, the involvement of Seva Kendra Calcutta in various activities was discussed in a nut shell. 

Next, we had the core members of the Kolkata WeCare, graciously took the time to present their commitment and sense of mission for the society by working with Seva Kendra Calcutta and other Non-Governmental Organizations in Kolkata,The City of Joy. They were delighted to learn that their mission aligned perfectly well with the mission and the activities implemented over the years by Seva Kendra Calcutta. They stressed on plantation drives, recycling of wastes, adoption of the practice of collecting wet and dry wastes separately at schools and institutions, conduct plastic free campaigns to promote the usage of eco-friendly products, cotton and jute bags at schools and introduce environment literacy to students at schools. 

Towards the end of the discussion, one of the dignitaries professed his desire and earnest intention to revive the heritage of Kolkata and bring back its glorious past. Prior concluding the meeting, the main pointers were revisited for more clarity. Finally, the discussion ended on a very positive note.