India

On the occason of the 25-year Jubilee of Christ Jyoti-School in Nagaon Fr. Heribert Kerschgens SDS, director of Hermann-Josef-College Steinfeld and his representative Heinrich Latz report about the celebration und about their excursion to Dhing and Shillong.

North East India – a Travel Report

The reason for our short trip to the Salvatorians in North East India was the invitation to share in the celebrations of 25 years of the Christ Jyoti School in Nagaon, Assam. We took the opportunity to visit the areas in North East India, such as Shillong, where the Salvatorians first did their work.

1. Christ Jyoti Schools in Nagaon and Dhing
After ten hours of flying and a break in Kolkata, we were pleased to be recognized by Father Benny when we arrived in Guwahati. We then went by car to Nagaon and had our first experience of a real Indian meal with some friendly Sisters en route. The impressions we gained in Kolkata and on the road to Nagaon showed us that we were in a very different world. We were heartily welcomed by the Fathers in Nagaon where we met the founder of the school, Father Prakash, who started it in 1983 when he was still a diocesan priest. On entering the order of the Salvatorians, he brought the school as a ‘dowry’ with him. Even on our first visit to the school we were aware of what an immense task has been achieved in the last 25 years by the Fathers, Sisters and teachers there. The school has now got two large building complexes. One of them is the Junior College (for the final two years of studying before university), which was completed in 2005. The focus of the whole area is the imposing church, which also serves as the parish church. Father Sebastian, the Principal of Christ Jyoti School, could not hide his nervousness in the run-up to the big event. Sister Laisy, the Principal of the Junior College, was also very busy with the preparations. Even so, there was some time to get to know each other.
After a reviving sleep, the Jubilee Celebrations were opened with a ceremony on Thursday, 23rd October, 2008. The Superintendent of Nagaon Police, Mr. Gogoi, hoisted the Jubilee flag, and candles were lit. After the guests had been welcomed, they were given the opportunity to admire the students’ projects. The many art and science exhibits showed the great variety of the work done at school. A lot of them dealt with ecological problems and the students readily gave information on what they had done.

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  Visual impressions of Nagaon and of the celebration-ceremony: