GUNTUR

HISTORY

MICHAEL’S BOYS’ HOME, GUNTUR

St. Michael’s Industrial School founded in 1947 by Rt. Rev. Pothakamuri Thomas the first Bishop of Guntur. The Orphanage and the School offered training orphan boys most of whom were from the Guntur Diocese.

In 1964 Rt. Rev. lgnatius Mummadi, the greatest benefactor of Salesians in Andhra, offered the Institution to the Salesians and Fr John Med, the then Salesian Provincial of Madras accepted it. The pioneering Salesians Rev. Fr Benjamin Puthota, Fr P.E. Abraham and Br. Gabriel Fernandez arrived at Guntur on 24 June, 1964. Hard work, many sacrifices, sleepless nights, the extreme Andhra heat, and even starvation awaited these young, energetic, enthusiastic and dynamic pioneers. Fortunately, as ‘fortune favours the brave’ they were well-backedup by two greatest benefactors of the Andhra Salesians, Msgr. Ignatius Mummadi and Rev. Fr Arulaiah. At the time of takeover, St. Michael’s Industrial School contained a small Printing Press and a miniscule Carpentry Workshop to train the young hands and keep them busy. The forward march commenced thus!

Soon, new machinery and other essential equipment was added. Construction began on the two new wings of the Orphanage, 1969 – 1971 by Fr Benjamin Puthota, with the visionary aim of providing better and improved accommodation facilities to the boys. The following year, in 1972, the Allwyn Type Foundry with new machinery was inaugurated. But then this institute without a Church was just like a body without a soul. Fr Benjamin, the ever-visionary Rector was quick to the task. He initiated the construction of the Church of Mary Help of Christians, (Sahayamatha Church) and this glorious fruit actualized through the loving labour of confreres and boys was blessed on 30 June, 1973.  During this activity, the Institution was also registered under the Societies Registration Act as The Guntur St. Michael’s Boys’ Home Society on 6 June 1973. These progressive developments happened with the dynamic foresight of Fr Benjamin.

Subsequently, an Auto-Mechanic section was added to the Technical School on 16 August, 1977, thanks to the determined efforts of Fr M.S. Michael.  It was in this phase that St. Michael’s became a centre of Vocation Promotion in Andhra Pradesh, from the year 1977. Due to a labour dispute, the Technical school had to remain closed from January 1979 to July 1980, during which period the Orphanage maintained 30 of the neediest boys. The consequent re-opening on 16 July 1980, witnessed the Technical School renamed as Don Bosco Technical School, Guntur, recognized by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. Due credit for the commencement of the Turner/Fitter trade in this phase is to Fr. Thomas Koshy.   

St Michael’s Boys Home became a centre of vocation promotion in Andhra Pradesh in 1977. Till the Gunadala Aspirantate was started, this institute was also a centre for the training aspirants of the Andhra region.

On 8 December 1988 coinciding with the celebrations of the Death Centenary of St John Bosco, Sahayamatha Church was made into a parish, and was entrusted to the Salesians in perpetuity.

An adhoc parish council was formed in the General Body meeting held on 15 May 1994. Subsequently, greater involvement of laity was seen in the parish administration. In 1996-97, Fr Michael, the then Parish Priest, procured assistance from some foreign benefactors and reconstructed two village chapels, at  Adavi Thakkillapadu (Mission Farm) and Phanidaram. In 1996, through the untiring efforts of the parish council members, 80 pews were added in the church. A facelift was given to the front elevation of the church. Some other minor repairs were also undertaken. The then council members, Mr Samineni Paul Joseph and Mr. Guntupalli Jojaiah provided a niche for Our Lady and 14 portraits of the Stations of the Cross, respectively.

In June 1998, the town parish area was divided into four wards for prayer meetings, etc. In the same year, the practice of collecting monthly subscriptions from the parishioners was given up and collecting of annual subscription at the time of the Annual Church Feast was introduced.

As Guntur city continued to grow rapidly, Bishop Dr. Gali Bali felt the need of dividing the parish. In accordance with his order dated 6.August1999, a new parish of Stambalagaruvu was bifurcated from the Sahayamatha Parish comprising the areas of Phanidaram, Gollavaripalem, Adavirhakkilapdu, Gujjanagundla, Thuphan Nagar, Stambalagaruvu, S.V.N.Colony, Pattabhipuram and SwamyTheatre area. However, the three sub-stations of Stambalagaruvu namely Mission Farm, Gollavaripalem and Phanidaram were returned to the Salesians by Bishop Gali Bali on15^th June 2011 as Stambalagaruvu was unable to cater to its many substations.

At this juncture, Don Bosco I.T.I had introduced hi-tech trades like Electricians, Electronics and Computers in the year 1991, with a view towards ultra-modernization. This added glamour to the institute, which otherwise was sober and moderate. Even the Printing Press underwent a sea change with the introduction of Desk Top Computers, Hi-Tech Cameras and Offset Machines. of the main guiding hand for this entire noteworthy development  was Fr Medabalimi Balaswamy, who ensured that, Don Bosco Technical School progressed from a tiny Press and Carpentry Workshop into an Industrial Complex.

To those who complete the courses, the school issued certificates, countersigned by the Director of Technical Education, Andhra Pradesh. Simultaneous with their learning of the trades, the boys were encouraged to appear for Std.VII and S.S.C. with special night classes to prepare them adequately for these examinations.

Well, ‘growth’ is positive and encouraging, but ‘growing’ has its own in-built tensions and problems. Growth of an institute is no exception. St. Michael’s Orphanage has blossomed into a mighty Don Bosco Industrial Complex. Now, what next? How to develop further was the question ‘Which way to move on’ was the added dilemma. Lengthy discussions by various responsible people ensued, with the sole motive to streamline the further growth of this Institute. Various suggestions emerged:

• Shifting the Press to a place where it can function independently in a conducive and supportive atmosphere, where the total concentration is on the Press and its development.
• To limit the scope of the Institute only for industrial training both I.T.I and Non-Formal, which meant production would have to be shelved. From the many suggestions, only these seemed to be the most significant.

One thing was clear however, that in whichever manner this Institute might grow, it would have to have as its primary option the thousands of poor boys who were looking upto this Don Bosco Institute. It had to and could indeed revolutionize the lives of hundreds of poor youth by influencing their lives and through them the lives of so many like them in their villages.

In 1994, Fr Provost from Comide, Belgium visited the Press and was surprised to see the deplorable condition of the Press shed and lack of machinery. As Fr Michael and Bro Gregory explained the financial instability and the purpose of printing technology for the training of the poor and deserving youth, Fr Provost understood the need for mechanization and the advancement that the Press ought to make in a developing town like Guntur. Thus, he suggested the community to present the awful condition of the Press in the form of a ‘project’ and submit it to the Comide Funding Agency. With the permission of Fr Benjamin, the then Provincial, a three-crore ‘project’ application was sent to Belgium, which was thankfully sanctioned instantly.

On 18 September 1995, a new wing was added to The Guntur St. Michael’s Boys’ Home Society under the name of Bosco Integrated Rural Development (which was originally called SAVAL INDIA) and another Out-Reach Training Centre for non-formal technical courses for the benefit of the rural poor.

Consequently, May 15, 1997 was a red-letter day not only for the Guntur House, or Hyderabad Salesian Province but also for the Salesians in India, as the foundation for the most modern computerized Press was blessed by Rev. Fr M.S Michael sdb, the veteran missionary of Guntur and laid by Rev. Bro Gregory sdb., the honourable manager of the press for nearly a decade! Very Rev. Fr Benjamin Puthota, the then Provincial was there to witness the historical event. Thus, on 15 January 2000, marking the year of Christu Jayanthi, the new hi-tech press was inaugurated in the presence of various dignitaries. This would not only bring meaning and light to the lives of many poor and abandoned youth of Andhra Pradesh but also ensure a real reformation in printing technology and communication in India. would be a real asset to the Hyderabad Province in particular and the Salesian world in general.

In 2004, a web-offset machine was bought under the able leadership of Fr Gnanapragsam in order to take up the work at Acharya Nagarjuna University and to fetch more orders for the press, with a view to increase its income..

Accordingly, one additional unit in Fitter (20 seats) and one additional unit in Electrical (20 seats) were added to the existing trades in 2011 at Don Bosco ITI. Meanwhile, the programme project was initiated by Fr Noel Maddhichetty, the then Provincial, with the help of the Comide project, Belgium, through the Development Office of the Province, Bosco Seva Kendra under the supervision of Fr Bellamkonda Sudhakar. This ensured that St Michael’s benefitted in equipping the ITI labs as well as the Printing Press with machines and tools; long and short-term training programmes.   

Present Scenario:

Locality (Area):

St. Michael’s Boys Home is located in the headquarters of Guntur district, which is in the coastal part of the South-Eastern Indian State of Andhra Pradesh. The district is essentially agrarian in its nature. The land is generally composed of black cotton soil. However, the coastal plains are more fertile than the plains in the interior parts of the state. lf the land value is considered as indicative of the productivity, an acre of irrigated agricultural land in the coastal mandals is valued at Rs. 1, 00,000/- as against Rs. 60,000/- in the interior part.’ Here full-scale agricultural season lasts from June to February (Khariff season -wet crops: paddy, cotton and chilies) and followed by the weaker season (Rabi) that stretches from March to May.

The town of Guntur where Don Bosco Institute is situated is seen as one of fast developing cities of Andhra Pradesh. There are a number of reputed educational institutions managed by secular as well as religious institutions. The Diocese of Guntur is known for managing many schools and professional colleges in and around the city for both the poor and the middle class youth. Most of the youth of Andhra Pradesh look forward to getting admissions in one of these institutions due to the serious learning ambient provided.

However there is also the curse of the caste system which is quite prevalent in the district. Mostly the landless laborers are dalits, working on the farms of high caste land owners. Due to this, there are quite many poor around who need attention by religious and charitable institutions like ours. The youth that come to our institution for training are mostly from this section of society.

SECTORS

1. PARISH:

The parish runs under the patronage of “Mary Help of Christians”, so the feast on 24 May is celebrated with much pomp and grandeur. All the families throng to the church on the feast day to participate in a string of activities ranging from sharing of a fellowship meal to taking the statue of Mary in procession through various parts of the city, to celebration of the solemn Eucharist. This is normally preceded by well animated novena and other related services. The Parish also organizes several groups such as Legion of Mary, Vincent De Paul Society, Youth Group, and Altar Boys Association, to keep up the Salesian spirit.

Word has it that the parish council is one of the best councils in the Diocese of Guntur, as also is the Parish. On many occasions the Bishop himself seemed to have made a mention of this as one of the forward-looking parishes. All the major feasts including that of the Salesian family are conducted with due spiritual preparation. Of late, an organized charismatic prayer is the latest feature added to the parish activity for which thousands have been turning up from neighboring parishes. There are 270 regular and many unregistered families taking the total number of parishioners to 1650 that attend services in the church. Most of the parishioners are from either the teaching or business professions.

The Salesian community that takes care of the parish also takes up regular chaplaincies at the Holy Cross, Salesian Sisters (FMA) and JMJ Convents.

On May 24, 2012 Fr Louis was appointed as the Parish Priest and since then the parish has turned a spiritual leaf in its history as many devotions were propagated to the Divine Mercy, and Mary Help of Christians.

Some key devotions organized to lead the parish and its faithful on a spiritual journey:

• Every Saturday, the evening mass was solemnized as the guest priests were invited to preach and to give a reflection on Our Lady Help of Christians.
• In order to spread devotion to Divine Mercy, its chaplet was introduced daily from 3.00 pm – 4.00 pm. Anyone free and in leisure is welcomed to attend this prayer and benefit of the spiritual gifts from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Monthly pamphlets were printed and distributed with ‘testimonies’ consisting of the miracles that occurred through the Divine Mercy Chaplet prayer (during 3.00 pm – 4.00 pm daily) and the intercession of Mary Help of Christians.
• Every 24^th of the month, a day dedicated to the commemoration of Mary Help of Christians was solemnized by inviting even the villagers of our substations. Buses were arranged for their conveyance and a meal was provided to everyone after the mass.
• A full night vigil prayer service has also been initiated every first Friday from 9.00 pm to 5.00 am  consisting of praise & worship, preaching, sharing the Word of God, with Holy Mass as a conclusion.
• In addition, a silent adoration every Friday from 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm (apart from the divine mercy chaplet prayer) ending with the blessing of the Blessed Sacrament has also been started.
• There has been a custom that every 29^th of the month, a charismatic renewal prayer service along with Mass was conducted. Now, this has been popularized and promoted to every nook and corner of the parish wards and villages through billboards. This initiative has borne fruit as the faithful increased in numbers every month with the help of Muthangi Charismatic team and other retreat centres like Dhyanashram from Mangalagiri,

In order to better promulgate devotion to Mary Help of Christians a grotto was also built at the principal entrance.

Below is the list the Parish Priests in chronological order:

1. PARISH PRIEST DURATION
2. Fr John Varicatt             1988 – 1991
3. Fr Maddhichetty Michael             1991 – 1992                              
4. Fr John Tharakan 1992 – 1993
5. Fr Singareddy Francis Reddy 1993 – 1994
6. Fr Maddhichetty Michael             1994 – 1997
7. Fr Madathumuriyil John Sebastian 1997 – 2003                                          
8. Fr Thota Mariadas 2003 – 2006
9. Fr Pentareddy Jayapaul Reddy             2006 – 2012
10. Fr Chinnabathuni Louis Babu 2012 – till date

2. ITI (INDUSTRIAL TRAINING INSTITUTE):

The institute conducts both formal and non-formal courses. Under the formal training courses, it hosts the following trades: Electrician, Electronics, Motor Mechanics and Turner/Fitter. 220 boys are enrolled in these courses. Under non-formal courses the institute offers the following:  Printing Technology, Carpentry, Tailoring, Embroidery and Electricals.

Following is the updated list of Activities of Don Bosco Technical School, Guntur.

FORMAL COURSES

Course Name	Duration	Certification	Batch Strength	Eligibility
Fitter	2 Years	NCVT	80	Class X
Motor Mechanics	2 Years	NCVT	40	Class X
Electrical	2 Years	NCVT	80	Class X
Electrician	2 Years	NCVT	20	Class X

NON-FORMAL COURSES

Course Name	Duration	Certification	Batch Strength	Eligibility
Carpentry	2 Years	Don Bosco ITI	10	Flexible
Welding	1 Year	Don Bosco ITI	10	Flexible
Printing Technology (Pre-Press, Press, Post-Press)	2 Years	Don Bosco Press	40	Flexible/ Class X
Tailoring & Embroidery	1 Yr/ 6 and 3 Months	BIRD	15	Flexible

 

SHORT-TERM COURSES

Course Name	Duration	Certification	Batch Strength	Eligibility
Computers	2 Months	Don Bosco Press	60	Flexible
Spoken English	2 Months	Don Bosco Press	60	Flexible

3. PRINTING PRESS:

The training school was started in 1964 with an aim to produce printing professionals to meet requirements of quality manpower. It provides two- and three-year courses in printing technology where both theoretical inputs and practical training is imparted by professionals from the industry as per the syllabi prepared by the Institute. It is reputed to be a dynamic printing and publishing house with the drive of introducing modern and state-of-the art print technology in the industry. Currently there are 25 boys and 10 girls learning this trade.

Project for an offset multi-colour printing machine

The top priority being the Improvement of the socio-economic situation of youth and their families in the target area, the focus is on the improved training opportunities for marginalized youth in printing technology. Keeping this objective in mind a project was applied to Don Bosco Mondo, Bonn, Germany for a multi-colour offset machine. By God’s grace it was the German ministry BMZ that funded us through Don Bosco Mondo.

The kind permission from Rev. Fr Provincial and his Councillors for Fr Yerramaneni Baly to visit various agencies abroad especially Don Bosco Mondo, Bonn, Germany on 2 May 2012 opened a new way for viable possibilities.  This pilot project was made achievable only because of the generous help from BMZ – Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany through Don Bosco Mondo, Bonn Germany, facilitated by Mr Christian Osterhaus, Mrs. Silvia Cromm, Ms Margret, Mrs Susanne Arzt, Mr Roland and Fr Thomas Santiagu – Bosco Seva Kendra.

Don Bosco Technical School Press in Guntur has installed the Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 four-colour press on 7 September 2013. This is the institution’s first, 4-colour offset printing equipment in 50 years. The school offers training in commercial printing for under-privileged students.

With a capacity to print 13,500 copies an hour, the Speedmaster SM 74 press can process a wide range of printing substrates, from thin paper to board, ranging in thickness from 0.03 mm (0.0012 inches) to 0.6 mm (0.024 inches). Automation components like AutoPlate reduce the make-ready and setup times as compared to other presses. Heidelberg has also provided training support to operate this new press.

Thus, the inauguration and blessing of the new Heidelberg Multi-Colour offset printing Machine SM 74-4 and a renovated Bro. Gabriel Fernandez Multi-Colour Training Block, a Unit of St Michael’s Boys’ Home, was held on the September 7, by Rt. Rev. Dr. GALI BALI, D.D., Bishop of Guntur Diocese, Sri. S. SURESH KUMAR, I.A.S., Collector & District Magistrate, Guntur and Prof. K. VIYYANNA RAO, M.Com., Ph.D., Vice-Chancellor, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur in the presence of Rev. FR RAMINEDI BALARAJU, Salesian Provincial, Province of St Joseph, Hyderabad at Don Bosco Technical School Press, Ring Road, Guntur. The demo performance of the SM 74 was impressive, with the first output being a 4-colour poster of the recruiting guide of the Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur. 

The press looks forward to many other machines that we still lack to compete with the competitive corporate market in maintaining the quality and precision while imparting industry-standard training for the underprivileged young. .

4. BOARDING:

The Boarding provides food and shelter to boys that come from villages around Guntur. Most often they pay what they can afford so that the poor are not saddled with fee constraints in the way of their training. There are 80 boys this year most of whom are referred by the diocesan priests.

There is also provision for people of other faiths to enter the boarding provided they are from poor and deserving families.  All efforts are made to educate them in the Salesian way bringing them closer to  responsible holiness. All the Salesian feasts are solemnized in the boarding so as to imbue values from the lives of Salesian saints. Most of them are very grateful to the staff and the management.

5. BIRD (Bosco Integrated Rural Development & Training center):

It is an outreach programme center for non-formal technical courses to the rural poor only. This project began in 1995 and continued with financial support from COMlDE till 31 March 1998. However the vocational training in tailoring, embroidery and type writing continued in the same premises till  March 01, 2011. The courses were stopped due to fewer takers. So the building was leased out to the FCI since the building was lying idle due to nonfunctioning of training programmes.

At present there are 25 women/girls who are being trained. Following are the 3 modules in Tailoring, Embroidery and Garment Making.

Module I     : Tailoring:  Blouses (Long & Short) | Model Blouses | Skirt | Chudidhar | Gagra | Frocks

Module II    : Embroidery: Hand Embroidery | Maggam Work 

Module III   : Garment Making: Uniform | T-Shirts | Sports Wear | Gents Work  

6. PAST PUPILS UNIT:

It is a dynamic group with searing ambition to reach out to the needs of the young people of our locality. Every year the General Body meeting is held on January 31^st and August 15^thwherein plans are drawn for the rest of the year. The group is very much involved in organizing fundraising and other social activities that reach out to the needy in the locality. The group is quite active at providing monetary assistance to the underprivileged children for their education, considered as one of the feathers in its cap.

Recently, the group met Rev. Fr. Provincial and got a go-ahead nod, to start the job placement cell for the past pupils of Don Bosco. For this purpose the unit is collecting the addresses of all our past pupils and informing them about the vacancies wherever available. The group also actively participates in the state and national level Past Pupils Congress. Thus, the unit keeps in touch with all other past pupils and their works. All of them feel that it’s a rich experience of being in the Salesian family in spreading Don Bosco’s mission and vision. By far, the unit is trying to do its best to reach out to as many poor youth as possible through contacts and counseling. The group still has many plans and ambitions for Medical camps, Blood Donation Programmes and to start Career Guidance and Vocational Promotional Seminars for the youth. At present there are 90 active members in this unit.

7. COOPERATORS’ UNIT:

 There are 9 cooperators in the parish. Samineni Chinnaiah functions as the coordinator of the unit with the help of the parish priest. The members are continually active taking forward the spirit of Don Bosco impacting the parish community with their work. Yet, the members feel that there is a slackening of efforts due to a mixture of varied reasons ranging from busy work schedules to low animative enthusiasm.

8. NAVAJEEVAN (YaR):

Don Bosco Navajeevan, a center for Street Children run by Salesians of Don Bosco caters to runaway children from home or orphans that meet the center. It all began here in 2002 as a shelter home for the street urchins.

There is also what is called Drop-in shelter in Guntur town managed by Salesians that aims to receive children at any time of the day, where these children are rehabilitated and repatriated enabling them to rejoin their families. Counseling, giving shelter, providing basic needs, formal education, skill training, recreational and medical aids, child rights campaign, etc., are some of its routine activities.

The community keeps up a good relationship with the Diocese, other Religious and the Salesian family. As St Michael’s Boys celebrated its Golden Jubilee of the house and Silver Jubilee of the Sahaya Matha Parish in 2014, its members draw inspiration from those pioneers and Salesians who laid the foundation for the Salesian spirit at Guntur, and pledge in sincerity, to take forward the same spirit to another 50 years and more following the footsteps of Don Bosco in professionally skilling the youth technically paving a bright career path in the immediate future. The Salesians owe gratitude to all the Rectors, Parish Priests, Directors and In-Charges of all the sectors who have relentlessly slogged to shape this house in every area with that much needed special attention and dedication, making it a Home of Love!.

Rectors and In-Charges under whose leadership we have traversed this Golden Journey:

No.         Rector / In-Charge                            Duration

1. Fr Banjamin Puthota 1964 – 1968
2. Fr Maddhichetty Michael 1968 – 1979                                         
3. Fr K.S. Joseph 1979 June-82 May
4. Fr Medabalimi Balaswamy 1982 – 1985
5. Fr Koshy Thomas 985 – 1988
6. Fr Medabalimi Balaswamy 1988 – 1991
7. Fr Singareddy Francis Reddy 1991 – 1994         
8. Fr Maddhichetty Michael 1994 – 1997
9. Fr Madathumuriyil John Sebastian 1997 – 2003
10. Fr Thota Mariadas 2003 – 2006
11. Fr Pentareddy Jayapaul Reddy 2006 – 2012
12. Fr Chinnabathuni Louis Babu 2012 – 2018

We recall these fifty golden years of St Michael’s Boys’ Home /  Don Bosco Technical School with gratitude and with a profound sense of our responsibility, as Salesians, lay collaborators, teachers, parents, poor students, past pupils, volunteers and benefactors, to continue the Salesian mission of Don Bosco that has been passed onto us, to educate with reason, religion and loving kindness.

On this day May 24, 2014 we celebrate the Jubilee of the Salesian presence in Andhra Pradesh, which first opened its doors exactly fifty long years ago. This seed grew bigger and bigger eventually spreading gradually all over Andhra Pradesh consisting not less than 30 houses educating the youth with pastoral, technical, academic and humanizing approaches with almost 200 Salesians. St Michael’s Boys’ Home that was begun in 1964 was not just another good Catholic institution but a home to accompany every youngster on his/her journey to be responsible, honest and holy citizens.

Thus, St Michael’s Boys celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2014, the day on which it thanks, always first, always above all, the Lord, who gave his Blessed Mother our Lady Help of Christians to be the principal patron, and who inspired this work of establishing our Salesian spirit and brought it to such a happy mission to live and pass it on to all the youngsters we come in contact with. Fifty years swiftly gone, fifty and more to come! Viva Don Bosco!

Fr Medabalimi Balaswamy took over once again for the third time as the Rector of The Guntur St Michael’s Boys Home Society in 2018.

____________

THE GUNTUR ST MICHAEL’S BOYS HOME SOCIETY
ST. MICHAEL’S BOYS HOME
CHANDRAMOULI NAGAR
RING ROAD, GUNTUR – 522 007

(0863) 23 506 16   –  House
(0863) 23 508 32   –  Press
(0863) 23 350 27   –  I.T.C.

stmichaelsboyshome.50@gmail.com –  House

dbpressgnt@gmail.com   –  Press