June 2008

Dear Friends of Brisson Bala Bhavan!

The new academic year just began (June 6, 2008) and we accepted three more children in our hostel because two of the kids discontinued. Unfortunately they were not able to meet the academic requirements in Nazareth academy where our boys attend their classes.
Two of the three newcomers are of some special interest: their forefathers were brought from Africa to India as slaves by the Portugiese. Some of them escaped into the jungles in the north of Karnataka and just recently, about 60 years ago, they lost their fears and ventured out from the forests and became integrated in the Indian society.

Richard, Johnson, Kathan (from left to right)

In general these African-Indian families are very poor and most of them are uneducated and unemployed. We heard about them and decided to accept two of them in our hostel, giving them the opportunity for a brighter future. The third, small boy, Johnson, comes from Kerala.

Soon Fr. Mathew Mukkath will become the new director of Brisson Bala Bhavan. The former director, Fr. Xavier Manchu, got transferred to Andhra Pradesh where he is entrusted with the very challenging task to begin a new parish. I would like to use this opportunity to thank him for his faithful work at Brisson Bala Bhavan and wish him God’s blessing for his work in Andhra.

With my best wishes,
Josef Koeltringer, osfs
June 19, 2008