DON BOSCO COLLEGE - END OF YEAR GENERAL STAFF MEETING (15-12-2011)

  

It was yet another good moment of sharing and reviewing the year 2011 for Don Bosco Youth Technical where issues were deliberated in preparation for the year 2012. This was also a moment sharing experiences after hard working time from January to December 2011. The meeting started at 8:00 am with a blessing from the Rector of the campus, Fr. Kim who in his prayer asked the Holy Spirit to guide the staff in their discussion and implementation of the prepared agenda. The main agenda for this day were reports for the year 2011 from all sections and 2012 time table, inputs from the members and comments on the challenges and way forward as presented from the sections, financial report and 2012 budget. The principal Fr. Michael concluded the meeting with Christmas wishes remarks.

After their exam in the first week of December, these students are expected to go for industrial experience to different Hotels and Lodges for about six months to further give them wider experience in Hotel Industry.

 DON BOSCO TECHNICAL COLLEGE - 11^TH GRADUATION CEREMONY

TO SOUTH KOREA WITH A MISSION

A delegation of 37 members comprising of students, staff, Tilitonse cultural troupe members and priests left for Korea on Monday 19^th of September 2011. Inspired by the theme “LOVE AND SHARING”, the team has gone to Korea for cultural sharing.

The main purpose of the tour is to fundraise for the completion of the construction of Girls Hostels and other projects for the Salesian Mission in Malawi through the sharing of cultural items from Malawi. The students through the expertise of Don Bosco Youth Centre’s Tilitonse Cultural Troupe have been practicing various Malawian traditional dances to show to the people of Korea.

The people of South Korea have been very instrumental in supporting various projects in Malawi including the construction of the Church at Don Bosco and students’ sponsorship among others. The construction of the girls’ hostels (for 100 girls) started in November 2010 with the initial funding from the Edukans Foundation. The tour is another big gesture of love and sharing by the people of South Korea, a gesture that Malawians too have to learn.

The trip is organized by the Koreans through the Korean priest who works in Malawi Fr. Alexander Kim who is the Rector on Don Bosco in Lilongwe. The young people have been preparing for the trip since the end of June. Initially the tour into Korea was scheduled for the 1^st of August but was postponed due to some inconveniences.

The group comprises of 2 priests, 3 teachers, 20 students, 10 Don Bosco Youth Centre cultural troupe members, and 2 youth (a physically challenged boys who is going for treatment and his sister).

Hundreds of Malawian citizens aspiring to become accountants in the lucrative accounting field flocked to Don Bosco Youth Technical Institute to sit for June PAEC examination. This is the first time Don Bosco College hosted the PAEC (Public Accountant Examination Council of Malawi) examination. The examinations were held from the 31^st of May to June the 9^th.

The examinees filled all the three halls at the campus and this led to the closure of the youth centre for two weeks.

The examination was running parallel with MANEB examination that occupied two halls.

Throughout the examination period different colleges gave out their prospectuses to students to boost enrolment.

Hosting PAEC examination was a nice experience and has put Don Bosco on a Map. Don Bosco is an institution with a lot of potential and creates unlimited possibilities to young people. Many of those who were not positive about the institution because of its position outside the city of Lilongwe, have come to appreciate the role it plays and wish to register with it.

Being imprisoned is not being rejected or abandoned or cast off as one may think, this is the philosophy of Don Bosco students as they proved it on the 16^th May 2011 when they visited Maula Prison (reformatory centre). The visit – as explained by the students’ council president – was meant to show the inmates the much love that they need as they serve various sentences and share the little that the students donated like; clothes and some money which was used to buy items such as sugar, soap, petroleum jelly and biscuits for the kids staying in the prison with their mothers.

Before the students shared the gifts they carried for the female inmates, there were some activities which had been prepared for the special day. All started with a prayer, introductions, sharing of the word of God, singing songs of praise and worship and preceding sharing of gifts was games and traditional dances which the inmates and students enjoyed together.

Leonard Banda, a construction student when asked why he was part of the group visiting the prison, he said, “the inmates need hope for a better tomorrow and that hope is given by us. We have to show them that we all are equally important in the eyes of God and can contribute to the development of our nation”.

With the aim of improving the quality of and access to vocational education in Malawi, Don Bosco Youth Technical Institute is in the process of constructing a Girls Hostel that will house 100 girls. The work started in the last week of November and the Girls are expected to start using the facility in the month of June. The work has taken a steady pace though hampered by heavy rains.

The school has 612 students and out of this 180 are girls. Most of them rent in small houses around the college and others travel long distances from their relatives. Many young female Malawians fail to enroll at the college due to lack of boarding facility. From the month of June this will no longer be a hindrance to girls accessing and acquiring quality vocational training at Don Bosco.

Thanks to Edukans Foundation for the funds that have led to the realization of the project.

Every academic year in Don Bosco Youth Technical Institute, students usher in a new regime of the student’s union/council. This academic year 2010-2011 welcomed a new regime of enthusiastic and charismatic leaders. Along with this exercise of electing leaders , the students union together with the patron and matron organizes a leadership seminar  to help equip the new leader s with some skills to organize and orient their subordinates ‘ energy to a common end, for this is what leadership is all about.

The seminar ran from the 1^st – 2^nd April, 2011 at Don Bosco. The facilitators covered the following topics: Leadership style and characteristics, communication and leadership, Time management and leadership, motivation and leadership and leading the Don Bosco way.

The facilitators: Br. Joseph, Br. Kennie, Miss Chrissy Chindole, Miss Maria Pflügler, Mr. Muhime and Miss Angelika Färber identified the topics that were in the seminar as the most crucial in student leadership in the college.

At the end of the seminar one the interviewed student said, he learnt a lot of skills e.g. how to handle problems of fellow students, how to pass judgment on critical student issues and different approaches to problem solving.

Don Bosco College on 12th February 2011 became a place of meeting between college staff and parents/guardians that send their siblings to the college to study in various disciplines. After almost two years without such a meeting, the Principal and management thought it wise to have college staff together with the guardians/sponsors of the students of the college. Parents were happy to learn of the transparent procedures that the college has in running its day to day activities. The parents also had their input to the meeting which included; requesting updates on students conduct in college, flexible way of college fees like direct to the college’s account.

The 2010 CompTIA N+ Olympic started on January 11^th with Mr. Pacifique Niyibizi, the Domain Controller and the 20 of us members of the Domain. It was not easy for us to adopt the changes, everything was new to us. Since we joined IT at Don Bosco College we never had such an idea of fully achieving what we now talk of; all in all Team work was the best Ideal to reach the top where we are. Mr. Ethian Harneck took over when Mr. Pacifique Niyibizi left.

At the college campus is now like the popular songs that even those who don’t like music they still sing, thinking that it is an easy go exam. All has been so by putting God’s name first and following the schools’ Motto “hard work and vision”, attendance and determination. Indeed when you need something all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it and to realize one’s destiny it is person’s real obligation. “Students are would like to express their sincere gratitude to the school”; Don Bosco IT-department specifically, Mr. Ethian Harneck, Mr. Precious Chilupysa, Mr. Peter Lungu, Mr. Kondwani Malimba, Miss Maria from Austria,Mr. Pacifique Niyibizi for material support, Parents for financial and other presents we do not take it for granted. 

During the meeting the staff had Budget session presented by Mr. Mike Mchawa, Evaluation and 2010 Resolutions presented by Mr. Precious Chilupsya, Academic Policy presented by the Vice Principal (Ken Mwamulima) and finally the Principal (Fr. Michael Mbandama) talked about PREVENTIVE SYSTEM IN THE EDUCATION OF THE YOUNG.

The Principal said “SALESIANS PREVENTIVE SYSTEM is the educative method developed by the Salesians upon the pedagogical experience of Saint John Bosco with poor youngsters.”

Preventive system is opposed to what Don Bosco refers to as Repressive System of Education.

Three Pillars of Preventive System

Reason

Religion

Loving Kindness.

There was also a get together to Welcome Fr. Michael as the New Principal for Don Bosco College.

“No Man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same Man”. This was Heraclitus’ philosophical stance. He was just affirming that change is the only reality; despite that sometimes we are a little bit unfamiliar with this reality. It is this unfamiliarity with our own reality that make specialists in management introduce courses like change management. However, this is not necessary if people are familiar with their own reality.

Don Bosco Technical College is at the edge of facing this reality. On Tuesday, 23 November, 2010, the Rector Fr. Kim announced the change of the Principal which has to take place no sooner than the end of November, 2010. The Principal Br. Walter shall hand over to Fr. Michael on the 1^st of December in the Presence of  Fr. Dennis Huggins  who shall represent the Provincial of ZMB, Fr. Joseph.

In preparation for this hand over as the new principal takes over, the administration with the outgoing principal invited all the members of staff for lunch in honor of the new principal. On this occasion a cake was cut and fed to the principal elect by the out going principal and popped up a bottle of champagne.