Mangaluru: To mark the 69th Independence day, the Ashok Nagara Yuvaka Sangha held a distribution of school uniforms, clothes for senior citizens, cycle, wheelchair and cash at Ashok Nagar Higher Primary School auditorium here, on August 15.
The programme began with an invocation. Vice president of AYS Jagannath welcomed the gathering. The programme was inaugurated by Philomena D’Souza and Annette Misquith by lighting the traditional lamp along with other dignitaries on the dais.
The students who have scored highest marks in the academics from 1st standard to 8th standard were honoured. Clothes and cash were distributed to senior citizens. Also, a cycle and a wheel chair was presented to the needy by Ivan D’Souza. Henry D’Souza started to donate funds to Ashok Nagara Yuvaka Sangha from the past 16 years in memory of his late father Cyril D’Souza and mother late Agnes D’Souza while Joseph Mathias has been donating in memory of his late parents Lawrence and Mary Mathias. The funds are handed over to Ashok Nagara Yuvaka Sangha and the members of the sangha select deserving beneficiaries and distribute the aid every year. Ashok Nagara Yuvaka Sangha has completed its 53 years of service and very soon, they will have their own building. All the members work for the welfare of the needy people in the locality.
President of Vidyavardhaka Sangha P Seetharam Bhat speaking on the occasion said that even after 69 years of independence, we are not free. “There is corruption, atrocities on women and other illegal activities. There is communal violence and no unity among people. People fight in the name of religion. In this regard, we need to bring awareness among the people.” He further said that Henry D’Souza and Joseph Mathias are helping the poor and the downtrodden through Ashoka Nagara Yuvaka Sangha. He pointed out that there are very less children who study in Kannada medium, and so the government is not providing aid due to less number of children. “At government level, we have only 2 teachers and other teachers are serving voluntarily. We have to find a solution or else one day, this school also vanish because there are no sufficient teachers to teach the students. Nowadays, parents are sending their children to English medium schools. Kannada medium schools are in danger. It is our duty to retain this school,” he said while urging the gathering to support the school.
Speaking on the occasion, proprietor of www.mangalorean.com Violet Pereira said, “When I see the social service of Ashok Nagara Yuvaka Sangha, I feel that I have to get more involved in social service. Serving hands are holier than the lips that pray. We need to pray but only prayer will not serve the purpose of a person. Along with prayers, we have to fulfill the needs of the needy people. Many leaders deliver speeches about patriotism, but if patriotism is limited to our speeches, it will not yield any fruit. Instead, we have to serve the society. Those who are concerned about the poor and the downtrodden and help them, are the real patriots.”
She further said that we say girls are not safe in this society, but do not think why it is so. “We, the parents, do not have the time to listen to our children. When our children ask us something, we give it to them and we keep ourselves busy in our work. When our children commit mistakes, only then do we realize our fault. Before providing gadgets to our children and leaving them free, we have to make them understand the difficult of earning money and at the same time, we have to teach them discipline. We cannot bend a tree but we can bend a sapling; likewise when our children are very young, we have to teach them discipline and make them disciplined citizens. If a child learns discipline, he/she will grow into a disciplined and responsible person in the society.” She urged all parents to spend some time with their children and listen to their day-to-day activities, so that it becomes a habit for the child to share his/her experience at school everyday.
While concluding, she told the gathering to inculcate moral values in their children because children are the future of the country. “If children will grow with discipline, the future of the country will be bright.”
Sr Irene D’Souza and President of AYS Chethan Kumar also spoke on the occasion. Henry D’Souza delivered the presidential address. Later, 4 people announced their contribution towards Ashok Nagara Yuvaka Sangha for their 54th year programme.
Chairman of Merit Freight Systems Joseph Mathias, Santhosh Misquith, Alwyn Pinto, Treasurer Praveen Kumar, General Secretary Shanker N Poonja and others were also present.
