GREETINGS FROM INDIA

My dear Friends of the Fransalians,

Cordial greetings to you from Vikasjyothi, Mysore. It is almost six months since I have taken up my new responsibility in India. I am happy to inform you that everything goes well with me and all the projects and programs initiated are being implemented successfully. I am deeply grateful to each of you for your prayers and the continued financial support for our projects .

CHAD- CAMEROON MISSION RAISED TO THE STATUS OF A DELEGATION

With great joy I announce to you the good news that our Chad-Cameroon Mission has been raised to the status of a DELEGATION in the Congregation. Fr. Manoj Arackal, the present Mission Superior has been elected and appointed the Delegation Superior. The new Delegation will be formally inaugurated before the end of the year when the Delegation Superior will also be officially installed in office. We thank God Almighty for his providential care for this very difficult mission during the past 19 years. We also gratefully remember the numerous friends and benefactors who have contributed much towards the growth of this Mission. In spite of the many hardships that we encounter almost daily, the Mission has been growing up on a rapid pace beyond all our expectations. Thanks be to God. We wish Fr. Manoj, the new Delegation Superior and all the members of the New Delegation much success in their noble task of bringing education and development to a greatly impoverished population in the remote villages of Chad and Cameroon.

SCHUELERPATENSCHAFTEN

Schuelerpatenschaften is an ongoing scholarship program which is now a combined project of Agape and Vikasjyothi . This program tries to reach out to the economically poor and disadvantaged children in Africa and in India chiefly to assist them in their primary education. This project has now been extended to many new areas and regions both in Africa and India. We are now trying to expand this program providing scholarship to a few deserving candidates especially the girl-children and help them pursue their higher education at the University level. Apart from catering to a large number of poor children through the many orphanages and children’s homes in our missions in Africa and India, the Schulerpatenschaften program helps also many children directly in far off villages.

PROMOTION OF THE GIRL CHILD

In most developing countries it is the girl-child who suffers most from gender bias and discrimination. Educating a girl-child is one sure way of giving her much greater power enabling her to make genuine choices over the kinds of life she wishes to lead. Vikasjyothi would like to reach out to the girl-child especially to those who are from the economically poorest sector in all our missions . I would like to invite our friends and well-wishers to contribute generously towards this noble program initiated by Agape and Vikasjyothi.

I wish to thank you one and all for your continued interest and support for our works in Arica and in India. It is very gratifying to note that most of our educational and developmental projects in the missions are making steady progress benefitting thousands of people especially many poor and disadvanaged children. May God bless you all and reward your generosity.

With warm regards,

P. Dr. Thomas Cherukat, MSFS

GREETINGS FROM CHAD CAMEROON

Dear Friends of Fransalians,

Greetings of joy and peace to each one of you from the Fransalian Mission of Chad-Cameroon. It is with great joy that I share with you the good news that our 19 years old Mission has been recently raised to the status of a DELEGATION in the Congregation. It is indeed a sign of the tremendous growth and vitality of this Mission. The responsibility of leading the newly created DELEGATION has come on me. With all humility I have accepted to be the Delegation Superior for the next three years. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude and indebtedness to all of you for your continued support and encouragement for our work in this mission for the past 19 years. May the good Lord bless you and reward your generosity and love towards the poor.

THE NEW SCHOOL IN DOBA INAUGURATED

I am extremely happy to inform you that we have been able to complete the first phase of construction of the new S.F.S. School at Doba. On 15 January 2018 the new building was blessed by the Bishop of Doba and declared open by the Provincial Superior of the South West India Province in the presence of a large number of people. This is the third Fransalian school in Chad. The new school building is equipped with seven class rooms, one staff room and one office. The academic year begins in September and more than 100 children are expected to join the first batch. The construction of a Childrens’ Home is also underway.

The SFS School at BERO is the first ever Fransalian School in Chad. It is a primary school with over 200 children in 6 classes. A Boys’ Home is attached to the school where some 40 children from the far off villages receive board and lodge besides quality education. More than 50 girl-children from the villages are direcltly helped with scholarships
The Comboni School at Doba with more than 1000 children on its rolls is yet another school managed by the Fransalians in Chad. These three schools do make a great contribution to the local population which is largely poor and illiterate. The quality education that is imparted in these schools enable children from the poorer sections of society to complete their secondary school and pursue higher education.

S.F.S. SCHOOL IN NGAOUNDERE

Thanks to the financial support that we receive from our friends and benefactors we have been able to initiate the construction of a nursery section plus two class rooms and an office at the SFS School Gada Mabanga Jallingo in Ngaoundere. At present this school has 254 children in five classes.

DRINKING WATER PROJECTS

With the generous financial support from some of our good friends we have been able to continue our well-digging projects in Chad and North Cameroon. Three wells have been dug during the past few months, two at Doba in Chad and another at Ngaoundere in North Cameroon. Most of the villages in the region do not have access to safe and clean drinking water. Thanks to our friends and benefactors we have been able to provide more than 25 wells to a number of villages during the past few years. 

Dear Friends of the Fransalians,

I am very grateful to each of you for your continued support and encouragement for the various educational and developmental works in our missions. We are particularly grateful to our friends in Germany especially the members of the Freundeskreis at Kahlgrund and the parishioners of the Friedens Christi Parish in Munich. We are also very much indebted to our friends in Austria who continue to help us through the Agape Austria in Klosterneuburg. May God bless you and reward your generosity.

Yours cordially

P. Manoj Arackal, MSFS