austraL asia #2596
Salesian partnership with the blind in Thailand: the Don Bosco Sports Centre
PAKKRED: 15th February 2010 -- In a ceremony at Pakkred, outside Bangkok, on Friday 12th February, the Don Bosco Sports Centre for the Blind was formally opened and the keys handed over to the President of the Foundation for the Blind in Thailand. Named after Don Bosco, the Sports Centre, which cost 24 milliion Baht (around USD 800,000), is a dream fulfilled for Fr Charles Velardo, a Salesian missionary who has worked for more than 30 years with the Blind in Thailand and has built up the Pakkred Skills Development Centre for the Blind over that time. His work has been recognised at various levels of Thai Society, making him one of the most 'decorated' missionaries in the country.
The opening ceremony was conducted in the presence of a range of dignitaries, including the Salesian Provincial, Fr Theparat Pitisant, the Governor of Nonthaburi Province in which Pakkred is situated, His Excellency Vichian Phuthiwinyoo, the President of VIS (Volunteers for International Development, based in Rome) Dr Massimo Zortea, representatives of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand, representatives of the Vatican Embassy in Thailand, the Mayor of Pakkred, and a number of Salesians and friends from around the country. It was the Provincial, Fr Theparat, who formally cut the ribbon and handed over the keys to the Centre.
Fr Velardo's words to all present for the occasion make the purpose of this new centre very clear:
"As an educator, my main objective has always been the total development of the young people for whom and with whom I worked. Sport plays an important role in the growth of every young person, blind people included. Discipline, endurance, team work, daring, are all part and parcel of the sport process and help not only to develop the body but also to enlarge the horizon of one’s life. In Thailand goalball, judo and bicycle riding for the blind were born here, in this Centre at Pakkred. The beginnings were quite simple, but little by little our Centre was able to produced real champions, so much so that many of our students have been and are part of the Thai national teams. In order to train, facilities and proper equipment are paramount: my second-last dream was to have a venue where our students and blind people interested in sport would train. This dream, thanks to the generosity of many friends from abroad as well as from Thailand, has become true today. The Sports Centre that we inaugurate today is named after Don Bosco, a priest, a great educator and real friend of young people all over the world".
This gift of the Salesians to the Blind of Thailand is almost certainly a 'first' for South East Asia, and it may be hard to find another facility of its kind anywhere esle in the world, for that matter. Certainly the story of its painstaking development as the crowning of a lifetime's effort is unique.
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AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2009 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
Salesian partnership with the blind in Thailand: the Don Bosco Sports Centre
PAKKRED: 15th February 2010 -- In a ceremony at Pakkred, outside Bangkok, on Friday 12th February, the Don Bosco Sports Centre for the Blind was formally opened and the keys handed over to the President of the Foundation for the Blind in Thailand. Named after Don Bosco, the Sports Centre, which cost 24 milliion Baht (around USD 800,000), is a dream fulfilled for Fr Charles Velardo, a Salesian missionary who has worked for more than 30 years with the Blind in Thailand and has built up the Pakkred Skills Development Centre for the Blind over that time. His work has been recognised at various levels of Thai Society, making him one of the most 'decorated' missionaries in the country.
The opening ceremony was conducted in the presence of a range of dignitaries, including the Salesian Provincial, Fr Theparat Pitisant, the Governor of Nonthaburi Province in which Pakkred is situated, His Excellency Vichian Phuthiwinyoo, the President of VIS (Volunteers for International Development, based in Rome) Dr Massimo Zortea, representatives of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand, representatives of the Vatican Embassy in Thailand, the Mayor of Pakkred, and a number of Salesians and friends from around the country. It was the Provincial, Fr Theparat, who formally cut the ribbon and handed over the keys to the Centre.
Fr Velardo's words to all present for the occasion make the purpose of this new centre very clear:
"As an educator, my main objective has always been the total development of the young people for whom and with whom I worked. Sport plays an important role in the growth of every young person, blind people included. Discipline, endurance, team work, daring, are all part and parcel of the sport process and help not only to develop the body but also to enlarge the horizon of one’s life. In Thailand goalball, judo and bicycle riding for the blind were born here, in this Centre at Pakkred. The beginnings were quite simple, but little by little our Centre was able to produced real champions, so much so that many of our students have been and are part of the Thai national teams. In order to train, facilities and proper equipment are paramount: my second-last dream was to have a venue where our students and blind people interested in sport would train. This dream, thanks to the generosity of many friends from abroad as well as from Thailand, has become true today. The Sports Centre that we inaugurate today is named after Don Bosco, a priest, a great educator and real friend of young people all over the world".
This gift of the Salesians to the Blind of Thailand is almost certainly a 'first' for South East Asia, and it may be hard to find another facility of its kind anywhere esle in the world, for that matter. Certainly the story of its painstaking development as the crowning of a lifetime's effort is unique.
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2009 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
