LIFE ISN’T A FURNACE THAT’S BURNING YOU, BUT ONE THAT’S TRANSFORMING YOU INTO GLITTERING SILVER
Hi friends, I am Praveen. Life they say is not a bed of roses. Some are born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Others don’t have immediate access to the spoon, and can’t even afford what they need. For others still, life is so very difficult, we wonder if it won’t overcome us.
A lot of things are easy to say. You can talk about your future and what you want to achieve in life if you’re comfortable and can eat what and when you want. But what can you say when you’re a motherless boy under the care of a father who is an alcoholic? What can you say (or do) about the future when you’re not even certain of the present?
I lost my mother at the very tender age. Her loss is uncompensated because my mother was wealthy not financially but was rich in caring and loving me like other mothers do. It wasn’t until her death that I started seeing the other side of life. My mother left me abandoned, the little warmth, care, the lap of my mother etc., were all buried with my mother’s death. When everything appeared as bitter and dark; Don Bosco Navajeevan Visakhapatnam, became my mother who sheltered me and gave back everything except the physical presence of my mother.
With the help of Don Bosco Navajeevan, I’m happy I can tell you about this only because my story has turned around and changed for the better in Don Bosco. You’ve heard about the dead. And you’ve heard about the living dead. But the truth is, it’s hard to recognize the latter when you see them. The day you stop learning is the day you start dying. I studied hard and started learning new things with help of Don Bosco. Now I can proudly say that I have achieved something great in my life as soon I got my tenth standard results, I scored handsome marks 9.7/10. I thank my teachers for preparing me well for the exams, special thanks to (Ms. Ancy & Mr. Rama) Pratibha English Medium School.
I would like to pour out my gratitude Don Bosco Vizag, for cradling me during the most difficult moments of my life. When all have abandoned me, Don Bosco loved me. When I fell down, Don Bosco lifted me up and encouraged me. Life isn’t a furnace that’s burning you, but one that’s transforming you into glittering silver.
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LIFE ISN’T A FURNACE THAT’S BURNING YOU, BUT ONE THAT’S TRANSFORMING YOU INTO GLITTERING SILVER
Rajesh, a 14 year old boy was found roaming aimlessly in Visakhapatnam Railway Station in school uniform. From his behavior he was identified as a first time run away and was brought to Navajeevan by the field Staff Mr. D. Raviprasad. He who was a student of a welfare hostel said that on reaching home for Dasara holidays he found that both his parents died in a road accident and that nobody had informed him about this as he was the only child and they had settled down in that locality from a distant place very recently. Even his only maternal uncle had left the house some time ago after a family dispute. He did not want to return to the Hostel as the thought of his dead parents kept haunting him. He adjusted well to the Navajeevan climate and was found to be happy and well behaved.After spending much time with him in counselling by Fr. Thomas, he gave the number of his school Principal and agreed to return to the school. On contacting the Principal we were told that the boy had not returned to the hostel after the holidays and that both his parents were alive. He has an elder brother and an younger sister too. His parents were contacted immediately and they Mr. Prakash, construction worker and Mrs. Mamatha, housewife rushed to Navajeevan without any further waste of time as they were looking for him frantically everywhere and had even filed a missing complaint with the police. Mamatha had made up to end her life if the boy was not found for two more days.
They told that his real name was Velanganni Raju and not Rajesh as he had told us. While he gave the information as a 5th class student, in fact he was studying in 9th . His parents were loving people and he too was very caring and affectionate to them. Whenever he used to ring up from the hostel he to advised them to take the medicines regularly and not to neglect their health. So for them too it is a mystery why he ran away from home.
In the course of the conversation his mother told that her father was run over by a lorry and killed on the spot. Perhaps this thought lingered in his mind and he imagined that his parents too will be lost in a similar manner. Therefore he dreaded such a tragedy and was running away before it could happen. What drives people to different untoward deeds is a mystery but a helping hand a loving word at the right time can save a life and even a family too. His parents left the Navajeevan Office with tears, may be that of happiness or that of gratitude, or even a mixture of both. Next day they returned with the entire family beaming with joy and a donation for Navajeevan. May Velanganni Raju grow up to be a blessing to himself and to his family.
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TESTIMONY OF ILLA ESWARA RAO
(Old student of The Vizag Navajeevan Bala Bhavan)
I am Illa Eswara Rao, 19 years of age from Kotha Kaluva village of Kodurpadu Road, Nellore Dt., Andhra Pradesh. I left home at the age of 15 after my mother’s death and the re-marriage of my father. My step-mother was hostile to me and my father wanted me to discontinue my study to look after the buffaloes and to work in the farm. Tired of the harassing situation, I left home and on reaching Visakhapatnam found accommodation and acceptance at Don Bosco Navajeevan Bala Bhavan. Since I had completed my 10th Standard I was joined in the Govt. College for Intermediate and was given every assistance in my study. Though I wanted to take CEC group for my Intermediate I was asked by Fr. Sojan Puthussery sdb, the Director of Navajeevan, to take Mathematics Group as there are better study possibilities and employment opportunities with Mathematics as main. Now I find that his advice was very beneficial to me.
On completing the study I came to know that my step-mother was sick and that my father’s meager income as a watchman in a rice-mill was too little to support the family. With the good education I received at Navajeevan Bala Bhavan and the other life skills I learned there, on reaching Nellore I was able to get a Job in Ramachandra Reddy Hospital and I am able to support the family with the income I earn. With the training I received at Don Bosco I was able to forgive my parents and help them in their need. In return I find better acceptance from their part.
Now my desire is to do the Teacher’s Training Course and become a good teacher and help students from poor families. I wish that all the children in Don Bosco Navajeevan Bala Bhavan study well, making use of the good opportunities at their disposal and when they are in a position to help not to forget the help that they have received.
I am very grateful to Don Bosco Navajeevan Bala Bhavan for the timely help they gave and for taking care of children like me. I am indebted to Don Bosco for what I am today.
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TAMASOMA JYOTHIRGAMAYA
I am Kari Akhil, 12 years of age from the fishing community of Jalaripet, Visakhapatnam. I have a brother and an younger sister. 
Our parents had a great desire to give us good education and joined us in an English Medium School. In all enthusiasm we started our studies but being a fishing coolie, my father was unable to meet the increasing expenses of our studies. My mother too started working as a domestic help to augment the family income. As even this could not make much difference, I and my sister reluctantly discontinued our studies. When I started working in a shop as a helper to support my family, one of the staff from Don Bosco Navajeevan Bala Bhavan met me and it turned out to be a lucky day in our life. The staff asked about our returning to school and spoke to my mother about it, but she was reluctant to send us once again as she was afraid of the repetition of the first fiasco. The staff explained to her about Don Bosco Bridge school which gives educational and nutritional support to the dropout children free of cost and makes learning a happy experience. On learning more about it and dreaming for a different and better future for her children, she sent us to Beach Blossom (Don Bosco Bridge School) where school dropouts will be trained for one year and then mainstreamed into regular schools according to their age and educational preparedness. Thus after one year joyful Bridge school learning, I was admitted to 8th Class in St. Antony’s High School and my sister in 6th Class in Prema Aided Primary School. Now my parents are extremely happy to see us going to school which was disrupted due to financial constraints. A big thanks to Don Bosco Navajeevan which ignited in us once again the spark of hope, when we had given up on life and convinced that what remains for us in life was only darkness. May many children like us walk into radiance in spite of the surrounding difficulties and build a better future for them with the support of good individuals and Institutions like Don Bosco Navajeevan.