Sangatha 2014 - Youth Day

Sangatha 2014 - Youth Day Back

Sangatha 2014 – a day of learning, fun and excitement for all the youth of Holy Redeemers Church, Derebail was held on 14^th September with the objective of uniting the youth of the parish through a fun get-together. The members of Yuva Spandan Derebail (YSD) were eagerly awaiting this day as they had put in a lot of hard work over the last one-and-a-half month in preparation for this day called ‘Sangatha 2014’ where all the parish youth could meet on one platform.

The blue cloudy skies on the morning of Sunday, September 14 were showing signs of promise. The mood was set by Fr.Vinod Lobo who started off the celebrations of the day by the action song ‘haath ubarooya’ at 9am and then showcased a power point presentation by Rohan Monis that encompassed the growth of YSD over the past 4 years.

The procession of the youth signalled the beginning of the liturgical celebrations with YSD president Sheldon Alvares holding the cross at the helm; it was a joy to watch the youth of our parish walk down the aisle. Fr. Vinod Lobo was the main celebrant. The penitential rite was presented beautifully as was the sermon which was enacted by the youth. The oath-taking ceremony of the YSD office bearers for the year 2014-2015 was also conducted where they promised to strive for the betterment of YSD. The melodious hymns sung by the kids’ choir guided by Lynsha Lobo added to the vibrancy of the Liturgical celebrations. The focus of the liturgical celebration was the youth and it was truly inspirational. This was possible due to the efforts of Fr.Vinod Lobo who was helped by Stephen Castelino and Maizy Fernandes.

The youth then assembled together to spend the day at the Golden Jubilee hall. After a light round of refreshments and registration, it was time for a few action songs. As everyone present got settled ‘Sangatha 2014’ was inaugurated by every individual bursting the balloon for the countdown given by Fr. Peter D’souza. Next in line was a session on ‘Success and Spirituality’ by Sister Carmelita who stressed on the topic with the help of stories and examples and also taught us a few relaxation techniques which were of immense help. ’Be satisfied and contented with what you have’,’ give your 100% in anything you do and spirituality means living in the present moment’,’to achieve success you need to attune yourself to the divine server of God’ - these were some of the highlights of her session.

The session was followed by a few ice-breaking games such as ping-pong conducted by Royston Furtado which instantly changed the atmosphere into that of fun and organized chaos. Right after this, Fr. Vinod Lobo took the opportunity to give a brief intro about youth clusters being formed in our parish. He explained that the primary idea was to develop leadership at grass root level, implement Ideas of the youth in small groups and implement successful Ideas at parish level so as to help the youth plan and execute programmes suitable to them, a total of 8 clusters out of 22 wards were created. The youth were then asked to sit according to their clusters along with their facilitators and interact and also choose their cluster leader, ward representatives and a unique name for their cluster. They were also asked to decide on the next date of meeting, were briefed about the need of a cluster and were asked to give their suggestions. Thus began the act of empowering the Youth. It was then time to break for lunch and a sumptuous meal along with Payasam was served by Menezes Caterers.

The afternoon session began with the youth present divided into 8 groups and a few action songs which helped in driving away the laziness after the meal. A short panel discussion moderated by Mr. Ulhas D’costa of the Youth welfare committee in which various suggestions and woes of the youth of our parish were discussed and dwelt upon. A few games were conducted and the winning groups were awarded points. The much awaited variety competition was conducted with 8 groups combined into 4 and the topic to be performed being ‘Problems faced by the youth’. It was wonderful to watch the groups perform to instant ideas and the hall was a witness to the screams and laughter of the audience. Mr. Ronald Fernandes and Mrs. Pramila D’costa judged the 4 acts on the basis of presentation, creativity, group involvement and time limit. Every team was then congratulated by Fr. Peter D’souza.

Sheldon Alvares then expressed his profound gratitude and the non-stop Baila dance that followed was a befitting end to the programme.

‘Sangatha 2014’ turned out to be a huge success with close to 135 youth who attended the programme. The hard work and effort put in by each and every member of YSD truly paid off. This wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance and guidance of Fr. Peter D’souza - our Parish Priest, Fr. Vinod Lobo - Assistant Parish priest, Anil Patrao - Vice President of the Parish Pastoral Council, YSD animators Mrs. Lizzie Fernandes and Mrs. Carmelita D’souza, Youth Welfare committee coordinator Mr. Michael D’silva and all members of the youth welfare committee.