Don Bosco Vyawasaik Prashikshan Kendra, Chinchwad was set up in a small way and has blossomed into a leading ITI (Industrial Training Institute), full-fledged and recognized Institute, at the service of the Church and society.

Our humble beginning :

The Bishop of Pune, Rt. Rev. Valerian D’Souza invited the Salesians to establish a Technical Institute at Chinchwad in an informal chat with the then Provincial Fr. Chrysanthus Saldanha sdb. The Salesians in principle accepted the proposal, but it was only in 1st January 1995 that a formal Lease Agreement was signed between Fr. Joaquim D’Souza sdb (Provincial) and Rt. Rev. Valerian D’Souza, Bishop of Pune. Initially the Bishop gave the Salesians a four acre plot; but when little development was noticeable, the diocese took away two acres, of which they returned back one acre when the Institute began to grow.

In 1999 Bro. Damodar Wankhade sdb was appointed to supervise the construction of a simple structure for a few trades with two living rooms, a kitchen/dining room, a small prayer hall and the Principal’s office with an adjacent Computer room. Br. Damodar Wankhade, paid a visit to the site, on the 7th June 1999, while the construction work was in progress. In his own words: “I was shocked to see the place. It was looking like a Gujarat Jungle!” The Foundation stone was laid by Fr. Tony D’Souza sdb, Provincial of the Mumbai Province on 31st January 1999.

The next day Bro. Damodar went around the slums in ‘Anand Nagar’ along with the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, encountered a number of school drop-outs, and offered them skills training at Don Bosco. They evinced keen interest in the project. He contacted the slum dwellers at another place close to the Nigdi parish, offered them skills training, and they promised to send their youngsters to the Centre. Encouraged with this positive response, he visited several slums and villages and made the same request. He also contacted some parishioners of the Chinchwad parish who offered help in securing students, instructors and even help to build up the infrastructure.                                                            

Br. Damodar’s first major contact was Mrs. Irene from the ‘Advani Orticon Ltd’, who influenced her boss to donate a Transformer to the Institute.  Many people came forward to help out in building up contacts with Corporates around, like Telco, Phillips, Atlas Copco.   Mr. Leo assisted Br. Damodar in contacting influential people connected with Industries around the Pimpri-Chinchwad area. The local Municipal Corporator offered to do up the playground; the Rotary Club sponsored games articles and nets; Don Bosco Yervada contributed desks and benches, while some others provided furniture and other requirements for the Institute. Br. Damodar also visited the St. Joseph Institute at Shankershete Road, Pune and met Mr. Max, who guided him on how to plan and run the Institute and also provided some information about the needed Technical Books, and from where they could be purchased.

The process of securing admissions began with notices – together with Application forms stating the various courses, Rules and regulations and admission procedure – being sent to the different parishes and religious houses. Handbills were also prepared for distribution. The neighboring parishes did respond.

With things set in place Br. Damodar set up residence at Chinchwad and organized the Inauguration of the Institute on 5th August 1999. Rt. Rev. Valerian D’Souza, Bishop of Pune, the Provincial Fr. Tony D’Souza sdb together with his Council members, the Salesian communities of Koregaon Park and Yervada and our collaborators and well-wishers were present for the solemn mass and the small inauguration ceremony. Snacks were then served.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The initial meeting with 12 boys and their parents took place on the 16th August 1999, with talks given by Br. Damodar and Mr. Leo on the scope of the Institute and the welding trade that would begin soon. The first day of

class was conducted by the new Instructor, Mr. James Francis on the 23rd August 1999. To the Welder trade was also added the Fitters trade, Auto-Electrical and Motor winding. A notable feature during the initial days of the Institute was a healthy interaction with the parents of the students, who were satisfied with the training and came up with a lot of suggestions.

On the 6th May of the following year the Institute conducted their First Annual Day and Exhibition of the works and Learnings at the Institute. Computer classes, with 8 students, commenced on the 15th April 2002!

Fr. Lester Fernandes arrived on the 28th May 2002, to enhance the Community at Chinchwad. 17th June saw commencement of the evening guided Study Classes with 20 children.  24TH September 2002, heralded the presence of Ms. Sarita who would initiate the Community Development Program in the neighboring slum, Anand Nagar area. Thus began the Social Service Outreach for the Institution. 

 

 

On December 6th 2002, Mr. Dorrich and Gibbels from Jugend Dutte Wett, an NGO based in Bonn, paid a visit, along with Br. Alex Gonsalves and Fr. Stanny Ferreira. They were on a study tour for future collaboration with the Institute.

7th July 2003 saw the beginnings of the NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) course for school drop-outs, that would afford them an opportunity to complete their SSC studies with limited optional subjects. Fr. Lester applied for Registration of the Trust which was sanctioned on October 18 2003.

 

EXCITING  PHASE  OF  DEVELOPMENT  AT  DBVPK

Fr. Corlis Gonsalves joined the community, as Administrator on the 20th September 2004. In 2005 Fr. Corlis, appointed as In-Charge of the Project, set about organizing the Institute; He secured the Registration under the Income-Tax  12A. Later he got the 80G and the FCRA a/c No. for the Institute. In February-March he visited Tata motors, Tyseen Krupp Boiler’s plant, Mercedes Benz and met the HRD Directors for future collaboration; He attended the 4th Community College Consultation meeting in Madras and paid a visit to New Delhi for a visit to some Technical Schools. On the 21st March 2005, Fr. Corlis had the opportunity to present the overall plan for developing the four acres plot at Chinchwad, to the Priest’s Senate at Bishop’s House, Pune. He visited Bajaj Auto and later Tata Motors, with a request to begin a service station at our Institute; He then met with the MD’s of Cruize Liners & Royal Carribian to seek employment opportunities for our forthcoming Hospitality section.

Ms Sunayana Sebastian was appointed as Project Coordinator of DBVPK; She was responsible for community outreach programs, liaison with the big establishments around, mobilizing students of the PCMC region for the courses as well as teaching English and Computer science. In April 2006 Fr. Corlis and Br. Damodar visited the PCMC and the night schools to share information about work at DBVPK and solicit students for the Technical courses.

Fr. Jeffrey Fernandes took up his assignment as Principal, at DBVPK in May 2006. On June 20 2006, Br. Damodar, the pioneer of the Institute bid farewell as he took up his new assignment

at Don Bosco Narukot, Gujarat. One of the Instructors at the Farewell function had this to say: “Br. Damodar has done pioneering work at Chinchwad from 1998, and has transformed this jungle like area into a Technical Institute that reached out to the poor youth.”

With the growth of the Technical and Industrial complex and the need to have uninterrupted power supply, we asked the MSEB to set up a Transformer on our premises. This work was completed on 12th May 2008.

In 2009 the Institute began conducting the MES (Modular Employment Skills) short term (3 – 6 months) courses in Welding, Fitters, Electrician, RAC, Motor Mechanics and Tailoring & Fashion designing.

On the 16th December 2015, the CCTV cameras, console unit and PC & audio systems were set up in Fr. Corlis’ office, for the ITI block, hostel and the roads in front and behind the building.

Don Bosco Chinchwad featured at the Industrial exhibition EXPO 2015 organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry at Pimpri. Don Bosco was specially invited to exhibit their international standard training systems in welding (Lorch collaboration).

 

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

Fr. Lester Fernandes sdb, took over the reigns as Director of the Institute from Fr. Corlis and brought in a new spirit to the Institute and the Hostel. It was a time of consolidation and great efforts to find the finance to run the Institute and the Hostel with several concessions and free-ships given to students coming in from different parts of the State and other States as well. The Province of Mumbai financially supported the Institution in a small way.

The Covid 19 raised its ugly head in the country and in Maharashtra, and the Pandemic was palpable, with deaths and serious cases being reported every day. The Centre called for a national lockdown on 22nd March and we were forced to close the Institution and the Hostel. Sometime at the end of June we were given permission by the Department to begin classes for the ITI section, and the Institute limped back to near normalcy. But on 19th July 2020 the cases in the PCMC region increased and so there was a total lockdown. The Staff members were asked to conduct classes on-line.  

Fr. Sanjay Lopes began his innings as Rector and Director of DBPVK, under strenuous situations. It was a time when we faced a financial crisis since no fees were coming in, our sponsors delayed in sending their amounts and the Province was not willing to support the house as in the past. Hence we had to introduce a salary cut of 40% for the staff and offered them the possibility of coming to the Institute on alternate days and conduct their classes on-line when they were in the Institute and from home. We had to downsize the staff also: some retired, a couple of them resigned, some who were superannuated were asked to leave and the staff that had no students had to take voluntary retirement.

The Institute (ITI) section reopened in October when the Department sent in the schedule of exams for the second year students. Admission process for new entries commenced. But we had just 40% of our strength until January when we opened with the new entries and the second year students. But there was a partial lockdown again at the beginning of April and complete lockdown after the 15th April.

During the lockdown we were able to do a lot of maintenance work: replacing the iron windows with sliding windows in the classrooms and Hostel Dormitory, relaying the flooring of the classrooms, painting the Alessi Hall inside and outside and the Hostel building, sprucing up the gardens etc. In the month of October we completed the task of erecting a grotto at the entrance and in March erected the statue of Don Bosco in the center of the gardens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don Bosco Vywasaik Prashikshan Kendra has an illustrious list of PRINCIPALS Fr. Jeffrey Fernandes 1st Principal from 2006-2011; Fr. Monty Rodrigues from 2011- 2014; Mr. Raoul Malan from 2015-2016; Mr. Avinash Gaikwad lasted for six months in 2016; Mr. Vinay Khandangle was the head from 2016-2017 and Mr. Siram from Feb 2017-May 2017. The present Principal, Mr. Mayur Deshmukh was appointed in April 2018. and has continued guiding the destiny of the Institute  

The Institute has the Management and Staff to see to the teaching and non-teaching assignments. There have been resignations in the course of the years due to reasons like: better job prospects, family concerns in the village, over sea assignments etc. But we have a good staff.

 

 

March 22nd 2020, winessed the presence of the Corona Virus in the world and in our country. A National lockdown was imposed that lasted till June and then off and on till the end of December. Through it all the staff members met the challenges through on-line classes and preparing the students for the mid-term and final exams.

 

 

THE  SALESIAN  COMMUNITY  at dbvpk

Br. Damodar Wankahade sdb, residing at Don Bosco Youth Centre, Koregaon Park, Pune was in charge of the Project at Don Bosco, Chinchwad. With things set in place Br. Damodar set up residence at Chinchwad and organized the Inauguration of the Institute on 5th August 1999.

Fr. Lester Fernandes arrived on the 28th May 2002, to complete the Community at Chinchwad. Deacon Wyman Gonsalves joined the community for ministry and to prepare for his ordination. After Ordination he was assigned to this community as part of the staff.

Fr. Corlis Gonsalves joined the community on the 20th September 2004. After a serious illness and recovery from it, Fr. Corlis set about organizing the Institute.

Fr. Jeffrey Fernandes took up his assignment as Principal at DBVPK in May 2006. On June 20 2006, Br. Damodar, the pioneer of the Institute bid farewell as he took up his new assignment at Don Bosco Naukot, Gujarat. Fr. Monty Rodrigues and Br. Anthony D’Souza joined the Community.

In January 2011 the Community of Don Bosco Chinchwad was confirmed as a Canonically Erected House by the Rector Major and his Council. Fr. Corlis Gonsalves was appointed as the first Rector of this newly formed canonically erected community.  Br. Edward Pereira a seasoned and technically trained Salesian Brother joined the community, together with  Cl. Anthony Patole.

On the 9th August 2011, the World wide Don Bosco Relic, that travelled round the world in preparation for the bi-centenary remembrance of the birth of Don Bosco (2015),  arrived at Saved Heart Parish, Pune. Our Community and students went to Yervada to pay homage and  pray at the relic!

Fr. Monty Rodrigues left for his new assignment at Karjat on the 24th May, along with Br. Anthony D’Souza.  22nd May 2014, saw the arrival of Fr. Valerian Pereira as Administrator at Chinchwad. Fr. Joe Soares arrived on the 25th May to take up the post of Catechist and Prefect of Studies. Fr. Charles Anthony arrived on the 26th May to take up his posting at Don Bosco, Chakan, though he would reside at Chinchwad till the building was completed. Cleric Rudolf D’Souza joined the community for his final year of Practical Training. Fr. Charles moved into Chakan when the building was completed. Fr. Joe moved to Don Bosco Chakan on the 16th March 2015. Cl. Rudolf departed on the 8th May for home leave and to begin his theological studies in Pune. Fr. Charles left for his holidays on the 18th May and then proceeded to his new assignment in Gujarat.

 Fr. Daresh Rathwa joined the community on the 4th June 2015. On 10th June Cl. Sheldon took up his assignment as Assistant at the Hostel. Frs. Corlis, Daresh and cl. Sheldon are at Chinchwad and Fr. Valerian and Br. Edward reside at Chakan. The newly ordained priest Fr. Ashwin Mal joined the community in February 2016 and was assigned to Chakan. He left for his new assignment at Alirajpur on 20th May 2016. Cleric Vishal also joined the community for a short stay. The Same day, Fr. George Carlos came in from Virar. He would temporarily act as Administrator.

The Extraordinary Visitation was conducted by the Regional Superior, Fr. Maria Ariokiam on the 7th September 2016. On 15th May 2016, Cl. Sheldon left for Mumbai and then to his new assignment. Fr. Lester arrives at Chinchwad as Rector of the Institute on the 29th May.

He made a trip to the Renewal Centre at Bangalore on July 17, for a month’s course for new Rectors. Frs. Joe and Daresh left for their new assignment at the end of May. Fr. Ignas Macwan arrived from St. Dominic Savio Boys’ Home, Andheri on 5th June to take up the assignment of Administrator at Chincwad. Frs. Monty Rodrigues, Egidius Falcao, Dinesh Vasava along with Vishal take their place at Don Bosco Chakan; Br. Alex Gonsalves, was appointed to Don Bosco Chinchwad. Br. Damodar Wankade and Fr. Sanjay Lopes joined the community in June 2018.

Salesians, staff and students made the journey to Sacred Heart, Yervada to meet the Rector Major on his visit to Pune, on 24th March 2019. They participated in the Eucharist and cultural function and were fortunate to meet the Rector Major as a group. Fr. Sanjay Lopes departed for the Renewal Centre, Bangalore in February 2020 to attend the Rector’s course and gets stranded in Bangalore because of the National Lockdown. He was able to return only on 18th May via Nasik with a group of six Salesians travelling in a hired vehicle that went straight to Nashik. Fr. Briston arrived in Chakan to take up the post as Principal of the Technical Institute. On May  24, 2020, Fr. Issu Falcao left for St. Anne’s Ahmednagar to take up his new posting. On May 27, Fr. Monty Rodrigues left  for his posting at Walwande.

On May 31 Fr. Sanjay accompanies Fr. Lester to Shelter Don Bosco and on the return brings Fr. Vivian to Chinchwad to take up his assignment as Administrator. Fr. Sanjay, Fr. Vivian, Br. Edward and Br. Damodar complete the community at Chinchwad.

On June 5th Fr. Ivan Rodrigues takes up his posting at In-charge at Chakan. They form a separate community.

On the 22nd  February at the invitation of Fr. Corlis,, to send Br. Edward to Bosco Boys’ Home as Bro. Edward so desired, Fr. Vivian along with Br. Edward with the permission of the Provincial proceeded to St. Dominic Savio, Andheri for a medical check-up and after a couple of days would take up residence at Bosco Boys’ Home, Borivli.