Newsletter 2015

Kishor Nagar is now 45 years old. At present there are 620 boys here. Their age ranges from 5-6 years to about 22. They come mostly from rural areas of Jharkhand. While there are a good number of orphans, the majority of the boys come from a one parent family; one of the parents has died or in some cases one has run away.
We are a total of 20 staff: 17 lay collaborators and 3 Jesuits. Two college students take classes and two, who completed their ITI training, are helping in the farm and the workshop.
At the time of admission to Kishor Nagar the guardians are requested to pay a one-time enrolment fee. No other fees are charged. However the guardians are expected to provide cloths and other personal belongings to their child.

In the last three years major repair and renovation works of buildings took place and at the same time in the field of education new initiatives were taken.

Buildings
Urgent renovation and repairs of buildings were taken up in a systematic manner. The following have been completed so far:
– On the farm: storerooms (godowns) and water reservoirs have been repaired.
– The School building was fully repaired and painted.
– The repairs and painting of Headmaster’s office and teachers’ rooms have also been completed.
– Kitchen: renovation of the boys’ kitchen is complete and the renovation of the staff dining hall and kitchen has started.

New initiatives in school
– Spoken English classes are held 5 days a week.
– “Introduction to Computers” sessions were conducted at XIPT for students of Class 9 and 10.
– A regular library has come up: we have received more than 12,000 books along with furniture (shelves, tables, chairs) from the Ranchi Samaritans – Round Table India.

Co-curricular Activities
– The Annual Sports Day has become a major annual event in the life of Kishor Nagar.
– Sports and Games: three days a week special training sessions (coaching) are conducted for football, hockey and netball. Our students are doing well in competitions.

Looking at the future
In the last 40 years many changes have taken place in the society around us. 40 years ago Bargawan was a small village. Today new buildings have come up all around as Ranchi town is expanding rapidly. The Ranchi – Tata road has become a very busy High Way.
The question we are faced with: what is the role and mission of Kishor Nagar in today’s changing world?
In January 2014 we held a two-day workshop with all the teachers. In a structured manner we reflected on the present condition of our institution in terms of its strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and challenges. We also did the ground work for preparing a strategic plan for the years ahead.

The Alumni
The old students are still very much attached to Kishor Nagar. On 19 January 2014 they came together to observe anniversary of Father V. Van Bortel’s death. A good number were present for this occasion and shared their experiences. There was strong feeling of: “What we are today is all thanks to Kishor Nagar. We want to give back something”. With their own resources they placed a beautiful tombstone on Father’s grave.