Tura: A missionary zeal to equip young women with education and skill training twenty-five years ago in the village of Balamagre, on the outskirts of Tura, has helped transformed lives of hundreds of young girls in the region. To mark is glorious journey, Mother Camino Vocational Secondary School here celebrated its Silver Jubilee on Monday.
The idea behind the setting up of such a school which would encourage learning and skill development side by side took shape at the start of the 1990s.
With the support of the local community and encouragement from the then Regional Directress of the Missionaries of Christ Jesus, commonly known as St. Xavier’s Sisters, Tura, Reverend Sister Marline Pinto, Mother Camino Vocational Secondary School was established in 1992.
Since then, the institution has been providing literacy classes for women, training them on health related issues, encouraging them to take up different socio economic activities and providing them with ideas for undertaking developmental projects.
Among the success stories of the school is the scores of young women who have passed out with distinction in the art of weaving and tailoring.
One of the pillars of the school foundation has been Rev. Sister Mary Joseph who has been able to weave a success story of her students. She began the school with a handful of dedicated teachers and since then the school has grown in strength.
Today, there are as many as 545 students and twenty teaching staff in the school. Several batches of its students have been successfully appearing for the Class X Secondary School Leaving Certificate examinations from MBOSE since the year 2007.
Felicitating the school and its pioneers, MBOSE Controller of Examinations, T R Laloo, lauded the efforts and dedication of the founding members of the congregation as well as the members of school committee for uplifting especially the rural populace of the area and its immense contribution towards the process of nation building in general and empowerment of women in particular. He reiterated that the progress and development of this village have been witnessed through this glorious journey of 25 years of serving the rural populace.
While acknowledging the challenges faced by the institution in providing quality education to the people of the area catering to about 41 villages, Laloo called upon the school committee members to seek their affiliation from MBOSE, Tura as soon as possible.
To mark the occasion, the founding members of the school Sr. Mary Joseph, Regina S Sangma, Sushma Ch Marak and Sabina T Sangma were felicitated by the Chief Guest for their contribution to the growth and welfare of the school. The students of the school also displayed an impressive and spectacular performance on the occasion including a short play – ‘Bishop’s Candlesticks’ based on a well-known episode in Victor Hugo’s famous book ‘Les Miserables’.
The jubilee celebration was also attended by the Bishop of Tura, Rt. Rev. Andrew R Marak and Kalpana D Sangma as Guests of Honour, Sr. Rebecca Borgoan, Regional Directress, Missionaries of Christ Jesus (MCJ), Sr. Crisbina N Arengh, Headmistress, Mother Camino Vocational Secondary School, Sr. Mary Joseph, former Headmistress, Mother Camino Vocational Secondary School, Nokma, Charles Momin, Nokmas of Balamagre, other members of the congregation, teachers, students and people of the area.