SHILLONG, Oct 13: Former educator of St. Edmund’s School, Brother Eric Steven D’Souza, passed away at Shanti Niwas (a home for retired brothers) in Goa on Sunday morning.
Confirming the news, principal of St. Edmund’s School, Br. Solomon Morris said as per his last wish, Br. D’Souza’s mortal remains will be brought to St. Edmund’s, Shillong, on Tuesday and the funeral is lkely to take place on Wednesday.
He informed that Br. D’Souza (affectionately called Dasu) was bedridden and unable to move for four to five years as he was suffering from an advanced stage of dementia.
According to him, he had left Shillong in 2014 after spending 28 years of his life nurturing generations of students.
Br. Morris said Br. D’Souza was instrumental in starting the Providence School on the St Edmund’s premises in the year 2000 which caters to underprivileged children.
“The idea of Br. D’Souza was to have an education system where students are able to sustain their life and hence he decided to break away from the traditional school setup. He embraced the National Open School which has a flexible system that allows students to appear for their Class X examination as and when they are ready,” he stated.
Br. D’Souza also started vocational courses and introduced about 14 to 15 trades like bakery, candle and perfume making, sewing, carpentry, automobile mechanic and so on. Lots of children managed to set up their own bakery to earn their livelihood.
Br. D’Souza was very popular among the Edmundians since he started taking classes in St. Edmund’s School for 9th and 10th standards in 1986.
Br. Morris also revealed that Br. D’Souza used to take extra classes for students of Loreto Convent and Pine Mount School during the winter break and train them to pass the ICSE with flying colours.
Br. Morris said he would never take money from the students of Loreto Convent and Pine Mount School and, instead, would have a bond signed by their parents that they would have to perform one month of social service at the Providence School.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma mourned Br. D’Souza passing.
Taking to X, the chief minister said, “With profound sorrow, I learned of the passing of Brother Eric Steve D’Souza, an exceptional educator renowned for his dedication to education and compassion. As an esteemed member of the Christian Brothers congregation, Brother D’Souza spent many years serving at St. Edmund’s School in Shillong, leaving an indelible legacy. As a devoted Christian Brother, his pioneering spirit founded Providence School, a beacon of hope for underprivileged children. May Brother D’Souza’s inspiring legacy bring comfort to his family, the Christian Brothers congregation, and the countless lives he transformed through education and compassion. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”
Notably, the chief minister studied at St. Edmund’s under Br. D’Souza before shifting to St. Columba’s, New Delhi.
