Date:30/01/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/01/30/stories/2006013018140400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Good response to BOSCO cultural festival

Staff Reporter

Programme organised for street children

BANGALORE : Enthusiasm of the participants and sponsored dominated the 13th Don Bosco Inter Agency Cultural Fest organised for street and working children, who gathered in large numbers at the Bosco Mane Grounds in Chamarajpet here on Sunday.

About 300 children from eight non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working with street children in the city assembled for the cultural festival to display talents of their wards.

Inaugurating the festival, archbishop of Bangalore, Rev. Bernard Moras, said: "The street is a place where people often dump unwanted things. The children who are forced to live on the street are not to be considered in this category."

Assistant Commissioner of Police K.P. Beemaiah said parents frantically searching for the best educational institutions and the most promising job opportunities for their children are a common sight. "Today, I am pleasantly surprised to see so many NGOs doing the same for the children under their care," he said.

Organised by the Bangalore Oniyavara Seva Coota (BOSCO), the Cultural Fest featured group dance, tableau, skit and couple dance. The festive spirit reached its zenith in the evening when the names of the winners for each competition were announced.

BOSCO is a voluntary organisation, involved in the rehabilitation of street children for the last 25 years. "BOSCO believes in having a constant pressure that is available round the clock and at strategic locations where children can enter the city, live or work. BOSCO has been able to rescue a number of children who were once on the streets of Bangalore," said Fr. John M.A., Programme Coordinator at BOSCO.