by Cl Ethan Fortes for BIS Mumbai 

The Administrators of the different houses within the Salesian Province of Mumbai gathered for a two-day meeting at Don Bosco Provincial House (DBPH), Matunga on July 10, 2024. The meeting  The meeting was convened by Fr Gregory D’Almeida, the Provincial Economer, and was facilitated by Mr Pertwyn Joseph and his team.

In his address to the administrators, Fr Savio Silveira stressed on keeping the priority to the poor especially when it comes towards managing finances in the various works. He also mentioned how every confrere needs to pay attention to the needs of their community members and take care of their health and diet.

The first day  focussed on the basics of accounting and how each community needs to stay connected with the Economer’s Office especially with regarding to safeguarding important and required details. Mr Arun Vaz, from Mr Joseph’s team, enlightened the administrators’ on the proper management of institute accounts and finance. In this regard, the administrators were also kept up-to-date with the latest trends and updates on the economic front of the country. These included the necessary documents that need to be filed and kept in each institution as per the laws of the country. Regarding human resource management, Adv Satyanarayana Hegde, a lawyer by profession, brought to light the important laws regarding management of teaching and non-teaching staff. Adv Hegde elaborately spoke on the implications of the Maharashtra Education Act and the Industrial Disputes Act.

On July 11, Mr Valance Quadros spoke on how adminsitrators of different institutes need to improve the quality in management, and service of the organization. The latter half of the day was geared towards self-care with the intention of helping others too. This included a session on Drama Therapy animated by Ms Anupriya Banerjee, a certified drama therapist. Another session with regard to self-care was conducted by Ms Jennifer Dias, a nutritionist, who enlightened the administrators on proper diet setting for overall well-being. Dr Wilona Annunciation, conducted the final session of the meet which primarily focussed on taking care of one’s mental health and in turn helping others to achieve the same.

Fr D’Almedia, in conclusion, thanked the administration for their participation, and the resource persons who enriched the understanding of the gathering. These were days of much learning of new compliances, much relearning of stewardship, and definitely much unlearning of void practices.