By BIS Correspondent for BIS Mumbai

Mumbai, October 25, 2026: About 290 young Garo and Assamese migrants working in Mumbai gathered at the Shrine of Don Bosco's Madonna in Matunga on Sunday for their monthly Eucharistic celebration and get-together, organized by the Suraksha Migrant Desk.

The Garo are an indigenous community from the Garo Hills of Meghalaya and neighbouring areas of Assam. Many young people from the region have moved to Mumbai in search of work, often in hospitality, retail, security services and domestic work.

Father Ignatius Gari, the PDO of the Salesian province of Guwahati who was in the city for a meeting, presided over the Mass. Drawing on the Gospel of the day (Matthew 22:34-40), he spoke about the two commandments Jesus placed above all others: love of God and love of neighbour.

He reminded the young people that religious life in Jesus' time was bound by a large number of detailed laws, and that Jesus set these aside to name love of God and love of neighbour as the heart of the law. Using examples from Scripture and from daily life, he explained what these commandments ask of a person in practice, at the workplace, among friends and in dealings with strangers. He pointed to the parable of the Good Samaritan as an example of love that crosses lines of community and background and encouraged the youth to look out for one another in a city far from home.

After Mass, the youth moved to the undercroft of Don Bosco High School, Matunga, where they spent time meeting one another, singing and dancing. They also shared home-cooked food they had brought along.

Staff of the Suraksha Migrant Desk kept their office open during the gathering to register wage and labour-related complaints from young people employed in the unorganized sector. Workers in this sector often have little formal protection when wages are delayed or withheld, and the desk helps them record and follow up such cases. Apart from handling such complaints, the desk helps migrant workers register on the government's E-Shram portal for unorganized workers and guides them on accessing health and welfare schemes.

The monthly gathering gives these young people a regular place to pray in a familiar setting, keep in touch with others from their home region and seek help with problems at work. For many of these youth who live far from their families, this monthly gathering facilitates a link and support to their community that is otherwise hard to find in a large city.