ASHAGAD Mission
is ideally situated. It is on the Dahanu-Nashik Road. The
house is built on the river bank. It is just 7 kms from Dahanu
railway station. Dahanu may not be a cultural place of any
importance. Yet it is famous for its chikku gardens. Ashagad
has better marketing facilities than many of our other mission
stations. But we are not in the midst of Adivasi inhabitants.
The Gram Panchayat has a sizable population, but not
necessarily of locals. All the business is controlled by other
communities.
Our Centres
In the Ashagad area there are only three Catholic families.
The other Catholics are spread in 5 centres far and near. The
closest centre is 10 kms away and the farthest village is 60
kms away. These centres are spread over three talukas: Dahanu,
Vikramgad and Jawhar. We could cater to these villagers once
or twice a month for their religious needs. The mission was
started by late Fr. Stanny Miranda SJ. He taught the farmers
how to cultivate. Since then the mission has grown and shifted
its focus. Now the focus has been on education.
Schools
We have three schools. One is a high school. The first batch
of S.S.C. appeared in March 2006. The result was beyond our
expectations. It was 90%. A wonderful achievement for a
village school. The other two are primary schools. Two are
Ashram Schools. The Ashram Schools are strictly regulated by
the state government. The govt. pays for the resident children
and or the teachers. The other expenses we have to bear, which
is quite high.
One of the Ashram schools is a girls school. This is in
Ashagad and is run by the FHIC sisters. Two Jesuit schools,
St. Xavier and Loyola are 12 and 15 kms away respectively.
This is the first year we have a Jesuit to look after these
schools. Fr. Jacob Britto SJ is a retired head master. So he
has enough experience to deal with the problems of the schools
vis-à-vis teachers or the govt officials.
The teaching staff is one-third Catholic and among the
students too there are about a third of them Catholics.
Non-teaching staff is mostly local adivasis, but the teaching
staff is made up of tribals and non-tribals.
I am so surprised at the ability of these children. They
read so well. They are good at sports too. So if proper
opportunities are given these children can come up well in
life. This is definitely a very rewarding experience for the
Jesuits and for the Sisters of FHIC Congregation who
collaborate with us both at Ashagad and Nagzari.
Women Power
Women are silent but active. We have 34 Self Help groups (SHG).
Nineteen of these groups are run by women and their saving is
much larger than that of men’s groups. The Adivasi women work
very hard to take care o their families. Now they earn better
than some years ago. So they eat better and dress better. As a
result their beauty and charm no more remains hidden.
Migration
This is one of the main problems of our mission stations where
there is no employment nearby. So after the monsoons many men
and young men go elsewhere to find work. There are no men and
young men in the villages. Any kind of formation becomes
difficult. Training the youth for the future becomes almost
impossible.
Benefactors
We depend on our benefactors. Financial help comes from our
benefactors or organizations in Spain. St. Peter’s Parish,
Bandra, has been very generous with us. Even some banks and
companies organize programmes for our school children; often
uniforms are supplied by them. Your help whether in money or
kind is always welcome.
Events
Ashagad generated new hopes - J. M. Pithekar SJ
