SENIOR VOLUNTEERS

BOSCONET is starting an "organization" of SENIOR  VOLUNTEERS. The organization is yet to be baptized with an appropriate name. 

The members will be senior citizens, who have expertise and time in abundance and would like to put them at the services of Don Bosco on a regular basis or as and when the need arises. 

We have the first member already - Mrs. Chandrika Dand of Mumbai. She has been giving tuition to children all her life and she is willing to do it now free of charge for the needy children cared for by Don Bosco. 

HEARTY WELCOME, Madam. 

Everyone is invited to pas the information to anyone else who may be able to help is in one way or another - doctors, scientists, engineers, architects, teachers, lawyers, psychologists, sports-persons, writers, painters, artists, accountants, musicians, singers, choreographers, ............ The service of almost anyone under the sun could be useful for our work as they are so very varied and numerous!

Looking still also for an attractive name!

Pass the word !!!

THE  STRANGER

A gentleman in London was going for a job interview. In the crush of the metro (the tube), he was irritated by a fellow passenger. He told him to “f*** off!” You can imagine his shock and embarrassment when he went in for the interview and found that the man he had told cursed was the head of the recruiting team !

The man did not get the job. The recruiter insists that what happened in the metro played no role in his rejection. He was just not the right person for the post.

We never know who we are talking to. We would be safe if we could only remember that God dwells in the heart of every human being. It is this firm conviction that makes BOSCONET available to help anyone in need, and at the same time approach one and all to contribute their mite to help those needier than themselves.

WAY  BEHIND  800-YEAR-OLD  MAGNA  CARTA

The Magna Carta was agreed on on 15 June 1215 at Runnymede, UK. It is among the most important documents in history, one of the first steps towards parliamentary democracy. About 250 copies of it were made and sent to legal and religious officials all over the kingdom to make sure it was carried out.

The Magna Carta includes the principle that no one is above the law, not even the king. We do have parliamentary democracy today; but, how many people in our country think they are above the law for one reason or another !

IT  PAYS  TO  POO

There’s a revolutionary new treatment for the debilitating Clostridium Difficile Infection (CDI). It involves taking stool containing microbes from a healthy donor’s faeces and introducing it into the gut of the sick person. The treatment is so successful that an Amercian non-profit is paying healthy people US $ 40 for each sample of their poo (faeces) for microbiota transplants.

If only we could learn to find treasure in all that is "negative”  around us, in our failures, our mistakes, our losses, our frustrations and our disappointments!

ELECTRONIC  TIMES

Research at the University of Texas shows that the more lonely and depressed you are, the more likely you are to binge-watch television. People with less self-control were more likely to do so. They just cannot stop clicking “next” even when aware of their other tasks.

In the mean time, lawmakers in Taiwan have made it obligatory for parents to monitor how much time their children spend on ‘electronic devices’ like television, internet, phone, etc. The fine imposed on them could be as high as US $ 1,595.

Whether such laws are appropriate or not, it is clear that the concern is growing that addiction to time on such ‘devices’ does serious harm or, at least, is a symptom of other serious problems.

KNOWING  WHEN  TO  SHUT  UP

Salman Rushdie’s next book will  be released in September of this year, seven years after his previous one. He is known for the great length of his stories. The new book will be only about 250 pages. “I have finally learned how to shut up,” he says. That might be appropriate coming from a man who lived under a fatwa for having talked too much!

It is of, course, important to speak up when needed. But, probably, we bring more trouble on ourselves through too much talk than by any silence. Knowing when to shut up makes life happier!

BOLLYWOOD  TO  BLAME  ?!       

Sandesh Baliga (32) was arrested in Australia for stalking two women for up to 18 months! He rang them up, texted them and approached them frequently over this period.

In court his lawyer argued that Baliga had been “wrongly influenced by Bollywood movies”. He said “Hindi movies contributed to his belief that a woman would eventually fall in love with a man if he pursued her.” The lawyer added that it was “quite normal behaviour “ for Indian men to follow women.

What does this say of the image of Indian men? Worse, what does it say about the reality of the behaviour of Indian men?

Baliga was let off in consideration of his cultural background. Can I really wash my hands off a crime claiming that I have been “wrongly influenced” by a film, a book or an individual?