People in village now have space to worship

(MissionNewswire) The village of Sorokpara, located in the West Garo Hills district in Meghalaya, India, has a new chapel thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The project was implemented by Father Albert Thyrniang, the pastor of Mary Help of Christian Church.

The community consists of 51 households who belong to the Garo Community. It is one of the oldest Catholic communities in the area. The village is surrounded by paddy fields and people are generally poor. The primary challenges in the community are health and sanitary issues due to flooding a few times a year.

Kamalraj Sangma is one of the recipients who will benefit from the project. With the new chapel, he hopes that the faith of the people will be strengthened. Before the project, people did not have enough space on the previous church compound. However, the owner of the adjacent plot donated a bit of his land to make it sufficient for the church to be built.

Sangma said, “Now that the project is nearing completion, we in the village are happy with the church. We will now have a proper place to have Sunday services and celebrate Mass when pastors come.”

Salesian programs in India are primarily focused on education. Salesian primary and secondary education helps youth prepare for later technical, vocational or university study. Other programs help to support poor youth and their families by meeting the basic needs of shelter, proper nutrition and medical care.

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Salesian Missions – India

World Bank – India