Founded in 1965, the technical school run by PIME has offered professional training to over 3 thousand young people. Mechanics, carpenters, automation experts who today are its best ambassadors.
Dinajpur (AsiaNews) - A concrete opportunity for thousands of young people from the villages of Bangladesh, who thanks to its courses have been able to improve their lives. This is the experience of the Novara Technical School, managed by PIME in the diocese of Dinajpur.
Founded in 1965, its objective is to offer new work opportunities to young people in the villages. The school was founded by Don Ercole Scolari, an Italian priest from the Diocese of Novara, who arrived in Suihari in the early 1960s. There he thought of building not only an academic school, but also a technical school to welcome and guarantee education to those young people who would otherwise remain confined to poverty or end up absorbed in exploitative mechanisms. So he presented his project to the Bishop of Dinajpur, Monsignor Giuseppe Obert, a PIME missionary. The structure was then built by Brother Faustino Cescato on an area acquired by PIME, where the parish and the institute's house were later built.
Thanks to the courses in mechanics, car repair, carpentry and electrical engineering provided by the Novara Technical School, about 3,000 students have obtained professional training and changed their lives for the better. One of them, Milan Roy, tells AsiaNews: "We are learning to build the mechanisms of motors, fans, automation... I hope that in the future, after completing the course, I will have a good job in a good company".
Such was the case for Paul Kamal Gregory, an alumnus who later became a technical school principal in Natore and is now retired: "Novara Technical School provided me with a quality education. For over 40 years, I haven't spent a single day without work."
"Every year 80 students complete their studies and enter the job market," confirms Alberto Malinverno, a volunteer with the Pime Lay Association and deputy director of Novara Technical School. Soon a car service workshop will also open in the complex to offer a service to local residents and allow the students to practice, as well as contribute to the livelihood of the center.
"I'm happy to see even in Dhaka former students who have started factories or stores and thus created new jobs," says Malinverno. "In addition to technical skills," he points out, "we teach them to be honest people."
Bangladesh, according to official data, 5.3% of its 165 million inhabitants are still without work. In this situation, Novara Technical School is playing a significant role: "Our students are our best ambassadors", concludes the volunteer.