Bala Mela- Makkala Habba

On the 18 th of December 2022, SJBHS opened its hearts and doors to welcome 300 children from the underprivileged section for a day of fun and festivities. The children were from different study centers run at K R Puram, Cheemasandra, K.S. Garden, Spandana Study Centre, Water Tank, Safal Factory, Kaveri Nagar and NCPU.

The Chief Guest of the day, Mr Anand Naik, the Guest of Honour, Mr David D’Costa, both old boys of St Joseph’s Boys’ High School were accompanied by our beloved former Principal, Fr Michael John. Fr Arun Luis, Director of Ashirvad, Primary School Administrator, Fr Vishal D’Souza and Vice Principal, Mr Brian McKertish were the other dignitaries present at the function.

After registration and breakfast, we had the lighting of the lamp ceremony symbolizing the alluring tradition of dispelling darkness and spreading warmth and happiness. Following the welcome address by Fr Vishal, we had our Chief Guest, Mr Anand Naik, address the vibrant gathering. He spoke about how important it was for children to dream and envision a future for themselves and urged them to work hard towards achieving their dream and encouraged everyone to make best use of the opportunities available.

Subsequently, all the excited children were led by some of our student- volunteers from the auditorium to the grounds where a myriad of interesting games and gifts awaited them. The children enjoyed themselves on the mechanical ride, some even showed off their archery skills and others excelled at balancing themselves on the rope walk. Besides these, there were also games put up at the stalls and it was a perfect time for some of the student-volunteers of SJBHS to interact with our guests.

A sumptuous lunch followed by a cultural programme put up by the children ensued. The mime and dance performances put up by the little ones left everyone in awe. Shadow Play was another interesting element that added much excitement to the day’s affairs. The day ended on a high note as every child was given a gift that brought a bright smile on their faces.