Opening Doorz

By Our Correspondent | Opening Doorz Editorial | January 03, 2018

“The journey with Shelter Don Bosco ended in 2013, after he successfully completed his Std X. Seeing the spark within the child, Fr. Barnabe D’Souza shifted him to Dominic Savio, Andheri, to help him find his own space outside Shelter. This time he was not lost anymore. Shelter had equipped him to face life.”

— Sachin Shedge, now 22-years-old, was shaping up to be a thief… Shelter Don Bosco showed him the way to a better life!

Name: Sachin Shedge
Age: 22
Place of birth: Borivali, Mumbai
With the centre from: 2006-2013
Family background: His mother has remarried. Not aware of the wherebouts of his father

Sachin has been working since the last four years with a company called Quadsports that makes football turfs all over India. He is also into 3D interior designs.

Troubled times…
The earliest memories of Sachin include a lot of trains: he loved travelling by trains in his childhood. When he was just eight years old, Sachin travelled everywhere across India by train and when he would need money, he thought stealing was the best option. Not only was he too proud to beg but he had also fallen into bad company. A thief was what he was shaping up to be, had it not been for a chance meeting with a Good Samiritan at the Pune Railway Station.

Working towards transformation…
In 2006, a staff member from SATHI Sanstha, Pune, found Sachin loitering about at the Pune Railway Station. The volunteer asked him to join the Sanstha and also told him that a bright future lay ahead for him. Something in that man felt right and Sachin decided to go along. He was right. That same year, he was taken to Khandala Boys’ Home where he found his guide and mentor in Fr. Barnabe D’Souza.

Step by step, Sachin began to move away from his past life. He cultivated interest in new hobbies such as reading and painting. Fr. Barnabe saw a spark in the boy and encouraged him to learn English.

Six months later, when Sachin was moved to Maria Ashiana and soon after to Shelter Don Bosco, things changed dramatically for him. Fr. Barnabe enrolled him in St. Joseph’s High School, Wadala, and the young boy was extremely motivated seeing the high level of confidence others placed in him. He was supported by the staff, the Brothers (Bro. Roshan Gonsalves and Bro. Dennis) and the Priests at Shelter. His school teachers paid extra attention to his English since he had difficulty in the language.

The journey with Shelter ended in 2013, after he successfully completed his Std X. Sachin moved on to finding his own space outside Shelter, but this time he was not lost anymore. Shelter had equipped him to face life. Moving to Dominic Savio, Andheri, was the best thing that happened in his life, feels Sachin. Fr. Barnabe was again instrumental in moving him here, and luckily, Bro. Roshan also got transferred simultaneously—he had a guardian angel with him at all times to support him.

Saying thank you…
Sachin has been working for the last four years with Quadsports, a company owned by Alwyn Quadros that makes football grounds all over India. The job has given him an opportunity to travel extensively within the country. He also runs a small business of making 3D interior designs to earn some extra money.

Sachin feels blessed to have had people around him who helped him make the right choices. “My life had two phases; I don’t care about my first, almost wasted phase. My second phase started from Shelter, and that means everything to me,” says Sachin. “It’s my dream to reach out to as many people I can. I love music and making videos. I can do something with these skills in the future to help them,” he smiles.

(From the book Forever Grateful to Don Bosco: Success Stories of the Young at Risk)

Also Read: The story of Sandeep Dobe