Teachers and Health Workers Programme Held at Holy Cross Church, Cordel

Mangaluru: On the occasion of the 150-year celebration of Holy Cross Church, the “Teachers and Health Workers Programme”, a half-day of fun and learning, was organised on September 3, 2023. A total of 180 teachers and Health Workers from the parish participated in the programme. The resource persons for the programme were Dr.RouchelleTellisRozario – Prof and Head – Clinical Microbiology and Infection Control (Yenepoya Medical College and Hospital) and Dr. Mona Mendonca – Assistant Professor, Dept. of History at St. Aloysius College, Managalore and a subject expert in soft skills, life skills, creative thinking, Professionalism, etc.

The first session was conducted by Dr. Rochelle Tellis Rozario, who threw light on how to manage stress at home and at work with a poignant question on whether you are a stress-giving or stress-taking person or a balancing person. She also stressed various ways of relieving stress. Along with stress management, she also stressed the need for anger management. Her session was much loved by the participants since a lot of it was drawn from her own personal experiences.

The second session was given by Dr. Mona Mendonca, who spoke on how to balance work and family life along with time management, family management, etc. She stressed how everyone needs to give himself or herself a break from routine work. No one needs to be a superman or superwoman in order to please others. She emphasised the need for family time in this fast-moving world and how we need to be authentic parents to bring up beautiful children. We also need to learn to say no to our children and give them valid reasons for it, and that will surely make a difference to their reasoning skills too. She stressed a lot about mental health and how important it is for a balanced lifestyle. Her session was much enjoyed by the participants since she drew a lot from her own personal and professional experience and made the participants lighthearted with her session.    

The Programme was attended and inaugurated by the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Clifford Fernandes, who in his inaugural address elucidated the important role of teachers and health workers in today’s world and the huge responsibility that we have as Professionals. Rev. Fr. Ivan Cordeiro (Asst. Parish Priest), Rev. Fr. Paul D’Souza (Asst. Parish Priest), Mrs. Ruth Castelino, Vice President (Parish Pastoral Council), Mr. Anil DSa, Secretary (Parish Pastoral Council), Mr. Dolphy D’Souza – Co-Ordinator (21 Commissions), Mr. Henry D’Souza – Co-ordinator of the Programme, Gurkars, Ward Representatives, PPC Members, and the Organising Team were present at the programme. Ms.Venetia D’Souza compered the programme, and Mrs. Ruth Castelino proposed the vote of thanks.

The programme ended with a celebratory lunch and a plan to have more such useful programmes for the parishioners.