Mangaluru: XET hosts memorial service for benefactors Rose & Sebastian Vas

Bellevision Media Network

Mangaluru, 20 May 2016: Xavier Educational Trust® which has set up Late Rose and Sebastian Vas Memorial Charitable Fund, hosted a memorial service in honor of the late Rose and Sebastian Vas and also an Endowment Lecture on Entrepreneurship by Gerald Colaco, partner of Colaco and Aranha, a financial and investment consultant firm here on Sunday May 15.

 

The Memorial Service in remembrance of Late Rose and Sebastian was celebrated at St Aloysius Chapel by Fr Vincent Crasta - registrar of Papal Seminary, Pune and Fr Swebert D’Silva - principal of St Aloysius College, here.

 

 

A formal function and the endowment lecture were held at the St Aloysius College Hall, after the Holy Mass.

 

The Program began with invoking God’s blessings through a prayer song rendered by the staff of Xavier Industrial Training Centre (XITC), Assaigoli, here.

 

The chairman of Xavier Educational Trust (XET) and well-known advocate and Christian marriages registrar, J J V Fernandes welcomed the gathering and gave a brief history of XET.

 

Michael B Fernandes – chairman of Lawrence Fernandes Foundation and trustee of XET,  Gerard Colaco, J J V Fernandes - chairman of XET and F M Lobo - secretary of XET  along with family members and close relatives  showered rose petals on the portrait of  Late Rose and Sebastian Vas.

 

Speaking about Late Rose and Sebastian Vas, who have donated Rs 25 lac to XET, Marina D’Souza, close relative of Vas couple said, ‘It is pride and honor for the Vas family because one of the projects has been dedicated in memory of Late Rose and Sebastian Vas. Rose Vas took an active part in the family business and continued the entrepreneurial spirit after her husband’s demise in addition to contributing to the welfare of her family. Late Rose was a good Samaritan, very compassionate and caring, charitable and kind, generous especially to the poor and needy, less fortunate and the downtrodden members of society. She was a humane person.’

 

Twelve meritorious students of XITC were presented with scholarships from the Lawrence Fernandes Foundation. Lawrence Fernandes foundation set up by the brothers of Lawrence Fernandes has provided a scholarship fund for the meritorious and deserving students studying at XITC. The objective of this scholarship program is to identify deserving students with meritorious academic history and holistic achievements for studies on-shore at Xavier Industrial Training Centre. Michael Fernandes (brother of former defense minister George Fernandes) and chairman of Lawrence Fernandes Foundation presented the scholarships to the deserving and meritorious students.

 

The Endowment lecture on the subject - ‘Entrepreneurship’ was delivered by Gerard Colaco. Highlighting the significance of entrepreneurship, Colaco stated that the youth should start entrepreneurial ventures and should become job providers than job seekers. He acknowledged with gratitude the great contribution of Late Rose and Sebastian Vas who were indeed true entrepreneurs. One of the essential inputs in any economic advancement of a country is entrepreneurship. The more entrepreneurship activity the more will be the economic development. Entrepreneurship puts new business ideas into practice. In doing so, it creates jobs that facilitate personal development. With their innovative and disruptive ideas, entrepreneurs can tackle economic problems. It’s a worthy pursuit to consider.

 

The lecture was very much appreciated by the august gathering. The vote of thanks was delivered by Dr Meera Aranha (general manager of Karnataka Bank), and the function was professionally compeered by Dr Prakash Pinto (dean – MBA - St Joseph Engineering College), both trustees of XET.

 

About Xavier Educational Trust®

The Xavier Educational Trust (XET) was formed in the year 1984 and has a long and successful journey. The Trust consists of a group of laity who has put service above self. The Trust is non profit making body and all the trustees are honorary members. The present office bearers of XET include J J V Fernandes (cairman), F M Lobo (Secretary) and M T Mascarenhas (treasurer). It is exclusively meant for the service to the poor and less fortunate brethren of the society. The Trust runs a Technical Institute namely Xavier Industrial Training Centre (XITC) which is one of the best in the Karnataka State, India. The mission of XET is to provide technical training to the underprivileged youth who cannot afford technical education.

 

The high cost of technical education was one of the serious problems detected by the Trust and the Trust hoped to meet the needs of the underprivileged and the rural youth so that they could enjoy a respectable means of living, irrespective of caste, creed and religion. Accordingly, the Xavier Industrial Training Centre (XITC) was established in 1984 under the Xavier Education Trust in Mukka and was relocated to Assaigoli, near Mangalore University in 1992. XITC has been recognized by the Department of Employment and Training, Government of Karnataka and the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT), Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.

 

Technology and technical education are in a continuous process of innovation and change. The Trust believes in keeping the youth abreast with the development in technology. Currently XITC offers courses in different trades like Electrical, Mechanical Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Electronic Mechanic, Welder, Mechanic Diesel Mechanic Motor Vehicle, Mechanic Consumer Electronics with additional batches in Mechanical Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Mechanic Motor Vehicle due to increasing demand. The XITC is solely managed with the generous contributions and donations of well wishers. Every pie received has gone into the building of an institution that is the pride of the rural poor of Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka state. In a very humble way, the institute has grown into an ace centre for learning and has been rendering yeoman service to the students from low economic strata of the society.