The Original write up reads as follows:
Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Orlem Malad (W) had its 1st ever “FAITH FIESTA” organized by the Sunday Joy Club (Sunday School) children. The Fete opened on 9th March and continued till 11th March.
I asked Father Nigel Barret – the Sunday Joy Club (SJC) Director on How he came out with the idea of “Faith Fiesta” and Why? He replied “I want to celebrate our faith in a joyful way. I am not ashamed to be Christian and I choose to follow Jesus. I want children to celebrate their faith as well as give them a sense of social responsibility. So I had come up with the concept that would celebrate our faith and raise funds for a social cause. This is how I got the idea of an exhibition and fair that would bring them to the forefront and raise funds for a good cause.
All the expenses for the fete have been generated through the sponsorship of Kotak Mutual Fund, Len and Bon Estate Consultants, Studio 10 and Citizen Co-operative Bank, Malad. The amount collected from the fete will be given to Mukta Jeevan Aid Hospic (Assangaon), Jankalyan Trust (Mahad Missions), Seva Dhan drug rehabilitation Centre, Nihar Special School and Prayatna Community Centre. The five organizations will get Rs.25,000/- each.
Ralph, the SJC Co-ordinator said, “When Fr. Nigel proposed this idea of a Faith Fair, it sounded great and exciting. I realized the amount of hard work, dedication and commitment it entailed, but I knew our Catechists would pull it off and they did a wonderful job especially the Décor team led by Sr. Suranjana and Moses. The Co-ordinators of the different standards along with their Catechists (most of them working members and college students) worked overtime to ensure that their stage performances were good and well presented.
We at SJC have imparted faith to our children through the various social activities carried out during the year eg beach cleaning at Madh Island or campaign for signals at important road junctions and finally the Faith fair where we have taught our children the importance and values of charity and sharing.
SJC comprises of Standards I-IX. Each Std had to man 3 stalls: a food stall, a game stall and an income generating stall.
The Food Stalls had foods ranging from mouth watering pani-puri and ragda pattice to yummy sandwiches, Goan sorpetel, ice creams, tang, etc. Some of the food items were generously donated by our ever generous parents. Ms. Savie Minz, a co-ordinator for Std VIII said “The food disappeared within 2 hours of the show beginning and more food had to be ordered”.
The Game Stalls were so dominated by kids, that I could barely see the games being held. The Faith games were mainly based on topics taught to the students during the course of their academic year. There were games with names like Knock Out the Seven Deadly Sins, Keep the Flame Alive, Ring your Virtues, etc. Very entertaining, I would say, because there was too much of a crowd standing and waiting for their chance. And there were great prizes too – their own SJC Mugs, Pens and gifts donated by our Parishioners.
There were also the Income Generating Stalls. All the items sold in each and every stall were made by the students / Catechists. There were items ranging from pearl earrings, bracelets to household items like altar candles, satin flowered bouquets, wall hangings, diyas, hand-made paper bags. The best amongst these was The Last Supper paintings prepared by our future Leonardo da Vinci’s.
There were a few additional stalls like the White Elephant stall, the Raffle Draw stall, Guess the weight of the cake stall, the Tattoo stalls and the Family Recollection stall. The White Elephant stall consisted of items donated by the parishioners like watches, wallets, pens, clothes, dinner sets, etc. Orlem Parishioners are known for their generosity and here was proof again
To add to these, there was an exclusive area for the exhibition. This consisted of projects prepared by the students. As I entered, I felt like I was walking through the stories in the Bible. I entered through a wooden bridge and reached a forest, where I was greeted by none other than Adam and Eve. From there to Noah’s Ark, the Life, Death and Resurrection of Christ and the various sacraments that every Christian goes through. There were posters of all kinds and also powerpoint presentations on the girl child, children living in slum areas, the many faces of poverty, etc etc.
Over and above this, there were stage performances ranging from the Biblical Fashion show to the skits on Creation, the Sister Act and the Sower and the Seed. There were also children Gospel singers and dancers, professionally trained by the Living Waters – the Charismatic Prayer Group in Orlem and our entertainers – the Magician, Clown and the Stilt walker, etc.
All in all, an event can only be called successful if huge crowds gather on all days and help patronize the stalls for a worthy cause. A total of 4000 tickets were purchased. To add to the huge crowds, were the participants, volunteers, Catechists, etc.
In my perspective, Faith Fiesta can definitely be considered the largest event in Mumbai, organized by children not to forget the huge amount of hard work and effort put in by Fr. Nigel and his team.
