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Delhi Province Wins Rector Major’s Innovative Ministry Award 2026

9 September 2026

Media, SPCSA,

News reported by: Bastin Nellissery SDB

The Salesian Province of Delhi won the Rector Major’s Innovative Ministry Award 2026 for its initiative, From Brick Kilns to Bright Futures: Transforming Lives Through Education, during REWIND 2026, the annual review of Mission Poverty Eradication, at the Salesian Provincial House, New Delhi.

The award, instituted to recognise creative, impactful and replicable Salesian initiatives responding to the needs of young people and communities, carried the theme of Mission Poverty Eradication. The winning Province received ₹50,000, a trophy and a certificate.

Rector Major Fr Fabio Attard, General Councillor for South Asia Fr Biju Michael, and Executive Director of Don Bosco Tech Society Fr George Mathew presented the award. A panel of three Salesian judges assessed 32 initiatives.

The Delhi Province’s winning initiative stood out for its unconventional approach to reaching children of migrant workers employed in brick kilns. Instead of depending on fixed schools, the programme operates 24 decentralised education and nutrition centres at brick-kiln sites, bringing services to more than 8,000 children of transient and bonded migrant workers outside the formal education system.

The initiative combines education with daily hot meals, life-skills training and child-protection services, reflecting what the Salesians describe as an oratory in the field—a model of pastoral presence that takes education and care directly to children in difficult and isolated environments. Click the link to watch the video: https://youtu.be/WvCs3tPxCGE

The second prize went to the Salesian Province of Kolkata for BE CLEAN: Ministry among the Lepers. The initiative was recognised as a pioneering and challenging extension of the Salesian charism to people affected by leprosy, one of society's most marginalised groups. Click the link to watch the video: https://youtu.be/v1OL8Ft0EWo

The Salesian Province of Dimapur received the third prize for Labour for School Fee. This initiative addresses financial barriers to education in remote tribal communities through a dignity-centred alternative to conventional school fees.

Under the programme, parents contribute either a day of labour on the mission farm or agricultural produce such as rice, maize and vegetables in exchange for a month of schooling for their children. The model removes the cash-payment barrier while keeping families actively involved and responsible for their children’s education. Click the link to watch the video: https://youtu.be/nVmAnRzsyYY

The three winning initiatives demonstrated different approaches to poverty eradication—from taking education directly to brick-kiln communities, to accompanying people affected by leprosy, and creating alternative pathways to education for economically disadvantaged tribal families.