| |
 |
Ceylon was one of the earliest foreign missions, which Don Bosco planned to reach and had Don G. Cagliero as the pioneer.
In August 1878 an Italian missionary priest working in
Sri Lanka
, Fr. Louis Piccinelli visited Don Bosco at the Oratory in
Turin
. Don Bosco assured him that by 1878 he would send some Salesian Missionaries to
Sri Lanka
. However, his dream of Don Bosco did not come to during his lifetime. |
Fr. Reneto Ziggiotti, fifth successor of Don Bosco, granted permission to Fr. Henry Remery, a French national in
India
, to open a house in
Sri Lanka
in 1956 - Don Bosco Technical Centre was first established in
Colombo
in 1956. Following the Government takeover of private schools in 1961, Fr. Henry was asked to move out of the premises in
Colombo
, presently known as Sugathadasa Stadium.
Fr. Remery stayed initially as St. Sylvesters church Ettukala along with some aspirants.
Thomas Cardinal Cooray, the Archbishop of Colombo allocated a 12 acre piece of land in Ettukala, Negombo for a techincal school in January 1962 and Fr. Remery moved in immediately and started building a seven foot wall to enclose the premises. He started a small oratory and a workshop. The first Salesian at Negombo was Br. M. A. Christy Fernando who worked with Fr. Remery along with Br. Janze with a lot of enthusiasm.
Fr. Difiore - The Provincial of
Madras
visited Don Bosco Negombo for the first time in 1972 and was given a very warm welcome by Fr. Remery and the Brothers, aspirants, and students of the Centre. The Provincial visited the Centre with the idea of closing down the institution in Negombo. However, after seeing the activities in the Centre, he changed his mind.
Fr. Egidio Vigano visited the Centre in 1980.
As time went on, in appreciation of the work done by the Salesians, the Municipal Council of Negombo renamed
Ettukala Road
as Don Bosco Mawatha.
In 1967 a new and large workshop was added with Carpentry, Arc welding, and Mechanics. In 1991 Fr. Pinto started Motor mechanism, Electronics, and outboard motor repair. Air Conditioning was introduced in 1993.
To keep pace with the advancement of technology and the vast unemployment problem of
Sri Lanka
, Computing was introduced in 1995. The Printing section was introduced in 1998.
To attract more youth, a modern gymnasium was started on
the 10th of October 1996
.
The Institute progressed under the administration of several Salesian Priests and blossomed into a new chapter from 1988 to 2004 under the leadership of the then Rector, Rev. Fr. Anthony H. Pinto, Rev. Fr. Felix Mallawarachchy , assisted by the Program Coordinator: W. S. A. Perera.
On the 15th of August 2004, Rev. Fr. Ajith Shiran Karawgoda ,Rev. Fr. Joe Xavier and Rev.Fr. Benard Fernard assumed duties as the Rector ,Principal and the administrator on this Institution, respectively.
|
|