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Former students of Bandura Holy Cross High School
meet in Toronto on Sept. 25, 2011
meet in Toronto on Sept. 25, 2011
with Mr. Akkas Uddin Mollah (seated, 3rd from left) and
Brother Prodip L. Rozario, CSC, ( seated, 4th from left)
(To view the enlarged version, click on the photo above)
Photo (Toronto: Sept. 25, 2011) by Mary D'Costa
Bandura Holy
Cross High School, in the district of Dhaka, Bangladesh, is going to observe
its 100th year in coming January. The three-day celebration will be
held on January 12-14 with about 4,000 participants, including present students
and alumni of the school.
Brother
Chandon Benedict Gomes, C.S.C., headmaster and convenor of the Centenary
Committee of the high school, in a letter to the alumni mentioned that he sent Brother
Prodip L. Rozario, C.S.C. – former headmaster of the school and a member of the
centenary finance committee – and Mr. Akkas Uddin Mollah -- a Dhaka businessman and convenor of the same finance committee – on a tour
of France, England, Toronto (Canada), Maryland (USA) and New York (USA). These
two representatives met with a number of former students of the school in these
places and invited them to participate in the celebration of the centenary and
sought their financial cooperation.
On Sunday,
September 25, under the chairmanship of Dr. David Henry Mazumdar, there was a
gathering of more than two dozen Bandura high school alumni in Toronto. Participants
gave a positive response to the high school’s invitation. Some of the alumni
even formed an instant committee, to be headed by Mr. Shekhar E. Gomes, to observe the centenary of
the school in a small way in Toronto with an entertainment programme aiming at generating
some funds.
The present headmaster also mentioned in his letter that the school has a plan to build in its premises an auditorium-cum-library and a computer lab costing about US$250,000. Funds would be required for this purpose, too.
The present headmaster also mentioned in his letter that the school has a plan to build in its premises an auditorium-cum-library and a computer lab costing about US$250,000. Funds would be required for this purpose, too.
To know more
about the centenary programme and for financial donation inquiries, one may email the headmaster at banduraholycrosshighschool@gmail.com
and visit the school website: http://www.banduraholycross.com/
A Short Background of Bandura Holy
Cross High School
The village
of Bandura had a Catholic church since 1845. Three times cyclonic storms razed
the church to the ground. For the fourth time the church was rebuilt in early
1898.
In 1909, the
management board of Gobindapur High School proposed to Rt. Rev. Peter Joseph Hurth, C.S.C., Bishop of the
Diocese of Dhaka, to take over the school and run it under some conditions. Two
of the conditions were: the school could
not be relocated elsewhere and its name could not be changed. The bishop left
the diocese for his home country without any action on the petition. His
successor Bishop Frederick Linneborn, C.S.C., visited the school in April of 1910
and placed his own conditions, some of which were: the school would be
relocated, its name would be ‘Holy Cross Bandura-Gobindapur High School,’ and
full governing power and ownership of the school should be vested upon the
Bishop. After further negotiations the bishop won his case.
First the
church at Bandura was closed and relocated to Golla, a few miles from Bandura.
Holy Cross Bandura-Gobindapur High School debuted on January 8, 1912 inside the
church building at Bandura. Classes two through seven started with a total of
157 boys under the headmastership of Father John J. Hennessy, C.S.C. Later classes were expanded to grade 10 and
name of the school was changed to ‘Bandura Holy Cross High School.’ In 2011,
this high school, from classes six to ten, has 1,550 students and 40 teachers.
Bandura Holy
Cross High School has been well-known for its
educational, literary, cultural and sports achievements. When
Brother Prodip L. Rozario, C.S.C., was the headmaster, this school received the
national “best school award” in 2001 from the government of Bangladesh.
