AROUND THE COLLEGE & BEYOND

Our India Night is Back

By Brett Toombs - Local Marist Association Coordinator

The College welcomed back India Night to the calendar for the first time since 2019. And it was terrific to be able to offer this night to our families and the wider community. India Night was first held in 1995, when Mr Lionel Williamson approached the Marist Provincial of the Sydney Province, Br Charles Howard, about Saints hosting an event to raise much-needed funds for our Marist schools in India. 

This night has developed into a very enjoyable evening, with families coming together for a  good cause. A big part of the event is the monster raffle that generates funds to donate to our Marist schools in Southern India. Without the support of local businesses in Cairns, the monster raffle would not be possible. We are most grateful to the 30-plus businesses that donated prizes, and I personally thank them for their generous support of our fundraiser.

At St Augustine's, we are extremely fortunate to still have an active Marist Brothers' community living at the College. It certainly affirms the Marist characteristic of presence when we have the Brothers working in the school daily. Br John Horgan, the community's Leader, worked at the schools to which we dedicate the night. He captured some memories of his years in India in the words below:

I lived for four years in our formation community in Trichy, Tamil Nadu State in southern India. I went by bus every second Thursday to visit our primary and secondary schools and the Brothers' community in P Udayapatti, a small village about two hours away from Trichy. There are about 300 boys in the primary school and about 900 boys and girls in the secondary school. On the alternate Thursday I went by bus to our schools in Mangamanuthu about three-and-a-half hours away. Both are in poor areas and receive almost no government support, so the schools need all the help and support they can get. 

Thank you so much to everyone who supported India Night on 29 October. It was a great example of the Marist spirit of our Saints community.