Chicalim Parish Youth attend DYC Youth Connect
By Neola Pereira
The Occasion
Cedric and myself had the privilege to attend this amazing overnight program known as Youth Connect organised by the Diocesan Youth Centre at the St. Joseph Vaz Spiritual Renewal Centre, Old Goa.
We reached a bit late because we got stuck in the traffic in Cortalim for a very long time. We reached safely by 8 pm but unfortunately, we missed the initial animation (O le le, O le le paka paka). There was a huge response, as there were around 133 youths present from all over Goa.
Informative Talks and Engaging Activities
After the animation, we had a session by our very own Capt. Viriato Fernandes (Retd), who spoke about serving the country and how the Indian Navy needs more young Goans to join its ranks. This was then followed by dinner.
The DYC Youth Connect attendee badege which was given to us Photo by: Neola Pereira
We had another animation and then we were asked to make a group of 22 youths and each group had to plan and prepare an advertisement. This was really fun. Then we were off to bed at midnight.
The next day we woke up at 6:30 am to attend Mass. I was fortunate to be a part of the choir. After breakfast, Mr. Amit Nareira (IAS) spoke to us about joining the Indian Civil service, especially the Goan youth. Mr.Nareira shared some tips and tricks on how to crack an IAS exam as well as details concerning the other Civil Service Exams.
Later, we were taken out to shoot the advertisement, which we practiced the previous day. After shooting it on our phones we submitted it to the DYC members.
Thereafter, we had a fun session. We learnt some life hacks, how to make 3 types of mocktails and got to witness flair bartending.
Then we had a compulsory aptitude test. Nothing to worry about, it was conducted to see where you stand and determine in which field you're good at.
This was followed by lunch and the grand finale….✨.the screening of the advertisements created by us.
Final Thoughts
- The place is beautiful.
- The Accommodation is 1st Class. (One room shared by 3 persons with individual beds, wall cupboard along with hangers, attached bathroom and charging ports on each side of the bed)
- The food is delicious.
- Absolutely no restrictions concerning phones.
- The activities were fun.
- This program is not like the usual retreats where you're just praying all the time. It was more about educating yourselves in a fun way, learning new things and meeting amazing people.
I will definitely recommend that our young friends, try and attend this event next year. Trust me you guys will have fun ❤️ and I'm surely going again next year!