Media Release
Mangaluru, Feb 20: Globe Travels here, which introduced the city to the cruise world since 1980 always lent a helping hand to poor children enabling them to build their dreams. The staff of Globe Travels chip in to educate poor children every year. Lotus DMC Cochin headed by Sanjeev Kumar had a dream to develop Thota Bengre as a tourist destination. They contacted their counterpart Globe Travels who willingly supported to make their dream a reality.
The objective of this is to bring foreign nationals to Thota Bengre to view the country's shipyard, beedie rolling and to visit the Government Higher Primary School.
Lotus DMC and Globe Travels, Mangaluru donated a huge amount of their little revenue to bring joy to the little children by putting up a smart classroom costing Rs seven lac with modern equipment which was inaugurated by Captain Sokratis Sklavos of Costa Victoria cruise ship on his visit to Mangaluru. The cruise ship team who along with their captain visited the school to inaugurate the smart classroom were thrilled at the good Samaritan deed of Lotus DMC and Globe Travels who have been their ground handling agents for years.
Inaugurating the smart classroom, Captain Sklavos said that children should be given good facilities to be educated. He stressed that children are the future of any country. He congratulated Sanjeev Kumar of Lotus DMC and William D’Souza of Globe Travels expressing his happiness in Italian. "Bravo, bravo." He asked the children to listen to their teachers and to respect and obey them for a beautiful future to be built for them. In his inaugural address, Captain Sokratis Sklavos said, “Being a father of two beautiful young girls, I am truly blessed and overwhelmed to be among all these happy and beautiful children. While I was in the tourist bus on my way to this school, I asked the bus driver who are the good people in this scenic area, and he said, they are the villagers and children of Bengre. And I think he was right, as I looked at all these people and children who have so much love and spirit of hospitality and friendship in them. No doubt, the dream of having a smart classroom has come true for the teachers and students of this school. I am happy to be part of this inaugural ceremony, and will cherish this moment for the rest of my life."
The chief guest, Y R Belgal, traffic manager of New Mangalore Port Trust thanked Sanjeev Kumar especially William D’Souza who was the reason to have cruise ships to Mangaluru and wished the children the best in their life. He said, "Their example of donating their partial wealth for a needy cause should be followed by others. A person can earn lots of money and remain rich forever, but his life is useless if part of his wealth is not shared with others in need in the surrounding areas. Helping others should be our motto. And it was indeed nice of the ship captain in entertaining the children on a ship tour."
The ship crew members entertained the school children with sing-songs and a short play and taking the children to the ground and playing with them. This type of interaction experienced for the first time in the history of the school thrilled the children while the teachers were left immensely dumbstruck.
Delphine D’Souza, manager of Globe Travels compered the programme, the school children sang a sweet melodious prayer song. Sr Agnes Frank proposed the vote of thanks.