He was an Indian taught by the Christian Brothers as a student – and now he is their community leader in Kolkata.
Br Constantine D’Abreau, 55, is part of the legacy left behind by the Irish Christian Brothers in the Indian city of 15 million people.
He was taught by Irish brothers from the age of five and, inspired by their energy and enthusiasm, joined them in 1979.
He said: “The Irish had a strong, positive influence on me from a very early age.
“They always had time for students, they seemed happy and down to earth.”
One of his teachers at St Patrick’s high school in Asansol was Br Brendan MacCarthaigh.
The Dublin-born brother, 77, still works with Constantine four decades after teaching him English.
Constantine said Ireland has brought the Catholic faith to the world because of all the missionaries that have travelled to all corners of the globe.
He added: “Besides the faith they brought education and other services.”
The eldest from a family of four, Constantine added his family was “blessed” with a special needs son Albert.
That motivated his mother and father to leave India for America in 1981, even though they were approaching retirement age.
Constantine said: “It was for Albert’s sake that they moved to America. He has lived a very fulfilled life.”
His sister said that only for Albert, the family wouldn’t have emigrated and she would never have had the opportunity to graduate as a doctor.
Like Constantine, her attitude is “Albert is a blessing to us all”.
His parents still care for him along with his sister and youngest brother.
Constantine’s mum was a teacher. His dad had spent his life working in a brick manufacturing company but learnt computer skills in his 60s. He only retired when he was 80.
He added: “My dad is 89 now and my mom is 75. They worked so hard because they were migrants in America.”
Constantine visited Ireland in 1996 and then in 2007 and he had plenty of welcoming faces to call to on his visits because he knew so many Irish Christian Brothers.
He added: “I went to Waterford, Dublin, a few historical sites and it gave me a nice feel for the place.
“I had lived with so many Irish through the years, I was used to the accents.”
Joining the Brothers in 1979, he has been asked many times why he wouldn’t become a priest.
He felt that after a full primary and secondary education in the Christian Brothers, he knew the right order for him.
Part of his role now involves helping at St Mary’s Orphanage and Day School Dum Dum in Kolkata.
The school originally took in orphans after the Second World War.
When Mother Teresa began her work later on, she would bring her young orphans who had been abandoned or found on the streets to the Christian Brothers to be educated.
That phase ended when Mother Teresa began putting the youngsters up for adoption.
In 2002 the boarding section closed and it became a day school. Now, it is a school which has many special projects.
One of those is named after Christian Brother founder Edmund Rice’s daughter Mary who had special needs.
This educates those with disabilities to help them prosper and grow.
Br Constantine said: “The emphasis shifted from orphans to children coming from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
Another project in the school helps the deprived children of Kolkata to get an education.
The Lotus project has been running since 2007 and is for the children of sex workers.
The Christian Brothers brings in kids who can’t afford to go to school with their national institute of open schooling project. They have dropped out of school or are working and want to finish their education.
The pupils range in age from 16 to 22, they get a free rail journey to school and a breakfast.
Food and drink given to the poor at 5.45 each evening.
I was invited to help feed some of the less fortunate people after dusk.
First we gave everyone water and an orange drink then the women and children were given rice and vegetables.
The men were up next. Those queuing were extremely respectful and waited their turn.
The cook Pradeep hasn’t missed a day in four years since the feeding programme began.
Br Constaine said: “The Christian Brothers were being challenged to have some hands-on activity with the poor. They decided to have a feeding programme.
“Around 150 people are fed every evening, mostly the same people.”
The programme is aimed at people with disabilities or those of advanced age who can’t support themselves and children. It also provides health care.
Br Constantine said: “We have teamed up with the Missionaries of Charity Brothers. They offer medical services to these people.”
The projects are funded entirely from sponsorships and donations.
Mt Sion, which began last year, is another project at St Mary’s for poor children who live at a railway station.
With students of so many faiths in their school, Br Constantine believes the key is taking part in each other’s ceremonies.
He said: “We celebrate one another’s festivals together. This seems to really help us build understanding and tolerance.”
He added Ireland, which now has one in five of its people born outside the country, could learn from this multi-cultural approach. He said: “Experience their joy and share in it.”
And Constantine said Christmas in the school is not just for Catholics.
He added: “Christmas is a very big festival for everybody here. Those from other faiths visit the church and the crib. They enjoy the Christmas cake.”
Br Constantine feels his life has been enriched by his work as a Brother.
He added: “When you give, you get so much more back in abundance. It really is amazing.
This project was supported by the Simon Cumbers Media Fund.
Mirrorman Colin Brennan has travelled to India to write a series of stories on education in the developing world.
The aim of the trip is to see Indian multi-faith schools in action and what Ireland can learn from them.
The project is supported by the Simon Cumbers Media Fund, set up by Irish Aid to honour the journalist, 36, killed by terrorist gunmen as he filmed a report for the BBC in Saudi Arabia in 2004.
(Source:irishmirror)