The Catholic Youth Development Centre is a non-residential education programme. It offers
the possibility of a better life to illiterate Catholic young men in Hyderabad who have
dropped out of school or have never been to school. Through an accelerated teaching and
learning, CYDC enables them to move from illiteracy and street-sweeping to completing high
school and obtaining employment. Hope replaces despair. Everything at CYDC is free.
Education, personal confidence building, computer skills, and future employment guidance
are all included in the CYDC program.
Catholic religious instruction, sound moral formation, and social skills are essential to the
CYDC programme.
CYDC is a three-year programme. The focus is activity-based education. The first year at
CYDC is Foundation which includes literacy in Urdu and English, numeracy, and then an
intensive course to cover the first eight years of regular school content. The second year is
Year 9, and the third year covers the final year of secondary schooling. Regular Parent-Teacher
meetings, both individually and on a class basis, have brought about a major improvement in
the overall stability and focus of the CYDC students.
73 young men aged from 15-23 years are enrolled in CYDC in 2025. Most work either
before or after the CYDC sessions. All are self-motivated to attend.
The CYDC staff consists of the Director and five teachers (three male, two female), the
Student Relations Officer who is also Child Protection Officer, and one auxiliary staff
member. All are compliant with CYDC’s Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Minors.
Because CYDC shares in the morning the same facilities that CCAE does in the evening, CYDC is
able to operate on a very low annual budget of AU$20,000. High levels of financial
transparency and accountability are maintained, including preparation of the annual budget,
monthly and annual financial statements, and the external audit.
All donations are fully tax deductible.