Health & Wellness Fair – Jointly hosted by the Goan Overseas Association and 55 Plus Goan Association in Etobicoke – Toronto West.

HEALTH & WELLNESS FAIR – Oct 21: 2-6 PM (Risk Assessment from 1 PM)
St Clement Church Hall, 409 Markland Drive
(S/E Corner of Markland & Bloor - East of Mill Road)

H & W Fair Agenda

2:00 – 2:05 PM: Housekeeping items
2:05 - 2:15 PM: Opening remarks - Session 1
Oscar Furtado, President, G.O.A

2:15 – 3:45 PM: Clinical Program - Session 1:
- Cardiovascular Session: Total Time 1 hr 30 mins
1. Metabolic Syndrome (High Blood Pressure and Diabetes): Dr Colin Saldanha 20 mins
2. Lifestyle adjustments for the S. Asian: Dietician Sharon Rodrigues 20 mins
3. Heart Disease and Stroke: Dr Luis Noronha 20 mins
4. Q&A (Panel Discussion - above speakers plus Dr Amish Parikh) 30 mins.

3:45 – 3:50 PM: Close Session 1
Vivien Fernandes - 55 Plus Goan Association

3:50 – 4:20 PM: Health-Wise Refreshment Break
Session 2: 4:20 – 5:55 PM
4:20 - 4:30 PM: Opening remarks - Session 2
Tony Fernandes, President, 55 Plus Goan Association

4:30 – 5:50 PM: Clinical Program - Session 2
General Session: Total Time 1 hr 20 mins
1. Osteoporosis: Dr Lorna D'Silva 20 mins.
2. Geriatrics - Seniors’ Issues: Dr Chik Devaraj 20 mins
3. Case Study: Dr Amish Parikh 10 mins.
4. Q & A (Panel Discussion – above speakers) 30 mins.

5:50 - 5:55 PM: Closing - Session 2
Hema Pereira – G.O.A

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
- Free Assessment of your personal Risk of Heart Disease starts from 1:00 PM
- This is a valuable document on your current health status
- Due to fire regulations there is limited seating capacity in the hall
- Entrance only $3:00 (includes light refreshments)
- No tickets will be sold at the door
- Come prepared to be actively involved & ask questions

G.O.A. Vision Survey - deadline Oct 31st
http://www.goatoronto.com/vision.html

We understand that the face of the Goan community has evolved and that the way in which you need an Association like the G.O.A. in your lives has also changed. You are invited to share your ideas for what you want to see the G.O.A. provide for you and the community. What do you think about our current events and services? How do you think we should change?

Please complete the vision survey today at www.goatoronto.com/vision.html.  It will only take a few minutes.

Following is a detailed update on the Vision Project which I hope will answer your questions.

Best Regards,
Michelle Pereira
G.O.A. Chair, Vision Committee

Vision Update
The G.O.A. is conducting as assessment to better understand the needs of the Goan community and the community’s perception of how this Association has provided social, cultural, physical, educational and economic activities for the welfare of its members. We understand that the face of this community has changed over the years and thus the way in which you need an Association like the G.O.A. in your lives has also changed. The results of this assessment will help inform a new vision and strategic plan for the future.

We put together a sub-committee in January 2007 whose goal is to understand the needs of the community and communicate that back to the G.O.A. executive committee. This committee represents the variety of demographic groups we see in the Goan community today.

Our first project was to create a survey that enabled the broader Goan community (members and non-members of the Association) to provide feedback and ideas on nine key areas. Some of these are
1) feedback on G.O.A. Events,
2) needs of the new immigrant population,
3) special needs for seniors and
4) feedback on G.O.A.’s communication and customer service.

This survey was produced and made available in hard copy format in March in the Pulse and then in electronic format in May. We promoted the survey widely: to all G.O.A. members, the Presidents of village social groups and the Presidents of the seniors groups who agreed to share the survey through flyers at events and e-mail. We posted it on various web sites such as the G.O.A. web site, Goan Voice and Facebook. We received just over 100 responses. We also reached out to those who are new to Canada, and those who have joined our community from different parts of the world, such as the Middle East. We welcome their insight and wish to create activities and programs that are inclusive of Goans from around the world.

The second part of the assessment was a workshop that the G.O.A. hosted for the community on Sunday July 8th in Toronto. The intent of workshop was to understand the community’s perception of the Association’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. We received honest and constructive feedback from the community members in attendance. We identified the key strengths of the G.O.A. which we can use to build more desirable services for our community. We learned more about the Association’s weaknesses, which will be the first step in overcoming them in order to pursue any new ideas. Finally, we discussed new ideas for engaging more members of the Goan community and potential solutions to fill large needs within our community.

The insights that were gathered at this workshop will be included with the information compiled from vision surveys and analyzed by the vision committee for common themes. The vision committee’s role will be to review all the information together, and from this, provide high level observations to the G.O.A. executive for what the community is saying should be done differently within the Association. This report will be presented to the G.O.A. executive committee in November for their consideration. We will make the statistical results of the survey and a summary of the vision workshop available on the G.O.A. web site in the fall.

The findings from the vision survey and workshop will be used as intelligence that will form the new vision for the future and the five year strategic plan for the Association. The G.O.A. looks forward to presenting this new vision and strategic plan to the community in the New Year.

We welcome your comments on this initiative and encourage you to send these and new ideas to the G.O.A. vision committee at vision@goatoronto.com

Global Goan Seniors Directory

The Directory will be released in the Fall of 2008 and is part of the ”Save Goa” * initiative.
By listing their names in the Directory, Goan Seniors will be making a statement:
- They are here and are part of the local and worldwide seniors community.
- They value their Goan heritage .
- They are concerned for the well being of Goa and can be counted on for support to keep Goa – Goan.


The new directory is a not-for-profit venture and will be a sequel to Goan Directories published in 2001+ 1997, & 1988 by Celaz Print Shop of Toronto.

These have served the community well, with new version in the works.

Click to download form for free listing.

Email information form to seniorsdirectory@goanseniors.net 
For more information and business advertising Contact Address:

Celaz Print Shop
2 Green Spring Drive, Toronto, Ontario M1V 2B1
call (416) 292 1653 – Fax: (416) 292-0776
or email :lazaruspereira@rogers.com