Launch Of New Version Of Dr. Ribeiro Goan School Ex-Students’ Website



The Goan School ex-students website underwent a significant upgrade on Oct 5, 2007. This website was initially created to help keep ex-students worldwide informed of their activities, which have seen a dramatic increase in recent years.

“As we age, there is a natural tendency to want to reconnect with our roots”, stated website founder, Merwin D’Souza, based in Lake Mary, Florida, U.S.A. “There has been a surge in Class reunion activities as well as an increased interest to have frequent School reunions in all parts of the world.”, he added. “The eleven years of our lives that we spent together in school are some of the longest relationships we’ve forged, apart from our own spouses; so there is an inherent need to once again re-establish and rekindle those old relationships and to make an effort to preserve and share memorabilia of what were happy times for many”.

“What brings a lump to my throat, is recalling that 52 years ago my dad, Christie D’Souza was editor of the Nairobi GI Golden Jubilee brochure and he collaborated with the authors among whom was Pascoal De Mello, who wrote an article entitled ‘A Plea for Intellectual and Cultural Activities’. Today, I find myself working with his son and my good friend, Ray De Mello, to publish an article entitled ‘ Lest we Forget….’ A tribute to many Goans, who left their mark in Kenya’s history. Surely our parents are smiling down upon us. Back in our old homeland, Kenya, it was easy for the next generation to appreciate the many sacrifices and strides our parents had made. As many of us relocated to different parts of the world, our community’s contributions became less apparent. The school represents the crowning achievement of the Goan Community in East Africa, as evidenced by the accomplishments of its students over the decades. Now through the magic of the internet and global teamwork, it is possible to assemble a community archive, which our children can identify with and be proud of when they feel the need to connect with their roots”.

The website has been set up as a voluntary, non profit enterprise and features new articles by ex-student writers, many of whom have recently embraced writing as a new hobby. The site is also starting to archive old photos, audio and video recordings and old magazine articles submitted by ex- students. Many ex-students are seeing some of these old treasures for the first time.

The real thrill for Merwin and his partner Andrew George is working closely with ex-student contributors to publish each update. “With each update, we look forward to learning something new and working with an ever growing group of ex-students, who unselfishly give of their time”. In the near future, we hope to create a small Editorial Board comprised of representatives of the various classes, who can hopefully work with their own groups to solicit content and make this a truly harambee undertaking”.

We invite you to visit the Dr Ribeiro Goan School Ex-Student’s website located at:
http://dr.ribeiro.goan.school.googlepages.com/home

CLR SOCIAL 2007

( Click to view large )

This year’s social was held at the Claireport Place on September 30 and was a great success. The President this year was Manuel Araujo (son of Loutulim). The CLR rotates the Presidents based on the three villages it represents.

The 2007 Committee made up of the President and his wife, Noemia, as well as Effie and Derrick Coelho, Lynette and Francis Carvalho, Teresa and Olavo Valadares, Catherine and Edgar Faleiro, Violet and Antonio Monteiro and Sharon and Kenneth Monteiro (representing the youth).

The Holy Mass was celebrated by Fr. Edwin Gonsalves. The choir (made up entirely of our youth) was outstanding and trained by our talented Suzy and Darryl Timmins. CLR celebrates the combined feasts of the villages of Curtorim, Loutulim and Raia. It was heartwarming that the guests included a big majority of our youth as well as guests from Goa, Mumbai, Germany, United States and Montreal.

This year saw an even greater participation of our youth who it is hoped will maintain and promote our culture in the future. It is commendable to see that our youth, while accepting Canada as their homeland, are also anxious to recognize and preserve their roots.The young adults performed for us a very well appreciated dance that received an overwhelming applause. This dance integrating our culture with western dances and was directed by one of the village youth, Crystal Coelho, with the guidance of her mother, Effie Coelho.

The entertainment this year included the well known CLR traditional Mando group, led by our talented Emano Moniz ( Presdient 2008 & son of Raia ). Guests at our social always look forward to our traditional singing and this event has now become a trademark with our feast. The music was provided by D.J. Fatz and our guests enjoyed the dancing to his melodies.

CLR looks forward to the next feast in 2008 and they hope to see all their esteemed guests at the function.

Cunard to build a 92,000 tonne liner which will be called the Queen Elizabeth.

VALENCIA, Calif., Oct. 10 /CNW/ - Cunard Line announces that it has ordered a new 92,000-ton liner, to be named "Queen Elizabeth," scheduled to enter service in the autumn of 2010. Cunard, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) signed an agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the construction of the new 2092-passenger ocean liner, which will be built at Fincantieri's Monfalcone yard at an all-in cost of approximately $700 million. The vessel will be the second largest Cunarder the company has ever built.

"Cunard already owns and operates the two most famous ocean liners in the world, Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2, and a third -- Queen Victoria -- is due to be named by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, in the presence of HRH The Prince of Wales, in December of this year," said Carol Marlow, president of Cunard Line. "The decision to order another ship for Cunard Line has been  taken as a result of the strong booking response to the new Queen Victoria, and we are extremely pleased that Cunard will once again become a three-ship fleet so soon after the departure of the much-celebrated Queen Elizabeth 2 in November next year. Furthermore, we are delighted that Her Majesty The Queen has given her blessing to our calling this new Cunarder 'Queen Elizabeth', after our first vessel of that name."

The new ship follows a long line of famous Cunard liners stretching back to the company's inception as the first operator of a timetabled transatlantic service 167 years ago.

"It is a particularly special moment for Fincantieri to have secured a second order from Cunard at a time when we are nearing the completion of Queen Victoria," said Mr. Giuseppe Bono, Fincantieri's Chief Executive Officer.

"Cunard is the most famous name in passenger shipping and we are honoured to have been chosen to build Queen Elizabeth and to continue the tradition and heritage of that great company." Queen Elizabeth will offer the very best of Cunard's values and traditions, blended with every conceivable modern luxury that today's discerning travellers expect. Through her opulent public rooms and impeccable service, the new ship will reflect the grandeur which has been associated with Cunard ships since the introduction of the Mauretania in 1907; and from the outside, her black hull, gleaming white superstructure and distinctive red funnel will echo the classic characteristics of the company's distinctive liner heritage.

Queen Elizabeth will fly the Red Ensign with her home-port Southampton, as is the case with the other ships in the Cunard fleet. The agreement is subject to approval by the board of directors of Carnival Corporation & plc. Design details and initial itineraries will be announced in due course.

2007 CALANGUTE SOCIAL IN CANADA
By: Kevin D'Costa

The Villagers of Calangute joined together on September 15th, 2007 to celebrate their 16th Anniversary Social and the Feast Of Patron St. Alex. The Social was held at St. John's Hall, Mississauga, Ontario and was attended by well over 600 villagers and guests.

Mass was celebrated by Rev. Fr. Darren Dias, O.P. a Goan Priest with ties to the Calangute community and was promptly followed by lively music provided by Naked Flames and DJ Carlito. They got the crowd on their feet and on the dance floor all night long. A sumptuous dinner buffet included authentic Goan/Italian/Canadian cuisine and everyone enjoyed the delicious food.

The floor shows included: Corridinho Goan Folk Dance by 8 young Goan children under the direction of Dr. Lucina Pinto and a Special Goan Michael Jackson show performed by young Goan boy Orville Maciel. Both shows were fantastic and were well received by all.

The President of the Calangute Association, Canada, Antonio Mascarenhas, raised the toast and was proclaimed President unanimously of the Calangute Association, Canada for the seventh year, another 2 year’s term (2008/2009).

Congratulations to the President, Antonio Mascarenhas and his Committee for doing an outstanding job. We all had a wonderful time and look forward to another successful event next year!

For more information regarding next year’s Social please visit the Calangute Association website at http://www3.telus.net/calangute/