Photo courtesy of Cecil D'Cruz

Best Wishes to the Nairobi Institute (formerly The Goan Institute) - Nairobi, Kenya, on the occasion of their Centenary From: The Goan Voice Canada www.goanvoice.ca Visit www.nicentenary.com June 11, 2005 celebrations Read A History...THE GOAN INSTITUTE NAIROBI - ONE HUNDRED YEARS

From Goa, a Portuguese overseas province, the bold and the beautiful came to Nairobi. Some came as adventurers while others came as fortune hunters and did what they did back home, which is play, eat, drink and be merry. In 1890, they formed a Portuguese Cricket Club, which was the birth cell of the Goan Institute. Since culture is a critical factor in the development of any society, they needed an anchoring point and an identity so as to instill a sense of belonging, direction and purpose. On the 11th of June 1905, so as to capture that spirit and identity they convened a general meeting and re-designated themselves as "THE GOAN INSTITUTE NAIROBI" affectionately known as the 'G.I.'. Dr. Rozendo Ribeiro was its first President. Mr. Leandro D'Mello laid the foundation stone of the first G.I. club house situated on Ronald Ngala Street formally known as Duke Street courtesy of the colonial government. In those days, the Institute was one of the few stone structures in Nairobi and served as a focal point for Goan social and sporting activities up to 1955 when the Golden jubilee was celebrated in these hallowed premises. The idea of erecting the present building to Juja Road that was within close proximity to Eastleigh, Pangani, Ngara, and Parklands where there tration of Goans was proposed by Romeo Fernandes. The property on Duke Street was sold to East African Breweries and the proceeds of sale as well as the fund raising efforts of the members contributed to the construction of the present clubhouse. The foundation stone of the new Goan Institute was laid down in September 1955 by Sir Evelyn Baring, Governor of Kenya, who later opened the building on the 11th of June 1957. An indoor badminton court was added in 1965 and bar in kitchen extensions were carried out in 1972. The Institute has continued to make progress over the ears and in 1979 two squash courts were built. A beer garden and children's play area was constructed in 1984 and 1985 a Roll of Honor plaque incorporating the names of the Trustees since formation was unveiled. 2002 saw the refurbishing of the lounge, card room, children's play park and play room. The Goan Institute has served social, literary, dramatic and sporting needs of its members. It was the nursery for outstanding sportsmen and women who ushered Kenya into the world-sporting scene. At least on one occasion more than half of the Kenya hockey team comprised of G.I. players. Its hockey team was the first winner of the M.R. D'Souza Gold Cup, the blue riband of club hockey in East Africa. Our current hockey team endeavors to achieve the same in the year 2005. In 1981 the Goan Institute heeded the call for eradication of ethnic names and was christened the NAIROBI INSTITUTE. Although the GOAN INSTITUTE was basically an exclusive Goan cultural enterprise it is worth noting that today, the club is a multi-cultural Institution. Those from the hills of Hindustan, those form the plains of Pakistan; those from the slopes f Mt. Kenya and those from shores of Lake Victoria are all seated at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood with shared friendship and laughter and all because of those who came FROM GOA WITH LOVE.

Canadian PM meets families of Kanishka bombing victims
Toronto | June 08, 2005
Toronto, June 8 : Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin has met the families of passengers killed in the 1985 bombing of an Air-India flight mid-air and described the encounter as a "very emotional moment".
Martin and Bob Rae, Ontario's former premier who heads a one-man commission advising the Canadian government on what is popularly known as the Kanishka blast case, spent over two hours Tuesday evening with the families.
The meeting took place in Mississauga, a city west of Toronto.
"I spoke to some family members who had lost grandparents, uncles... In some cases, entire families were lost with only one member left," Martin said after the meeting.
"It is simply impossible to hear (the families) and not be deeply touched."
Martin termed the tragedy as one of the biggest losses of the country.
"In terms of the sheer number of people, the tragedy was one of our greatest losses. But when you meet the families, you're not talking about numbers - you're talking about a mother, father, uncle or children, and it's very, very real," he said.
A bomb blew apart Air-India aircraft Kanishka (Flight 182) off the coast of Ireland June 23, 1985, killing a
9 passengers, including more than 200 Canadians on board. The flight from Vancouver was bound for Mumbai.
Ripudaman Singh Malik, 58, and Agaib Singh Bagri, 55, were acquitted in March of first-degree murder and conspiracy charges in the case. A third man, Inderjit Singh Reyat, is serving a five-year sentence after he pleaded guilty.
Martin - the first Canadian prime minister to meet the families of the victims - will travel to Ireland for a 20th anniversary memorial service of the tragedy June 23.
He said Canadians would be asked to lower flags to half-mast on that date.
A ceremony is held in the Irish village of Ahakista, west of Cork, every year since the disaster.

The Toronto East Goan Seniors Association (TEGSA) celebrated their first anniversary dance to a sold out crowd of over 200 members.
	The exuberant crowd danced and sang to the tunes of our very own “yester melodies”. A newly formed seven piece band that took us back to the nostalgic years of our youth. We were very proud to note that five of them belonged to our seniors club. It was unanimously agreed that they did a fantastic job.
	At the function, president Claude Gomes unveiled the new TEGSA logo, artistically depicting our old and new heritage. The logo was designed by Luis Gomes Pereira to whom our association is grateful. Claude praised the committee for their hard work and diligence and predicted even greater success in the coming years. Two years ago we started with 75 members and since then our membership has grown to over 360.
We have also renewed our contract with Parks & Recreation Dept. to utilize their facility at Commander Hall in Scarborough effective 8th Sept 2005 until the end of April 2006. The hall is available to us every Thursday. He reminded the members to patronize the coming events such as “a taste of Goa” on Sunday June 26 , the annual picnic on Sunday August 14 and the trip to New York/Atlantic City from Aug 29 to Sept 1.: submitted by Netto Noronha

Instead of Fish Curry & Rice, it could be Fish & Chips in Goa !
Canadian McCAIN FOODS TO BUILD POTATO PROCESSING PLANT IN INDIA
FLORENCEVILLE, N.B. - McCain Foods Limited will construct an C$18 million potato processing plant north of Ahmedabad, Gujarat Province, India. President and CEO Dale F. Morrison said in making the announcement, "Our new production facility in India will help supply our business in the country and across the Indian Subcontinent. This factory is designed to expand as we build our business and grow the market for frozen potato products."
Construction of the frozen French fry and potato specialty plant will begin in June with completion scheduled for July 2006. The new plant is expected to employ between 100 and 125 employees at full capacity.
McCain Foods has been involved in agronomy trials in India since 1995 and since 2000 in Gujarat. Potatoes supplying the new facility will be contracted with independent Gujarat farmers.
The wholly-owned subsidiary McCain Foods India (Private) Ltd was established in 1997 and today has a staff of a dozen sales and other personnel reporting to Country Manager Jaideep Mukherji. McCain Foods is the largest manufacturer of frozen potato products in the world, and a major producer of other quality frozen foods. The company has more than 55 food production facilities on six continents and employs more than 20,000 people.

Goan Welfare Society - Nairobi - Newsletter April- May 2005 . Click to read.