The Members of the Goan Welfare Society - Kuwait, organized a farewell party in honour of their former President, Mr. Tony Cordeiro, who has decided to leave Kuwait for good, after having lived here for 39 long years. During the interactive session, all the members expressed their good feelings towards Mr. & Mrs Cordeiro and showered praises on them for all the good work they have done for the benefit of Goans in Kuwait. It should be noted that Mr Cordeiro has been one of the key Promoters & Director on Board of Gulf Goans Hotels Co. Ltd - Hotel Goan Heritage one of the monuments of Kuwait Goans. Together we can accomplish laurels.
A memento was presented to Mr. Cordeiro, in recognization of his invaluable services to the Goan community, being a dedicated member of the Goan Welfare Society -Kuwait, from 1990 - 2006. It may be recalled that he served in various positions in the committee, from time to time, and always did his best to ensure that the Society developed into a major force to reckon with. Those who spoke on the occasion were, Mr. Julio Cardozo, Mr. Wilson Coelho, Mr. Cajetan Pereira, Ms Muriel Alphonso, Mr. Menino Duarte and Mr Rabindra Pimenta. Each one of the speakers recounted the contribution of Mr. Tony Cordeiro and highlighted his achievements, during his tenure as the President of the Goan Welfare Society from 2000 - 2003 and also as a Social Worker taking up Goan issues, endearing himself to the Goan community. In his emotional speech, Mr. Tony Cordeiro, expressed grateful thanks to all the members present, for honouring him and his wife on the occasion and showering him with praises and appreciating his life time service to the Goan community. He also spoke briefly on the sacrifices and hardships he had to go through while discharging his duties for the benefit of the Goan community. In an informal conversation with Mr. Rabindra Pimenta, during the interactive session, Mr. Tony Cordeiro, had the following message to convey to fellow Goans. The extracts of the Tete-a-Tete, are as follows:- 1 - Interestingly, you have spent major part of your prime life in Kuwait, could you share your experience with the younger generation of Goans? In a very composed manner, Mr Cordeiro stated, "I came to Kuwait at a tender age of 22 years. The environment then was family oriented and there was a lot of unity and togetherness, not only among the Goans but all around. Families and friends got together very often for birthday, anniversary celebrations, etc. I remember, we had a family Group of around 15 to 20 families who got together once a month. The events were well organised, with games for both children and adults. Picnics were also a common feature and again a great entertainment. Most importantly, I do not remember having any disagreements or misunderstandings. The message to the young generation of Goans is to get the older generation of Goans involved in their activities and make them feel needed and loved." 2- You are known to be very active in social service for a long time,could you give a brief account of the various social activities that you were involved in? And also name the Organisations/Associations you were involved with and what were your achievements? Mr. Cordeiro's reply; "My first involvement was with Kuwait Goans, of which I was the President for a short time before invasion. Also I was the President of Saligao Sports Club, while still a member of the Goan Welfare Society. At the helm of these organisations, I have always maintained dignity and urged for self respect in all dealings." 3- You have been in the Travel business as Manager of reputed Airlines, could you share your travel experiences and your memorable visits to places of interest worldwide? Mr. Cordeiro replies: "I have travelled to various parts of the world, apart from Goa, my most memorable trip has been to Spain, where the sites are breathtaking, the beaches are beautiful and their cultural heritage is amazing." 4- Your most recent spate of community service was with the Goan Welfare Society, could you highlight a few of your achievements as the President of the GWS? Mr. Cordeiro contented: "During my tenure as President of GWS, the achievements were not mine alone, but of the whole committee. The democratic process was excellent and nothing was undertaken by me alone but with the consent and views of the whole committee, which is the most important aspect for success. My request to the GWS committee to organize a campaign to collect funds for a Goan child with life threatening heart disease was so successful, that the child today is still alive." 5- What is your advise to the present managing committee of the Goan Welfare Society - Kuwait? In reply Mr. Cordeiro stated: "My advice to the present GWS committee is to work with unity and harmony as one body. Any discord should be solved within the committee and through due democratic process." 6- What are your plans for the future? Talking about his plans, Mr. Cordeiro mentioned: "My plans for the future are simple; enjoy time with my family and enjoy life in our beautiful Goa." 7- Finally, you and your family have done well for yourselves, and we as Goans are proud of you all, could you share the secret of your success with us? This is what Mr. Cordeiro had to say: "The secret of success is love of God and neighbour. Be humble and respect everyone without distinction. And of course, I owe a lot of my success to my wife, as the saying goes, behind every successful man there is a woman, my wife Filu has been true to this saying and I could not have achieved so much without her constant advice, encouragement, both in public life and so also in raising our children. And basically we thank the Good Lord for His abundant blessings." In his last words he said: "God bless us all." In conclusion, let us all together bid farewell to our cherished member, Mr. Tony Cordeiro, an accomplished Goan personality, as he ventures into a semi retired life, back home, on the soil of his beloved homeland - G O A. With kind regards, Rabindra Pimenta Member of the committee Goan Welfare Society - Kuwait. _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
