IN APPRECIATION - GOAN INSTITUTE NAIROBI 115th ANNIVERSARY Many congratulations to the President, the Committee present and past, together with all members and staff of the Goan Institute Nairobi on their 115th Anniversary in 2020 and sharing with us on social media. It was good to see that the Covid 19 crisis did not put a damper on their celebrations and they marked this special day with a video that truly reflected the life and happy times enjoyed by those of us who lived and are still living in Nairobi over the years.
Click here for video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp9-8jMNVww&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3BiyIyHB73NTJb4QtJ0dZQ_-5B As a teenage 17 year old graduate of the Goan Institute in 1974 this video brilliantly put together by Creative Georgia Fernandes captures our culture, traditions and languages bringing a tear or two as it reflected a true record of how many of us enjoyed our time at the Goan Institute Nairobi some 50 years ago. The fat legs of the snooker table was a reminder of how some of us teenagers left school early to play on the tables before the adults came from work as this was forbidden territory, but then there was always team building events with rules and regulations in badminton, table tennis, darts, football and hockey, the GI colours were blue and white. The weekends was Tombola with family on a Sunday, the ballroom dances that started in the evening and finished early morning had really good dance bands. I remember the wooden floor of the highly polished dance floor being refurbished and fitted with springs, the effect was amazing so were the luminous decorations in strobe lighting under the guidance of professional but humble artists like the late Cajitan Fernandes. As teenagers we did not have much money a bottle of good aftershave was borrowed and used to be shared by at least 10 of us unknown to the unsuspecting owner who bought it duty free in their travels abroad. There was always a supply with the musicians. I can also recall Sports visits to Nakuru, Kisumu and Christmas tree parties funded by the institute. To earn pocket money some of us worked at the Nairobi Racecourse. I ran a Coca Cola stall at Nakuru car racing. Packing bottles in ice and sawdust to keep out the heat from equatorial sun and collecting empty bottles for a deposit refund. The bonus was a front row view of cars like Alfa Romeo, Datsuns, Fords and Toyota burning rubber also a range of motorcycles. At Easter there was the East African Safari Rally where the cars were tested to the limit, progress was followed on the voice of Kenya Radio and Television Joginder Singh in his Volvo was always the favourite. All said and done the Goan Institute must be the only one whose logo does not contain a coconut tree and was a stepping stone for many of us who migrated mainly to Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, United States and Europe flying the flag for GOA with a coconut tree in its logo at various Goan settlements around the world, a search for identity perhaps. There is a saying Brown on the outside Muzungu (white) on the inside. I now live in Thornton Heath, England and around 1974 met up with senior members of the Goan Association UK formerly known as the East African Catholic Society. I was the youngest of few surviving members of the group that would go on various trips after work looking for suitable premises, that’s another very long story. Going back to the video, this is not only wonderfully put together but of great significance to put the record straight and I hope those who have not lived in East Africa but have developed an interest to write about our lives there have an opportunity to view it and get a correct glimpse into our lives there. It was refreshing to see the video capture, with suitable background music, 115 years of achievements of the Goan Institute Nairobi, through acts of performing, singing, laughing, celebrating and shuffling. Entertaining events were highlighted for the youth and senior members to participate in and enjoy be it Bollywood Mania, Carnival, Tombola/Bingo, Ladies Diva Night, and Bazaars. Sports featured prominently, they “kept you playing” the video said with darts, table tennis, badminton, snooker, cricket, hockey, Team Goa enjoying a well deserved “after party”. “Mog” was also in the mix, a Valentine’s Traffic Jam Party, and Valentine’s in the Golden Years. The festive season started with the “Christmas Toy Drive” to help bring joy to kids in need, the lighting of the Christmas Tree , the Children’s Christmas Party, Seniors Christmas Lunch and for those who wished to try their luck the Grand Christmas Raffle. The midnight mass and the following day the Boxing Day function. “The Great Gatsby” bringing in the new year in style. Covid 19 did not deter activities, on-line fitness for children and adults were introduced, talks and forums and youth were enticed with a programme of “how to turn your dreams into a career”. Looking to the future, “taking care of the environment” was being progressed through a programme of recycling, security was being stepped up and sponsorship and mentoring to connect with the youth was being developed. The last line of the video brought the all important message our community around the world can aspire to “it is important we stay together”. When I arrived in the UK in December 1974, we did see the importance of staying together and much of what was achieved by the Nairobi Institute was being replicated here. Sadly on 21 September 1998 I got a telephone call at 2.00am in the morning from the late Norton Antao saying that our Clubhouse at Ravensbourne in Kent was on fire, I replied good and hoped that the evil buzzing around it burnt with it . The building burnt to cinders however the evil survived and is still with us today. We are thankful that the then President Mr Cecil Pereira who came face to face with the muzunju arsonists was not injured. This was the start when the ethos and ideals of the East African Goan was eroded . Today in 2020, twenty years after the millennium, we are still homeless with our young people not knowing whether they are coming or going. In my opinion, today nothing of this is left, progress to keep the community together has ground to a halt, most of the disorganised functions by Goan Association UK are poorly attended and have been running at a loss over the last ten years, even the Intellectual property, the Logo, was defaced at the 50th Anniversary in 2016. I am thankful for the presence of the remaining properly run Goan and Village Organisations when celebrating their feast and events which give our people of all generations the opportunity to Pray together, meet and greet, dine and dance to our musicians playing. This is the only glimmer of hope we have of keeping the next generation “together”. On 29 October 2011, a training session was held at the Indian YMCA in London to video the oral history of East African Goans. This Project was funded by the National Lottery with a grant to the G.O.A. UK. In my opinion, the final product painted a distorted picture of our life in East Africa (by people who never lived there). The GI Nairobi 115 Anniversary video is spot on and puts a right “spotlight” on how things were so, once again, thanks for sharing. Former Tanzania Resident Lui Godinho informs the Dar es Salaam Goan Institute celebrated its 100 Anniversary, the building in the then German East African Colony was designed by the late Architect Tony Almeida with a floating dance floor amongst its many features, A documentary in Portuguese is being commissioned by RTP Lisbon. Well done and thank you to our creative and enterprising people in East Africa. Melvyn Fernandes Thornton Heath Surrey 26 July 2020
