Friends of Goa !
The idea of WORLD GOA DAY would have died a natural death had it not been for
the Internet collaboration of many Goan Organizations /Associations and
individuals.
The Goan Associations fell in line with a call made in the year 2000, and
year by year their number
has grown abundantly.
I thank them all for all their support they have extended to make this Global
Goan event such a great
success.
TOGETHER we are building a better GOAN WORLD :
Here below is a report from GOA Toronto , well done Goans of Toronto.
rene barreto
WORLD GOA DAY -
WORLD ALLIANCE OF GOAN ASSOCIATIONS.
Goanworld: http://worldgoan.blogspot.com/
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The WGD Toronto report :
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World Goa Day Picnic/International Fundraiser 2009
http://worldgoaday2009.blogspot.com/2009/07/world-goa-day-toronto.html
The Goan Overseas Association Toronto celebrated World Goa Day on theWaterfront
at Coronation Park in Oakville on August 15th,2009. We continued with a “pot
luck” picnic format and introduced our International Charitable component at
this event.
The newly created “Charitable Events” portfolio has been set up with certain
criteria and goals. The picnic was the first event for this portfolio. This
being a WORLD celebration, funds raised at this event will be used for an
‘International’ cause pre-approved by
the Executive Committee.
Some of you may have heard of the struggles Kennedy D’Souza of Kenya faced.
Kennedy, 30 years of age, had to undergo expensive treatment in Mumbai to
shrink a tumor in his head. Sadly, Kennedy lost his battle and leaves behind a
wife and infant child. Kennedy’s widow required assistance with expensive
hospital bills as well as funeral expenses.
The committee under the Charitable Events portfolio hosted the WGD/Charity
picnic with a dual purpose in mind - celebrating World Goa Day with Goans
around the globe and attempting to assist the D’Souza family. While we would
have liked to have seen a larger number of members/guest attend the WGD picnic;
we realize there were a few other events that prevented some from attending.
We express our appreciation to those who attended and are grateful to those who
could not attend but supported by sending donations towards our cause. Next
year's event will be celebrated closer to the actual WGD date of August 20th.
The day began early, with DJ Fatz playing tunes from the arrival time of
volunteers who came out to assist us with our set up to the end of the picnic
where he entertained out guests (non-stop) for the entire day! Our sincere
appreciation to DJ Fatz for assisting us with our fundraiser by donating his
services to the G.O.A. As usual Fatz, you were fabulous!
There were fun filled activities for all the children - including a splash pad
on site. Linda D’Sa managed the children’s activities very capably!
Activities included tug of war, balloon toss, treasure hunt and a very
interesting ‘eat the mini donut’ game for the teens! Soccer games were
coordinated for the youth and any adult that had the spirit of a youth! Thank
you to Jude Furtado for coordinating this for us. There were card games for
those that wanted to relax by the water and play a hand or two coordinated by
Pauline Coutinho and our thanks to her. There was plenty of mixing and
mingling including crowd-pleasing Tombola games….not forgetting the every
popular tea and desserts. Thanks to HemaPereira who ensured the tea was ready
(on time) for our Tombola games! Our gratitude goes out to Joana Nunes for
looking after all aspects of our Pot Luck luncheon. You did an amazing job
Joana! Special thanks go out to Mrs. Goes for donating
the meat for the Sausage on a Bun and thanks to Joana/Abel Nunes for the
donation of the buns and the coffee! We cannot forget to show our appreciation
to Audrey DaCosta who ensured the sausage meat was heated (just right) and for
putting together the buns for our guests. All funds raised from the sale of
this went towards our charity.
We also had a charitable raffle on the day. Our gratitude to Yvonne Rodrigues
who coordinated the raffle You did an amazing job! The youth put together a
Charity Bake Sale on site raising $105.00! Rosie Barreto, thanks for coming up
with the idea and ensuring things ran smoothly.
Finally, hats off to the organizing committee for their dedication to the
event. You are an amazing team! Audrey Almeida, Abel/Joana Nunes, Linda D’Sa,
OlavioDaCosta, Rosie Barreto, Faye Aguiar, HemaPereira, Yvonne Rodrigues,
Antonio Mascarenhas and Greta Dias.
On behalf of the Goan Overseas Association and the organizing committee of
World Goa Day, it is our hope that all those who attended had an enjoyable
time. The venue, date, and format for next year are currently under review.
We are open to your feedback/suggestions.
SeiraFurtado,
Director,
Charitable Events
Visit - for photographs of the event :
http://worldgoaday2009.blogspot.com/ > GOA TORONTO site
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WHAT DO the GLOBAL GOAN ASSOCIATIONS stand for ?
"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success
because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because
they are determined to." - George Allen
Follow Goanworld on twitter:
http://twitter.com/GOANWORLD
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