Hi Chris ! Thanks for your valid criticism on the low contribution made by the 300 attendees at the GOANJ Spring Fling dance in New Jersey.However, I would like to put certain issues in perspective.
This was a 50/50 raffle, hence the balance of $450 was set aside for other expenses. Many of the attendees were kids below ten years. But the two ASRO sites are ongoing projects being undertaken by the GOANJ, but not exclusively confined to the Association.. At our annual summer picnic in July, we will be exhibiting collages of various pictures taken by some members who visited the site in January. I am certain there will be another collection for the project. The ASRO project is among several projects that the GOANJ has undertaken over the years in Goa. These include paying the college fees of some students whose parents are not very well off, Old Age Homes and a Home for Orphans.Our contributions are joint - i.e. by individuals and "padded" by the Association. On a wider spectrum, members give to their "pet Projects" in Goa - notably in their ancestral villages. Some of our members have contributed immensely to the Goa-America Heart Foundation whose Cardiac Outpatient Diagnostic Clinic will take off very soon at the JMJ Hospital in Alto Porvorim in Bardez, Goa. Others who were born and brought up in Pakistan and East Africa also make contributions to where they had their humble beginnings. And of course, we also donate to projects in this great country and I suppose I can speak for all goans who reside in the First World. The ASRO project is only a "slice" of the giant cake; so my dear friend, Chris , we all have "tall orders" to grapple with. Remember the old English adage- one pound is better than no pound at all. rgds. Tony Barros. Union, New Jersey