Congratulations to the "core group." I hope some of your insights,
methodology and work on documenting the heritage of Goans can be reproduced and
built-upon in other Goan Diaspora countries / regions.
Funding or this group is important since it defines goals and timetable to be
met; and shows how important the work you will undertake is appreciated by the
wider community including the govt and the academic community.
Your work can give us ideas of how things are done. Funding to reproduce
your work in other countries could be obtained from other sources, including
Goans from the respective diaspora communities. With many talented Goans
retired and soon to retire, this would a great project of love for many.
Work like this can only be done on a regional or national level. Some Goans in
the past have suggested forming national and international associations of
Goans. But they met resistance from other Goan groups who did not want to loose
their local identity based on association in some recent past. Hence the work
of the British-Goan group could give impetus and a "cause- celebre" to renew
that old topic of discussion again.
Best wishes again!
Regards, Gilbert Lawrence
Title: "Who the Bleep cares about my last column?"
By: Selma Carvalho
The Goan Association (UK) has been awarded an important grant by the Heritage
Lottery Fund, to study and record the lives of East African Goans living in the
UK. It is an honour for the Goan community to be selected by the Heritage
Lottery Fund. The bidding process is incredibly competitive and at any given
time, 15 other bids will be vying for the money. We may never know why we were
chosen but it does speak to the fact that our stories are an important and
integral part of the British national heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund
thought they were well worth preserving.
This project was spear-headed by Cliff Pereira, Eddie Fernandes and myself
under the aegis of the Goan Association (UK) headed by Flavio Gracias as
President and a team of board members. All of us feel strongly about
preserving our oral stories for future generations of Goans.
