GOA JESUIT 'OLD BOYS' PLAN TO REBUILD LINKS, REVIVE ALUMNI BODY >From Frederick Noronha
PANJIM, July 13: Jesuit-run schools in Goa, of which there are just a few, are making attempts to fight the odds and re-build their 'old boys' associations. This endeavour would hopefully harness for society some of the skills and talent of the men they gave a leg-up to early in their life. Last weekend was the turn of Britto's, a prominent Mapusa-based school in North Goa, which was launched in the 1940s, like some other major schools in this state. One common refrain emerging was that schools like St Britto's, which have educated nearly two generations of students over the past five decades, have a potent pool of ex-students with skills and gratitude waiting to be tapped. "Britto's has a lot of strength (in its past pupils). There are ex-students all over the world," said prominent businessman Eric Menezes, speaking at a meeting of 'old boys', as alumni of this institution prefer to call themselves. School principal Fr Apollo Cardozo sj, whom students from the 'seventies would remember as a young Jesuit Brother then en route to priesthood, agreed. "Our strongest supporters can be you," he told past pupils, in a short but rousing talk. Hector Almeida, the priest recently-appointed Rector at Britto's, who has been one of the key persons trying to re-build the old-boys association, got the discussions underway. In the South Goa headquarters town of Margao, the prominent Loyola's school, also run by the Jesuits, has been successful in getting its alumni active. Agnelo Alvares and Colin Coelho, both of the recently re-activated Loyola Ex-Students Association (LESA), came in from Margao to share tips of how an old-boys association could be effectively run. "If I'm not mistaken, Don Bosco's is one of the few alumni associations in Goa that is effectively run," said Agnelo. He added half-jokingly: "We're better off in one respect; our association (lapsed into inactivity) thrice. We revived it four times, and we're determined to keep it running now." LESA says they meet regularly, on a fixed Sunday of predetermined months, so that everyone anticipates a meeting on this day. Loyola's tries to combine 'fellowship' with 'service'. The first goal offers the chance for ex-students to simply get to know each other once again, while the latter builds on the commitment of ex-students of the Jesuits to pay back to society part of the debt owed for getting a superior education. LESA has begun been holding career-guidance camps for current students. "We choose off-beat careers. There's no point in talking simply about how to become engineers and doctors; everyone knows that. It's important for the parents to also come along, to understand issues better," said Agnelo. Some 257 persons had attended a medical camp organised by LESA, with specialists consulting on ENT, opthalmology and homeopathy issues, among others. Some of the doctors were Loyola ex-students, infact. LESA has also set up its website <www.lesagoa.com>. It is planning to possibly launch an electronic e-mail based mailing list. On the site, students are allowed to input details about their links with this institution, the years during which they studied, and even their best friend's names! Colin Coelho said there were plans to have a once-in-three-months newsletter, and the first issue has already been published. "It should be a tool for networking, given free to all our members," said Coelho. LESA has plans to revive the Fr. Emmanuel Castelino basketball tournament. On August 18, they're also planning an all-Goa inter-school quiz. Old boys from Britto's felt the need to build up a database that would help to track down as many students as possible. Rebuilding links between old boys and the school could help to build this institution into an even more useful 'societal asset', it was suggested. Some also voiced the view that the gratitude felt by ex-students for their education needed to be effectively harnessed for positive goals. Suggestions came up that alumni help could be garnered to build specific projects that would benefit the current generation of students, whether in the shape of a career-guidance centre, or music-training academy. Incidentally, Goa was the first place in India where Jesuits landed to work, as early as the mid-sixteenth century. But this small state is yet to see the active involvement of Jesuits in running higher-education centres of learning, unlike elsewhere in India where they even run autonomous colleges. Some ex-students have already informally set up a Britto's old-boys network via the Internet, at groups.yahoo.com/group/brittos It currently has some 33 members. But other participants felt that for such an activity to become fruitful, participation levels needed to touch 'critical mass'. One suggestion was that the 'old boys' could be located by accessing school records and writing to their families to locate current contacts. Eric Menezes was agreed upon as as the old boy's interim president, Roy D'Souza as the vice-president and Joseph Mascarenhas (who took much trouble to revive the body, but could not be present) was decided upon as part of the committee, among others. (ENDS) ********************************************************************** Some Net-based links: [EMAIL PROTECTED] St Britto's School [EMAIL PROTECTED] St Britto's Jesuit Community [EMAIL PROTECTED] Britto's (Informal) Old Boys' List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Send mail to join above list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fr Hector, rebuilding the alumni LESA www.lesagoa.com ********************************************************************** =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
