Class of 57 Golden Anniversary

Dear Members of the Class of '57, spouses, family and friends

Jambo and welcome. I am honoured to be asked to speak to you on our Golden Jubilee.

To my knowledge no class at the Goan School has ever attempted a reunion on this scale. Not that we are trying to make the Guinness Book of Records. Our intent here is to enjoy and celebrate the presence of our class and we are indeed blessed to have so many of our classmates at this event.

I want to acknowledge and welcome our overseas and out of town classmates who have traveled great distances to be with us in Toronto - ironically an aboriginal word meaning "Meeting Place". Kindly stand as I mention your name so we can see you - Dr. Sarto Antao, Avinash Chitnis, Christine Da Costa, and Adolf Costa Fernandes from the United States, Austrio Coutinho and Celine Noronha from Australia - we are especially delighted that Celine moved heaven and earth to make it to Toronto at the last minute. Dr. Pius Mendonca from Germany, Indira Bhansali, Eulogio Braganza, Justin Gracias and Felix Rodrigues, from the United Kingdom. We appreciate your effort. And here in The Greater Toronto Area we are fortunate to have a number of Class of '57 members around. Henry Braganza, Richard Caldeira from Ottawa, Satiro Diniz, John D'Souza, Hilary Fernandes, Gerson Fonseca. Lynette Noronha, Reynah Pereira - her dear Mum hosted our Class Picnic in Machakos 50 years ago. Bernard Ribeiro, Zerina Vaz and of course yours truly. And welcome to all the rest of you for supporting this milestone event.

I want to acknowledge the untiring efforts of John J. D'Souza and Bernard Ribeiro in Toronto and Felix Rodrigues in the UK, for helping to make this wonderful and memorable event possible. I want to thank Dr. Pius Mendonca, Avinash Chitnis, and Gerson Fonseca for sponsoring the 50th Anniversary Reunion Brochure and all the contributors of the articles. I also want to thank Avinash Chitnis for providing us with some wonderful 1950's music. Baseball caps were made possible through the generosity of Dr. Sarto Antao, Bernard Ribeiro and Dr. Sal Rocha.

Last but by no means least my dear wife Madeline and Bernard's dear wife Julianna deserve our thanks for so beautifully decorating the church and this banquet hall. Thank You sincerely. And thank you all for gracing this historic occasion with your presence.

So long ago, we started with a common frame of reference and went our separate ways. Tonight offers a non-competitive perspective and an assessment of how life has treated us.

It is hard to believe that 50 years have elapsed since our tender days at the Dr. Ribeiro Goan School in Nairobi. And yet it seems like only yesterday. From my perspective we kids from the Class of '57 did OK. In fact we did more than OK . Many of us, though now retired, have excelled in their chosen fields. Most of us came from hard working homes. Though we were not rich by to-day's standards, we had each other. To-night's gathering is a reflection of the effort many of us have made to maintain our close links with each other over the years. All of us became productive citizens, contributing to the societies in which we live. For this we thank God and our dear parents for all their sacrifices on our behalf.

To-night we also remember and salute our late teachers in particular Mr. Isidore de Mello, Mr. Anthony D'Souza, Mr. Roldao Menezes, Mr. Hedgwiges Nunes. May their souls rest in peace. Mr. Michael Britto, Principal Fr. Frank Comerford and and Mrs Yvonne D'Costa (here with her husband Wille) are all examples of those who imbued us with the values and the work ethic we all share. Also here this evening is Pammy D'Souza daughter of that famed Primary School Teacher Mrs. Jacques. Welcome.

1957 was also a landmark year. The Russians launched the first Sputnik satellite. Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson received the Nobel Peace Prize and Ghana was the first country in Africa to achieve independence. More recently, we have been fortunate to witness astronauts land on the moon and orbit the globe in space shuttles, and the Internet and cell phones change our lives.

Its been said that life is what happens to us while we are busy planning other things. Suddenly the word "SENIOR" applies to many of us. No one knows what the future holds for us The only certainty is NOW, TO-DAY, THIS MOMENT. Live for to-day, treasure and savour it for the future.

It has been suggested that we plant a tree in our memory in the grounds of the Goan School. For this purpose we have set up a collection basket in the banquet hall. I believe a dollar or two from each guest would allow us to undertake this worthy project. Thank you for your generosity.

Thank you again for gracing this occasion with your presence. I hope you will take this opportunity to renew friendships and catch up with each other. I wish you all a most enjoyable evening. Thank You.

I will now open the floor for any guest to come up and say a few words. In the interest of time we would like to limit each of your remarks to 2-3 minutes. Thank You.