The Long and Winding Road

This article was was written to help promote the DRGS Alumni Memorial Mass (Goa), Jan 26, 2016. It appeared on GoaNet and was mailed out extensively.

NIL DESPERANDUM, the motto of the Dr. Ribeiro Goan School, is also a fitting tribute to our forefathers, who had the foresight to establish such a noble institution that was the breeding ground for brilliant professionals and outstanding sportsmen and women. Even though a formidable undertaking, against daunting odds within and without, they persevered, and for this at least thirty four hundred students and the community at large owe them a lifetime of gratitude...

The Goan Overseas Association was founded in 1927, with the prime objective of promoting education. Dr.A.C. L. de Souza was the driving force of this organization, ably supported by B.A. Rodrigues, Dr. E. Dias, P.S. Fialho, L. da Cruz, Jos A. de Souza and fourteen other dedicated members. Dr. de Souza was an astute and appropriate leadership choice principally because he was a well placed politician who had the ear of a large segment of the establishment.

The Goan School officially opened in 1928 on very modest premises loaned by Dr. Rosendo Ribeiro which basically consisted of a one-room class hosting approximately 35 young children of Goan origin. The fledgling school had some initial teething problems, but survived all the missteps and upheavals. It is important to note that, at inception, the school’s student body was co-ed, which was uncommon for the time.

In 1931, the British Government, thanks in great part to Dr. A.C.L. de Souza, donated to the G.O.A. a plot of land on which to build a new school to accommodate the growing numbers of Goan migrant children in Nairobi. The foundation stone was laid by Gen. Sir Joseph Byrne, and the new building was opened on December 19, 1931, and in keeping with a commitment from the G.O.A., the school was named ‘Dr. Ribeiro Goan School’ in recognition of his philanthropic contribution of thirty thousand shillings.

In 1939, an adjacent piece of land was purchased which in 1955 became the Secondary School. Dr. A.C.L. de Souza laid the foundation stone, and thus came to fruition the long sought after institution of further learning. The building itself cost five hundred thousand shillings, the cost of which was shared by mainly the Portuguese government, and the British Kenya government extended a generous helping hand. Fittingly, The Portuguese Consul General performed the opening ceremony on May 25, 1956.

In 1966, the school was renamed ‘Parklands School’ to keep pace with the political winds of change. For similar reasons, this hitherto almost exclusively ‘Goan’ school, was compelled to now accept students from different racial backgrounds. Interestingly, in tandem with the name change, the school motto was inexplicably changed to “Educatio Omnia Vincit.” In the last year however, after much negotiation and pressure from local Alumni, the school name and motto have once again changed to reflect its original name. It is now called the Dr. Ribeiro Parklands School. The renaming ceremony was attended by the grandson of its benefactor, Renee Ribeiro deSouza who made a substantial donation to the school.

Almost the entire Goan School Staff were Indian graduates who attended the famed St. Xavier’s College in Bombay/Mumbai. Many of them proceeded to the U.K. to enhance their academic credentials, returning with a new and more progressive approach to education.

Over the years the school has produced its share of Doctors, Engineers, IT Professionals, Entrepreneurs, Teachers, Authors and Artists, Men and Women of the cloth, many in well placed positions globally. Profiling only a few would be inappropriate, but certainly does not diminish the achievements of all our alumni. Mention can be made of the grandson of our illustrious Dr. A.C.L. de Souza, Dr. Alan de Souza who has resided in Goa for the past 36 years and been involved in the field of education, most recently as Principal. Dr. Alan de Souza is a supporter of the Memorial Mass in Goa.

There are chapters of the DRGS Alumni Association based in Toronto, Canada. and London, U.K. So then the question is what are the aims and aspirations of the alumni?

The singular and most important goal is to give back to the global community and provide assistance/outreach whenever and wherever possible. For instance, donations are made on an ongoing basis to the Goan Welfare Society in Kenya. In addition, our Alma Mater has been fitted with a new library and been helped with the cost of text books and computers to facilitate continued learning at the highest levels; the Basilica de Bom Jesus and Navjyoti Rehabilitation Centre Children’s home have also been assisted. Memorial Masses and reunion events in Canada and the U.K. are well supported financially and materially, not of course, to mention the gratis choirs and talented musicians which illustrates our collective determination to ‘give back’ whenever the opportunity presents itself.

There is also the continuing quest to connect us all, because our forefathers would like this, and also because we all have a great sense of camaraderie and connection, most often because our parents were strongly connected and were major influences in the success of the Goan School. Indeed, many of them were actively involved on the school board of governors. Without question it would be gratifying to see all their names in print, but because of compelling brevity, it is regrettably not possible.

The DRGS website, created in 2003 by Merwin de Souza who is based in Florida, helps to promote worldwide alumni events and keeps alumni informed and in touch with one another. Many of our individual class newsgroups facilitate daily discussion amongst former classmates on a wide range of topics such as politics, technology updates, good health tips, general articles relevant to the class age group. These newsgroups have proven to be a great source of emotional support in hours of need. Our uniquely warm school spirit, altruism and deep sense of caring is not by accident: we were always fortunate to be surrounded by good mentors.

Finally, the point has to be made that the efforts of the alumni are geared to our immediate. There is no active plan of succession…and for good reason. Our children continue to move in different directions, culturally, spiritually and mentally. They cannot be expected, nor would they want to be an extension of our network. So let us alumni resolve to continue on, and let the universe unfold… as it should.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS : We wish to acknowledge use of material contained in the article, “Tracing steps of a Proud Institution Information” taken from the Toronto Alumni Reunion Brochure 75th anniversary, Sept 13th 2003.