MAINTAINING OUR COMPOSURE
DURING THE PANDEMIC
BY ARMAND RODRIGUES
Covid-19 has certainly
disrupted normal living conditions worldwide.
Interaction with family and friends has taken an unprecedented and
unpleasant twist. Socializing face-to-face
in harmonious fellowship is now taboo. We have been segregated and left
stranded. Gloom and doom are constant bedfellows. and may be the new norm for
now.
In this milieu some rays
of hope continue in the form of disseminators of Goan endeavours. Frederick Noronha in Goa; Eddie Fernandes in
London, England: Salus Correia and Cyprian Fernandes in Australia: keep the
embers aglow. Canada fell off the radar
with the sad demise of John D’Souza a couple of years back. And, Darrel
Carvalho persevered and put forth a newsletter on behalf of the Westend
Seniors’ Club in Toronto. But hats off
to Greta Dias, the intrepid Director of the Goan Overseas Association
(Toronto)’s retirees, who fills the void best of all, by churning out stuff
beyond compare. The pandemic certainly
put her mettle to the test. Phone calls, emails and virtual imaging have proven
to be invaluable tools in her efforts.
For ten years Greta
fronted face-to-face activities for the retirees. When these efforts got
disconnected from the scenario, Greta embarked on an ambitious and unique
program of providing palatable alternative strategies for members. These were
in the form of “sanitized” material doled out at a furious pace. Her efforts
have aligned well with members and even a few on other continents. Her
think-tank includes her husband, sisters and a whole slew of talented
individuals. The ongoing social diversions include : a monthly newsletter with
special themes; interesting articles; pictures of members’ gardens,
handicrafts, old school photographs; recipes; videos of line-dancing and keep-fit programmes; health
& welfare ; computer literacy; a primer on Zoom usage; Rosary on Zoom every week; ......the list goes on. For the meat and
potatoes types like us in isolation, this could be just what the doctor
ordered. Some colourful covers (below) reflect the diversity. All this virtual
imaging was facilitated because of the impetus of the President of the Goan Overseas Association
(Toronto), Selwyn Colaco.
What will Greta and her
team think of next ?
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