Winning in sport and in life
Inspired by Mum and Dad
(Family of the late Bernard Lazarus and Lourdinha Costa-Fernandes family)
(One priest eleven doctors)
The parents: Lourdinha and Lazarus Bernard Fernandes
The siblings: Astrid Fernandes, Yasmin Fernandes, Lactancio Fernandes Joana Fernandes Lobo, Mitelia Fernandes Paul
TEAM FERNANDES: MiteliaFernandes
Paul (NBCT) (USA Board Certified Teacher) Joana Fernandes Lobo, Astrid
Fernandes, Yasmin Fernandes,Lieutenant Colonel US Air Force Lactancio da Nelva Fernandes USA
Father Vicente Caetano da Costa
(ordained 1888) Chapel of St Lawrence Arrossim, Goa.
Fr Vicente was Lourdinha’s grand
uncle.
Joseph Fernandes,
Jamie Lobo,
Sharon Lobo,
Allan Lobo, Officer Ivan D'Souza
Dr Rowan Paul USA
Dr Raina Paul USA
Faye Fernandes JD USA
Dr Paul Fernandes USA
Dr Victoria Fernandes USA
Dr Diane Fernandes USA
Dr George Verghese (Dr Raina Paul’s
husband)
Dr Erica Leo USA (Dr Paul
Fernandes’ wife)
Dr Scott.
The Kenya women’s hockey team with the late Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi.
Standing 3rd left Teresa Mendonca Mandricks
Standing 4th right Mitelia Fernandes Paul
Standing 6th right Ivy Monteiro
Kneeling....2nd right Melba Almeida D'Souza.
Father: Nuvem, Salcette
Mother: Arossim, Salcette
Lazarus Bernard Fernandes was born in Zanzibar in 1902. Tragically
his father died when Lazarus was only two. According to Mitelia: “Our
grandfather was surveying some property with some British chaps. They were all
riding along, when they came upon an African fellow lying, mourning on the
ground. Our grandfather, who was super compassionate, decided to dismount his
horse and check the man out. The British fellows urged him incessantly not to
do this.” Why? Because smallpox was prevalent in the country. Well, our
grandfather got infected with smallpox and died in Zanzibar. His widow
returned to Goa with two children, Lazarus who was 2 years old and the other
child, Anthony who was only 8 months old. According to the family, his widow Maria Piedade had to
take her two kids to GOA. She lived with her
relatives from then on.
Their dad’s father Luis Antonio Fernandes had come to Africa in the
early 1800s. He was certainly a pioneer at only 20-something years of age. Very
few Goans had ventured into the dark continent during those early years.
Lazarus Bernard Fernandes returned to Africa in 1918 at the age of 16.
He obviously had the spirit of adventure or Zanzibar had made a deep impression
on him, albeit at a very tender age. It was not long before he was working for
the East African Railways and Harbours, after all, he was a bit of a whiz at
maths and accounts clerks and the like were in great demand.
Mitelia told me: “By the way, he loved learning so much, he
was determined to reach the heights in English. He used to read the
newspaper and seek out the meanings of ALL unknown words in the dictionary. He
became proficient in English. When he taught us essay writing we were in for a
very CHALLENGING time with him. Similarly, with Maths He taught us Indian
maths shortcuts in problem solving. Interestingly enough, I taught all my
kids, grandkids, and the school kids his methods as a backup method. The
usual comments were from many of my students ..."Your dad's method is so
easy, why do we have to learn the other hard method? My dad could
speak nine languages, all self-taught!"
He saved his money, went back to GOA after five years and bought a
property in Nuvem for his family to live in. He married Lourdhinia, spent some time in Goa and returned to Kenya in 1941. In those pioneering early days, life was not easy but some of those
early families toughed it out and made good.
THIRD FROM LEFT Teresa
Mandricks, 6th from right Ivy Monteiro (manager) fourth right Dr Mitelia Paul (Fernandes) standing next to
coach Mahan Singh, second right Melba Ameida D'Souza … with the late Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi hosting
the East African Hockey team.
THE late Lazarus Fernandes, a
pioneer Goan, a dedicated sportsman and
a man with great political foresight and quick to grasp the intricacies of
life’s shifting sands, was quick to inspire his children (Lt Colonel Dr
Lactancio Fernandes US Air Force, Joan Lobo (Fernandes), Astrid Diane
Fernandes, Dr Mitelia Fernandes Paul and Yasmin Fernandes in achieving some of the
highest awards available in sport, education and in their chosen fields of
employment.
Lazarus Fernandes was one of the
pioneer founders of the unforgettable Dr Ribeiro Goan School. He did this with
his friend, the enigmatic Dr A.C.L De Sousa and other like-thinking Goans. To
this day, while there may not be any Goans in the school, it remains a
permanent monument to the foresight and courage of Goans, now long with their
Maker and others waiting in their wings. Lazarus Fernandes served on the Dr
Ribeiro Goan School Board of Governors for many years.
Lazarus was also a founder member
of the original Nairobi Railway Goan Institute (later the Railway Institute for
political reasons, and now no more) and the Nairobi Goan Institute in its
formative years.
Needless
to say, Mr Fernandes was a dedicated sportsman … even in his seventies. He
excelled in tennis, soccer, badminton and cricket in both Kenya and Canada. His
daughter Mitelia Paul Fernandes excelled in track and field, badminton and
field hockey in Kenya and Canada, reaching representative heights. Dr Lactancio Fernandes excelled in track and
field and soccer in England.
Mr
Fernandes also convinced his wife to take up various sports in Kenya and
Canada. Yasmin Fernandes and Joan Lobo played field hockey and badminton in
Kenya and Canada. Likewise, Dr Mitelia Paul (Fernandes) succeeded in reaching
to the top in track and field, badminton and field hockey at all levels in
Kenya and Canada.
Mitelia’s passions were track and field and
hockey. It all began with their dad
getting Mitelia, her sister Astrid and other siblings to run to the RGI
pavilion and back to the club house. These were the first steps on their road
to athletics success, with each winning the school championships as juniors and
open seniors and followed this up with successes at the RGI and Nairobi Goan
Institute.
Astrid
went on to join the Spartans Field and Track group where she met (the late)
Nifa and Trifa D’Souza and Bertha Fernandes, all brilliant sprinters. Sister
Trifa hogged the running tracks around Kenya for many years. She will never be
forgotten.
Soon Stanley De Souza (brother of the
legendary men’s hockey coach Anthony De Souza) took on the task of forming the
first all-girls hockey team with little or no facilities and, yet he succeeded
in training many of his charges achieving some of the highest recognition in
the country by representing Kenya, just a few brown faces in a sea of whites.
Astrid also played in the Kenya hockey seconds. Astrid was an awesome sprinter,
being among the top in 100 and 220 yards. She was brilliantly competitive.
Mitelia recalls: “I represented Kenya for
many years as a left winger and later as inside left. Getting into a team
dominated by white women on and off the field was tough. However, I cracked
that nut and forced my way into the team. In the 1960s four Goan girls: Bertha
Fernandes, Melba Almeida, Teresa Mandricks and Mitelia Fernandes earned
national caps. The Goans were part of the Kenya teams that played against
England, International Wanderers, USA, Japan, India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka),
Holland, Uganda and other national teams.
“The highlight for a combined
Kenya/Uganda team was a tour of India and playing the All-India Championships
and playing in New Delhi, Mumbai and cities in the Punjab. However, the
highlight of the tour was being invited to tea with the Prime Minister of India
the late Indira Gandhi.”
It was not long before Mitelia left for
Canada, preparing the way for the rest of the family to migrate there as well.
In Canada, her father joined similarly minded Goans in founding the Toronto
Goan Overseas Association which I think is a shining light for similar
associations around the world. The rest of the family continued doing what they
did best, playing sports and succeeding in their chosen fields.
The first and only Kenya
women’s hockey team toured India. Mitelia Fernandes told me she would never
forget the trip. “What a memory... a great hockey experience and trip. They
took us to the foothills of the Himalayas, and we toured and played to full
arenas around all of Punjab. Next, we went to Bombay and, of course, we played
in Delhi. Too bad we did not get to GOA. All expenses were paid by Kenya
Government. We were so fortunate to have this experience. We always reminisce
about our trip.”
During her playing career,
Mitelia scored 308 goals over 27 years.
For Kenya/East Africa 30
goals
Ontario Provincial team and Canadian
Masters 33
School/Club level 245.
In Mitelia’s own words: “I
began playing competitive hockey in school and finished in 1968 playing for
Kenya. I continued playing in the USA and Canada from 1968-1986 when I became a
work-sports-mum and retired from teaching (Kenya, Canada, USA) in 2015 after 50
years.”
