The New Year Dine and Dance in Bukara Banqueting hall at Southall in 2021.
Photo Credits: Dionisio Fernandes
THE GOAN NETWORK | LONDON
With an estimated 10,000 Goans residing at Southall-UK, the Goan Community Association (GCA) at Southall has been uniting Goans in the area for the past 16 years, to preserve and promote Goan culture and tradition for the younger generation.
Besides organising different events for children, youth and seniors, the GCA has organised Choirs, celebrated Konkani Masses, feasts and festival dances, raised funds for the local Catholic Church, provided financial and other support to those Goans in need and repatriation of bodies to Goa.
The Goan Community Association Committee hosted the Sao Joao dine and dance at Southall-UK.
The first members who started the GCA were Nazareth D'Souza, Manuel Vaz, Santan Afonso, Victor de Verem, Miguel Raposo and Johnson D'Souza.
The present GCA committee comprises Johnson Fernandes (president), Nelson Pires (Vice President), Jose Mendes (General Secretary), Miguel Raposo, Lydia Fernandes, Liston Rodrigues and Teodoro Colaco (Advisor).
“The Goan Community Association, Southall, UK was formed in 2006 when the first batch of migrants from Goa with Portuguese citizenship came to live in Southall. Majority of them had come as single status in order to evaluate and understand the living style in the UK, before arranging their families to join,” said Johnson Fernandes, President of GCA Southall.
“During the early period, many found it difficult to understand the system. The GCA was formed to assist issues like finding accommodation, jobs and other requirements.”
“The most difficult issue was death and funeral arrangements. As majority were living as single status, there was no family to help in the event of death. That is when Goans settling in Southall found it was necessary to establish an association to cater to such happenings,” said Fernandes.
Over the years, many Goans have established their stay and brought their families to settle for good in the UK.
The GCA has been providing assistance for various causes.
“The priest’s accommodation was in urgent need of repairs and the GCA was quick to respond to the situation. The GCA has been assisting many to find jobs as we have a network to assist and other related issues like finding appropriate accommodation, guiding through other documentations or Local Council requirements.”
“Housing is the most expensive and major issue and progress in this direction is very positive. In the early stages, many Goans approached the local Catholic Church for help. The GCA took over this responsibility.”
The Goan Community Association Choir participates in carol singing at Southall-UK.
“The youth have also been guided on how to apply for academic studies and related subjects,” added Fernandes.
When contacted, GCA Advisor Teodoro Colaco said Goans by nature want to associate with one another once they are outside of the Goan soil.
“The GCA of Southall was formed to express our togetherness and deep rootedness away from Goan soil to our Konkani Maim Bhas and to promote our Goan identity. The GCA-Southall is like an umbrella where people from various parts of Goa, be they Muslims, Hindus, Catholics/Christians can take shelter and avail help in need,” said Colaco.
“The GCA Southall has an estimated 1,400 members and the membership fee is £30 per year.”
“The GCA has two separate dine and dance events in the Church hall and profits from these functions are donated to local Catholic church (St Anselm) for support, repairs and other expenses. The other dances we organise, like for Christmas, New Year, Easter and Valentine’s Day, are aimed at generating funds for our Association. We utilise this fund for repatriation of bodies to Goa and for other purposes.”
“The GCA at Southall is not only for entertainment, but also to protect and promote our rights. We strive to promote and defend our rights of being Goans by origin, by being foreign nationals in the UK and to persuade the Indian government to recognise our ‘Dual Nationality’ of being Portuguese and Indians,” he added.
Activities conducted by the GCA in Southall
* Sports for children
* Tie-Breaker and football tournaments for youth
* Programmes for seniors
* Choirs, celebrating Konkani Masses and Feast Masses
* Festival Dances
* Raising funds for the Catholic Church
* Support to Goans in need
* Repatriation of bodies to Goa
* Guiding new Goans with paperwork, council formalities
* Connecting new Goans with GCA members
* Assisting many Goans find jobs, accommodation
* Guiding youth on applying to educational institutions
The Goan Community Association Committee, Southall, UK along with Parish Priest Fr Jovito D'Souza.
