A lovable priest was he

Peacefully passed away the Divar-born, revered, elderly priest, Fr. Agapito Fonseca, on December 3, at the Clergy Home in Porvorim. Though Fr Fonseca was not keeping good health, on August 24 this year, when he had celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his Sacerdotal ordination, few felt that the compassionate priest's end was so near. . In 1951, he was ordained priest at Dandy's Papal Seminary in Sri Lanka. Among his batchmates were the Archbishops of Karachi and Chennai. For eight years the genial priest served the Simla mission. Then he came down to Goa and taught at two of Goa's pioneering educational institutions--Arpora's St Joseph’s High School and Monte de Guirim's St Anthony’s High School. Subsequently, he took charge as the Headmaster of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour High School in Cortalim and then moved on to St. Xavier’s High School in Moira.

By 1978, Fr Fonseca became the Chaplain of Mae de Deus Chapel in Gaunsavaddo in Siolim. While at Gaunsavaddo, he was the spiritual advisor for the Holy Cross Convent nuns. About twelve years later he developed health problems, which necessitated his shifting to the Clergy Home, where he spent the last 12 years of his fruitful life before the Creater summoned him to his heavenly home. Being a good and affectionate pastor, his former parishioners rarely missed an opportunity to call on him. I remember Alister Miranda mentioning once that a bus-load of Gaunsavaddo parishioners went to greet him on his Golden Jubilee last August. Bishop Ignatius Lobo (Bishop emeritus of Belgaum) too was present there to felicitate Fr Fonseca. In his demise, we lost a polyglot, who could hold his own in English, Konkani, Hindi and Urdu. Moreover, he loved his mother-tongue Konkani very dearly and often questioned the veracity of the claim that Marathi is the language of Goans. Fr Fonseca will be certainly missed by many who knew him.

GEORGE PINTO HONOURED: The College of Humanities and Arts at San Jose State University, California, has selected Goanetter George Pinto of Goa Sudharop as their first G.O.L.D. (Graduate of the Last Decade) winner. It is the first of an annual award presented to an alumni for outstanding contribution to the College and University. George has also been nominated for the 'Distinguished Public Service Award' by the California Society of CPA's. He was nominated last month to serve next year on the Board of the San Jose Chapter of California CPA's.

GOA SUDHAROP AWARDS: Goa Sudharop Community Development, Inc., a US-based non-profit organization (NGO) working for the betterment/development of Goa and Goans and based in the USA, has announced its annual 2002 Goa Sudharop Awards to the following Goans for their outstanding work in various spheres:

Vijaydatta Lotlikar: For promoting the entrepreneurial spirit. A lab assistant who turns out beautiful, environment-friendly articles of daily use out of the coconut shell. More importantly he sees this craft as a source of employment for the underprivileged and jobless youth, and conducts several training classes to propagate the trade.

Auda Viegas, founder of the Bailancho Ekvott, Margao, for working for social and political justice and women's rights consistently and fearlessly. Viegas has worked with women on various issues and continues to take individual cases of women in distress. Patricia Pinto: For solid, consistent work among Panjimites as a member of the People's Movement for Civic Action (PMCA), to ensure social and environmental justice. Patricia works tirelessly for the Plastic Free Goa Campaign in many parts of Goa.

Dadu Mandrekar: For civil rights. Based in Mandrem, Pernem, Dadu is one of Goa's frontline activists aiming to bring about D. Babasaheb Ambedkar's vision of a just society. An award-winning writer of three Marathi books, he has played a pioneering role in promoting the rights of the Dalit community in Goa. He is the Convenor of the Ambedkar Social Research Academy and an active member of the Yuganayak organisation.

Rene Barreto: For cultural development. The tireless efforts of the London-based Goan go to to promote his ancestral land and its people, most notably through the Goa Day. Floriano Lobo: For environmental justice. Based in Moira, Bardez, Lobo has worked consistently to reduce noise pollution among other socially relevant endeavours and is one of the founders of the Su-Raj Party.

The Sudharop awards carry a citation and a monetary award in most cases. The awards are a judicious mix of people and issues, reflecting the NGO's continuing commitment to certain key issues--women's rights, civic and democratic rights, environmental issues, marginalised groups, job creation using traditional skills, cultural development and unification of the global Goan community. See prior years winners at http://www.goasudharop.org/gs_awards.htm ("GEORGE PINTO" <georgejpinto@yahoo.com>)

MARIA REBELLO: Maria Piedade Rebello is the unsung heroine of Indian women's football. The battle-scarred defender has played for her country and states (Goa and now Maharashtra) with distinction but her achievements have always remained unnoticed. (GT-WE) The Curtorim-born lass captains India women's team at Chinese Taipei.

SHIVDAS GETS JANAGANG AWARD: N Shivdas, well-known Konkani writer and vice-chairman Goa Konkani Akademi, was awarded the prestigious Janaganga Literary award by Curchorem Konkani Kala Sahitya Kendra.

AWARD FOR GOAN DENTIST: The International Congress of Oral Implantologists, USA, has awarded Dr Savio Lourenco, the coveted diplomate status in implantology earlier this year, making him the youngest Indian dental surgeon to achieve this honour.

MINGUELINO SURRENDERS: The former chairman of the Sanguem Municipal Council, Minguelinho D'Costa yesterday surrendered before the Special Judge, Panaji, and has been remanded to a day's police custody. Sources informed that he was later admitted to the hospital after he complained of breathlessness.

GOAN DOCTOR'S WORK ON CANCER: Dr Jayant Vaidya, a Goa doctor in UK, has done original work on early breast cancer treatment, which was lauded at the annual meeting of radiology, held in Chicago, where his paper was read. Dr Vaidya, surgeon and son of late Dr Sharad Vaidya, has been working at the University College, London.

MAULINGKER 'HATAO' CAMPAIGN: The conclave of North Goa Zilla Parishad member at the residence of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar last night failed to muster enough support to ensure the ouster of North Goa ZP chairman Premanth Maulingker.

FREEDOM FIGHTER SUCCUMBS TO INJURIES: A 65-year-old freedom fighter (Bapu Sitaram Polji) from Chavdewada-Parsem succumbed to injuries, after he was seriously injured in a road mishap on December 2.

D'CRUZ RETIRES: Felix P D'Cruz, Asst Director General of Foreign Trade, retired recently after 40 years of meritorious service. D'Cruz, hailing from Aldona, will now engage himself in social work through the local church and writing.

GOAN SCIENTIST WINS INTERNATIONAL AWARD: Dr Joaquim Goes, a scientist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciencies, Maine, USA, has been awarded the prestigious "International Takeda Techno-Enterpreneurship award" in Environmental Sciences for his original and innovative research on the "Influence of Solar Ultra-violet Radiation in Marine Eco-Systems".

SAVIO CLAIMS SECOND PLACE IN GERMANY: Goa's Savio Bruto da Costa proved his prowess on international grounds, claiming the first runner-up position at the 'Mr Intercontinental' contest in Dusseldorf, Germany. Savio finished behind the winner Andreas Pandrick from Germany, trailing just by two points.