by Victor Mathias

Melbourne, Jan 30: Countries like Australia have been populated by migrants from many corners of the world. Once the immediate needs have been met, the migrants, no matter where they have come from, look for some social interaction with people from their own background. The good old 'birds- of-a-feather' mindset. Some Indian communities have been quick to  provide a platform for such an interaction. For example, Goan Overseas Association of Victoria has just celebrated its 25th Anniversary. 

Sadly, the Mangalorean Catholics in Victoria continued waiting for a 'someone else' to take the lead. And the wait continued until Bert Naik started making a few phone calls.

The crowning glory of this venture happened on the 28th of January 2006. A meeting was held at Bert Naik's residence. It was well attended. Many had never met one another before. In just 45 minutes, after a thorough discussion, the attendees at the meeting chaired by Bert Naik were in complete agreement on the name for the organisation,
the constitution (which was amended), the purpose of the Association etc.

A managing committee was elected: Bert Naik (President), Desmond Lobo (Vice-President), Oliver D'Souza (Treasurer) and Juliet Ferrao (Secretary).

It is the belief of MCA of Victoria that this is the first instance in the history of Australia that a Mangalorean grouping has been formed - with a legally binding constitution, equality in rights and opportunities to all members and an elected Board.

The 'Mangalorean Catholic Association of Victoria' will be incorporated (with the relevant Department of the Victorian Government) in the next few days.

The Committee is grateful to the many people - from all over the world - who provided such an enthusiastic support. A special word of thanks goes to a guardian angel (SK) who supported the group from many thousand miles away - even to the extent of writing up the meeting agenda! It was simply unbelievable to witness that the organisers (mainly Bert Naik) received more than a hundred emails from people from around the world with the assurance that we would succeed