Five Outstanding Catholic Achievers receive Rachana 2018 Awards at a Glittering Banquet
- Five Outstanding Catholic Achievers received Rachana 2018 Awards at a Glittering Awards Banquet held at Milagres Jubilee Hall on Saturday, 17 November 2108 at 6 pm. .
Mangaluru: It was in the year 1998 that Catholic businessmen, agriculturists and professionals formed Rachana, with an objective of encouraging youth to take up entrepreneurship, for training them in investment and for supporting them with technical backup. In the last 20 years Rachana has worked to achieve its goals and has trained over 200 youth through Rachana Entrepreneur Development Cell (REDC). The youth who have been trained thereby have started printing press, Nano Taxi, poultry farming, candle manufacturing and other enterprises.
Rachana has recognized the successful entrepreneurs, professionals, agriculturists, NRI entrepreneurs and women who have achieved in their distinctive field and brought them into limelight, more so that their example may be emulated by the young and the upcoming. Rachana had also organized Magnet 2014 Conference in April, which was attended by Catholic achievers from the world over. As a result of various projects a Rachana Cooperative Society and Rachana Venture Capital Fund was formed, with Roy Castelino, Dr Norman Mendonca and Louis J Pinto being appointed as executives. The funds saved through conference was used as seed money for running these associations. Initially after the inception of Rachana, we were giving three awards ( Rachana Agriculturist of the year; Rachana Entrepreneur of the year; and Rachana Professional of the year) until 2005, from then on we increased the awards to five persons (adding Rachana NRI of the year and Rachana Woman of the year )
The glittering ‘Rachana Awards 2018’ ceremony was held at Milagres Jubilee hall on Saturday, 4 December at 6.15 pm,. The ceremony began with invoking God’s blessing through a prayer song, rendered by the “Dad & Daughter” Team, Alwyn Noronha and Sonali, which was followed by welcome address by Stany Alvares, the President of Rachana. The dignitaries seated on the dais were the Chief Guest-Dr Charles Lobo (IPS), Chief Postmaster General-Karnataka Circle; Most Rev Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, the Bishop of Mangaluru- who presided over the function; Stany Alvares, John B Monteiro and Anil Vas- the President, Convener and Secretary of Rachana respectively. Former MLA J R Lobo and MLC Ivan D’souza also graced the ceremony. The Rachana Awards 2018, in brief, was delivered by John B Monteiro.
Now was the prestigious moment of the evening, where the five eminent Catholic Achievers were escorted to the dais to receive the ‘Rachana Awards 2018’- the first to be awarded was Vincent Cutinha (Rachana Agriculturist of the Year) whose citation was read by Titus Noronha; the second awardee was ‘Rachana Entrepreneur of the Year’ Ronald ‘Roy’ Castelino, citation read by Ln Ronald Gomes; third awardee was ‘Rachana Professional of the Year’ Ms Faye D’souza-citation read by Ms Patsy Lobo; fourth awardee ‘Rachana NRI Entrepreneur of the Year’ Aloysius Richard Lobo- citation read by Joe Coelho; and the fifth awardee ‘Rachana Woman of the Year’ Sr Maria Jyothi AC- citation read by Ms Eulalia D’souza. All the awardees were honored with a shawl, fruit basket, flower garland, memento and citation by the Chief guest, Bishop, joined by other dignitaries on the dais.
Due to last minute commitment, awardee Aloysius Richard Lobo from London, UK couldn’t make it for the function, therefore his award was accepted on his behalf by the president of Rachana Stany Alvares. In their acceptance speeches, the four awardees of the evening appreciated and extended their gratitude to Rachana for bestowing the prestigious Awards on them, recognizing their commitment, dedication and service done to the society, and urged the Rachana committee to continue encouraging the achievers in the Catholic community. Following a few group photos of the awardees with the jury members and dignitaries on the dais for a memory keep-sake, the donors/sponsors were recognized, their names list read by Felix J Pinto. The Past president of Rachana were also felicitated on the occasion, whose names were read out by Nelson Monteiro.
Chief guest Dr Charles Lobo addressing the audience, narrating about the various facilities and services provided by the Indian Postal Department said, “Even though the practice of writing letters and sending greeting cards has faded away due to the introduction of Internet and digital era, where not many are availing the service rendered by postal department, but still the postal department is doing extremely good, and has introduced many new facilities to attract more clients, and the concept is working miracles. Generally called “the post office” in India, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world, with 155,015 post offices spread across India. The Services provided by Indian Postal dept are Philately, Army Postal Service, Electronic Indian Postal Order, Postal Life insurance, Postal savings, Banking, Data collection, E-Commerce delivery, including other services like Post boxes and post bags for mail receipt, Identity cards for proof of residence, ATM RMS (Railway Mail Service)”.
Dr Lobo further said, “In September 2017, it was announced that by December 2018 all of the 1.55 lakh post offices and every postman and grameen dak sevak will be equipped with a device which will provide full range of payment options that the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) plans to provide. On 31 August 2018 the India Post Payments Bank was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The postal department is focused on riding the e-commerce boom across the country from creating dedicated corridors for delivery to training postmen to handle big volumes. There is a concerted effort to become more connected digitally. Even though I am not a rich entrepreneur, but I am happy with the post with the postal department, which has earned me name and fame. It was only through my commitment, dedication and interaction with the people that had led me to greater heights”.
While concluding his elaborate “20 plus minutes” speech Dr Charles Lobo said, ” It’s sad to note that not many Catholics are taking up government jobs in India. There are lots of good govt jobs available, and our present youth should step forward and try to grab these well-paid jobs, rather than have only option in their minds, to go abroad. Rachana should encourage the youth to get into the Indian bureaucracy so that we could see many Catholics in top posts, other than those from different communities. My one suggestion to Rachana is that it would be nice if they introduce a “Rachana Differently-abled Person of the Year” award, whcih would make a difference in the lives of the special people, who are most talented just like the rest. Let us highlight the achievements and talents of these special people, and I thank Sr Maria Jyothi AC for being a source of support and inspiration to thousands of Special people, including my own child. It was a pleasure being with you all as a Mangalorean among all you Mangaloreans. Long live our Catholic Community and Rachana, which is working hard for the betterment of Our Community”.
After citation read by Gilbert D’souza, entrepreneur and past president of Rachana, where he wished that our present Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese be the next Pope after Pope Francis, Bishop Rev Dr Peter Paul Saldanha all in smiles was felicitated by Rachana. Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha in his presidential address said, “I am happy that Rachana is encouraging and recognizing the achievers in the catholic Community through these Awards, and I am proud of Rachana award winners who have made a difference in our community through their tremendous contribution. Rachana from a small seed since its inception has grown into a giant tree and is giving fruit by helping the community. Our community should be useful to others as well. We have contributed many things to the society and we should not stop here, instead, more contribution has to be made. Youngsters should follow the footsteps of these awardees- remember that if a person who works with full dedication and involves himself completely in his work, he can achieve wonders, and that has been the success story of these awardees. These days we find many youngsters who aspire to be entrepreneurs but they lack the will to work hard. They need to discuss their plans with elders and experts before setting up their business- our community needs more entrepreneurs.”
“There is an old and proven cliche which says “Winners Never Quit and Quitters Never Win” and what it means is keep your determination and focus, and never stop trying. This is a mental attitude that successful people have in sports and all walks of life Today’s five achievers who have received Rachana Awards have kept up their Determination, Dedication and shown their talents. They have achieved great through their creative thinking and Hard work. The spelling of SUCCESS as mentioned by one professor is ‘HARD WORK’, and these achievers have shown it. All five of these awardees are the real builders of the society, and we should be proud of them. And like Gilbert D’souza said, that he wished I could be the next Pope someday, I wouldn’t mind, but witnessing the amount of stress that Pope Francis is experiencing being the head of billions of Catholics, the Pope’s job is not a easy one, it is a hectic and stressful job. I need all your support while I am at the helm as the Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese, and together we can make a change in our community” added Bishop Saldanha.
The vote of thanks was proposed by Anil Vas-Secretary of Rachana, and the ceremony was compered very professionally by Dr Alwyn D’sa, the Vice Principal of St Aloysius College, Mangaluru. The formal function was followed by solo musical entertainment by Alwyn Noronha and his daughter Sonali, and by Joy Star Brass Band- and the glittering ceremony concluded with a fellowship dinner.
While concluding quoting Theodore Roosevelt’s words, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing to get along with people”- Let entrepreneurship be a way to construct our society. I wish that Rachana be instrumental in promoting youth for self-employment, thus uplift the economic stability of our community and the growth of our society. Long live Rachana”. Team Mangalorean which is proud to be associated with Rachana, would like to compliment and congratulate President Stany Alvares and his bevy of energetic members for putting up the extraordinary Rachana Awards 2018 banquet. And to compere Dr Alwyn D’sa who simply stole the show with his witty punchlines and professionalism, this event ended with the audience heading home with great memories. Great celebration, indeed!
FOLLOWING IS THE PROFILE OF THE FIVE RACHANA 2018 AWARDEES:
Lawrence Pinto ( Rachana Agriculturist of the Year):
Lawrence Pinto has been awarded for his skill to convert the 20 acres of farmland into a model farm growing areca, rubber and coconut garden with animal husbandry to supplicate the income. And using innovative farming approaches towards irrigation, manuring and other activities like generating green-organic manure within the farm through in-house compositing.
Social Work: Served 15 years as Gurkar of Algangar Church and also extended his service in Catholic Sabha, Parish Pastoral Council and Rotaract Club as a member. Awards: He has been awarded from the Moodbidri Co-operative Service Bank with the Excellent Farmer Award for 2015; K. Somappa Suvarna Award for 2016 from late Somappa Suvarna Neralu Nempu Committee identifying his services in agriculture. Excellent Agriculturist Award for 2017 during Silver Jubilee celebration of Catholic Sabha, Moodbidri.
Setting benchmarks to prove that intelligent farming techniques reap dividends in today’s world and society within city limits. Above all, silently being involved in the Agricultural Growth of our country where farm produce and supply is most essential to curb inflation.
Ronald ‘Roy’ Castelino ( Rachana Entrepreneur of the Year):
Ronald Castelino, former president of Karnataka Konkani Literature Academy is popularly known as Roy Castelino. During his tenure, he has worked with the motto ‘Konkani education – Konkani literature – Konkani culture’. He has succeeded in his mission by providing all-around co-operation for the study of Konkani in schools, publishing of 75 Konkani books written by various writers on various subjects at two books per month and introduced ‘Mobile Konkani Bazaar’, a unique project to spread the flavour of Konkani literature and music to each and every household. Out of the 41 Konkani communities of Karnataka, Roy has interacted with more than 30 communities and organized more than 200 programmes to radiate the Konkani language. Roy Castelino has organized fellowship training and workshops through the special grant for the Konkani speaking backward communities like Siddi and Dalit Konkani people. The establishment of Konkani study centre in Mangaluru University is one of the important milestones of his tenure. He has also extended co-operation in starting Master of Arts (M.A.) in Konkani language in the university.
Roy Castelino has donned several responsible positions in the society. He is the founder president of Konkani Prachar Sanchalan and president for two terms of Rachana – Catholic Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Roy is the former member of Karnataka Konkani Literature Academy. He is serving as the sponsor of Maand Sobhann, an important cultural organization of Konkani language. He was the former treasurer of the World Konkani Organization and former president of Lion’s Club, Kulshekar. He is the present trustee of Sandesha Education and Cultural Foundation. He is serving as the president of Pragati Co-operative society for 15 years. Roy is also serving as a nominated member of the Diocesan Parish Council of Mangaluru Diocese. Roy Castelino, who is a science graduate, established ‘Roy Constructions’ 32 years ago and is known as one of the successful entrepreneurs of Mangaluru. He is an able and successful leader without any doubt. Though he is a Christian, he has kept harmonious relationships with people of all religion of the society.
Ms Faye D’Souza (Rachana Professional of the Year):
Faye D’Souza is an award-winning journalist and the Executive Editor of MIRROR NOW (TV Channel) and hosts the flagship show, ‘The Urban Debate’. Over the last year, Faye has lead the editorial team at Mirror Now, to break the conventions of news television and prime-time viewing to refocus on the issues that really matter to the Indian citizens. Faye’s focus on accountability of government, responsible taxation, the safety of women and children, education, health and urban development has also resulted in several policy changes and impact developments that have proven that journalists can still bring about improvements in the status quo. Under Faye’s leadership, Mirror Now has been the recipient of multiple awards this year for Social media, Reporting, Anchoring and Editorial.
Faye is the journalist for the millennial – young, fresh and brutally honest. She spent her initial years in the world of business news with CNBC TV 18, where she was in the thick of things related to state policies, economic offences and personal finance. She subsequently joined the TIMES NETWORK as it was stamping its authority into television news in 2008. She has a Master’s Degree in Mass Communication and Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and English Literature.
Aloysius Richard Lobo ( Rachana NRI Entrepreneur of the Year):
Aloysius Richard Lobo, BA, LLB, GDA, GDCS who hails from Karkala town of Udupi District is inspiring to young Mangalorean entrepreneurs. His ups and downs in the business life are truly a lesson to be learnt for aspiring entrepreneurs and the young generation today. Lobo was instrumental in providing job opportunities to more than 150 Mangaloreans and Indians in general during his business days in Oman. He has also been a key support to many Mangaloreans to start a business as well as get a job in London. Lobo initiated the first public Monthi Fest celebration in London and ever since he has been inviting more than 350 Mangaloreans who work around the UK. He is the backbone of Konkani cultural events in London. After SSLC, Lobo went to Mumbai at the age of 18. In SSLC, he obtained 100% in Maths and 86% in bookkeeping.
He completed two degrees and another four years of professional courses in Mumbai. In 1974, he went to Muscat as an Accountant. Soon he started meat business in Oman and he was importing an average 1,000 tons chicken from France and Brazil, 500 tons of Mutton and beef from Australia, 100 tons of tender lamb from New Zealand and 10,000 cartons of eggs from Holland and had around 20 freezer lorries serving the country daily except Fridays. Lobo reached London in late November 1990. Instead of doing meat business he ended up doing fish business without any prior knowledge of the field. He opened his first rented shop in London in February 1991.
Lobo’s hard work resulted in the establishment of 17 of his own fish outlets across London. The outlets are aptly named ‘Lobo Fisheries’. In 2010 Lobo forayed into meat and poultry business along with his son. They established a modern factory to process meat and poultry on a 50,000 sq. ft premises for which his son received the Young Entrepreneur Award. Boosted by the response, they opened another seven chain shops to market processed meat and poultry. His wife Christine is Ex Lecturer and the couple has a daughter Cheryl who is a Doctor and a son Keith who looks after business.
Sr Maria Jyothi AC (Rachana Woman of the Year):
Sr Maria Jyothi A.C was born on 16-12-1943. She has the qualifications of B.A., B.Ed., M.A.(Spl. Ed) DSE(MR) to her credit. She is a nun belonging to The Apostolic Carmel community.
Sr Maria Jyothi worked as Special Educator and the Founder Principal of St. Agnes Special School, Mangalore from 1970 to 2001, as Principal, St. Agnes Teacher Training Institute for Special Education from 1992 to date as Core faculty- Special Education DSE(MR) from 2002-2004 and Co-ordinator RCI-Courses-DPEP & Bridge Course – study centre Madhya Pradesh, Bhoj (Open) University – Bhopal. B.Ed. Special Education (SEDE), Foundation Course on Education of Children with Disabilities FC(SEDE), Postgraduate Professional Diploma PGPD (SEDE) from 2001 to date. She is the member of Governing Body – Community Based Rehabilitation Forum-Bangalore and of Sarva Shiksha Abiyana Mangaluru division.
Sr Maria Jyothi AC helped to open the institutions for the mentally challenged children that include. Lion’s Special School- Suratkal Mangaluru, Manasa Rehabilitation Centre- Pamboor, Lion’s Special School, Venur, now Christ Raj Navachethana Special School Venur, St. Mary’s Special School- Kinnigoli, Carmel Vikas Kendr- Bailhongal, Belgaum and C.B.R. Programme- Bailhongal, Belgaum. She has received Rajyotsava State award for Social Work and Rotary Vocational Excellence Award 2004-2005.