Building a stronger Konkani Community: Developments Since the 2016 Konkani Sammelan in Atlanta …….
by Sadanand Mankikar
Since the 2016 NorthheAmerican Konkani Sammelan held in Atlanta last July, the Ontario Konkani Seniors’ Group has been actively organizing events to bring the seniors closer and improve community knowledge on issues related to seniors living.
OKA Grant for Seniors’ Program: Recognizing the ongoing contributions by the seniors and their continued efforts in building and maintaining a strong Konkani community in Ontario as well as the significance of a strong Seniors’ Program, OKA EC 2016-2017 has given a grant of $ 1,500 to the Seniors’ Group. The funds were handed over to Sadanand Mankikar by the current Presidents Shefali and Kash Nayak and President elect Divya and Ravi Nayak during the Seniors’ Lunch held on June 25, 2017.
Brainstorming Session: On October 22, 2016, Ontario Konkani Seniors conducted a highly productive Brainstorming Session where close to 60 seniors and soon-to-be be seniors were in attendance. The participation and enthusiasm of those who were there was phenomenal. The day started with short presentations including: “Existing Ethnic Community Programs”; “Ontario Drug Benefits for Seniors”; “5 Trends likely to impact your retirement”; “Hunna Udka Ghotu (“a gulp of hot water”) – Seniors Living”, and “On the way to Seniors’ Home”. The highlight of the day was two, hour-long breakout sessions followed by general discussion where we were able to get input on the socio-cultural support needed by our seniors as well as the need and possibilities of building our own seniors’ residence.
SVBF Seniors’ Day: OKA took a major role in organizing this event held on March 18, 2017. Over 30 OKA members attended this event. This highly successful event was attended by over 200 seniors where Hon. Deepika Damerla, Minister of Seniors’ Affairs was the Chief Guest. The presentations included: “Issues faced by South East Asian Seniors”, “Healthy Aging, Services available at Community Service Agencies”, “Long Term Care Issues” and “Mindfulness & Meditation”. The exhibitors included: Rexdale Community Health Center, Alzheimer Society of Toronto, CARP (Canadian Association of Retired People), Chapel Ridge Funeral Home, Diabetes Canada, Heart & Stroke Foundation, Help for Mom, Kidney Foundation and Long Term Care.
The Ontario Liberal Caucus –Indian Friendship Group Meeting: On an invitation from the Minister of Seniors’ Affairs, Sadanand Mankikar attended this meeting held on March 21, 2017 in the main Legislative Building and made a pitch for a Community centric Socio-Cultural Program and Seniors’ Housing. This session was attended by approximately 70 community leaders and four other provincial ministers as well as four MPPs.
Seniors’ Survey: In April 2017, we conducted a highly successful survey to gather critical stats on seniors in our community. Thirty-eight members, in some cases, with their spouses, took part in this on-line survey. Shraddha Pai shared a summary of this survey at the Focus Group Meeting and shared with OKA Seniors’ Group.
Focus Group Meeting As a follow up to the Brainstorming Session held in October 2016, a Focus Group meeting of 31 members was held on April 23, 2017 which resulted in well thought out plans both in terms of Socio-Cultural Support System as well as Seniors’ Housing Options. We have now set up two separate groups, one concentrating on Socio-Cultural needs and the other one exploring the seniors’ Housing Options both of which are actively working on the set goals. (Details are given in the attached article).
Building Connected Communities: In this Research Project on Social Isolation Amongst Immigrants, funded by the Federal Government and conducted at the Sheridan Centre for Elder Research, approximately 15 seniors from our community took part.
South Asian Forum by Sheridan Centre for Elder Research: This Forum was held on Friday June 16, 2017 and Sadanand Mankikar was invited to give his feedback. The invitees included representatives from Elder Abuse Ontario, Indus community Services, Interim Place, Langer Seva Meal and Support Services, Mississauga Ram Mandir, Pak Pioneers Community Organization, Pak Pioneer Community Services, Punjabi Community Health Services, Sahara Senior Services and Seva Food Bank. Patricia Spadafora, Director and Tulsi Radia, Research Assistant led the presentations and discussion. Even though loneliness and isolation amongst South Asian Immigrants was the major focus, there was ample time sharing the information on services provided by various community organizations.
First Ontario Konkani Seniors’ Lunch: Over 80 OKA seniors and their families and friends marked the Seniors’ by holding an informal lunch on Sunday June 25, 2017 at the Grand Taj Banquet and Convention Centre in Mississauga. The attendees aged from four months to late eighties had a great buffet lunch. However, karaoke and bingo were the main attraction. The credit for the success of the vent goes to Nileshwars and Tallurs who made all the necessary arrangements. Mahesh Nileshwar started the event by welcoming all the guests. Sadanand Mankikar gave an update on Ontario konkanis Social and Cultural Support System and Community Housing Project. Ashok Deshpande opened the entertainment portion of the function with a few old songs on his harmonica. Live music provided by a number of talented karaoke singers, especially, during lunch was quite impressive. Shivdas Pai and Pravin Pai conducted the bingo and kept the crowd entertained. Even though the event was heavily subsidized, the generous donations from Nandini and Shiv Ganguly, Manisha and Mahesh Nileshwar, Anjana and Pravin Pai, B. V. Prabhu, Veena and Nandan Shanbhag, Minal and Hemant Tallur kept the deficit to the minimum.
Konkani web site: Soon after the 2016 North American Sammelan, we started the website www.amchigeli.com where Amgele Mhalgade is a prominent section. This forum helps our seniors to identify common issues, topics of importance and attempts to provide resources, links and support to them. We also gathered significant amount of input from some of the seniors who had attended the Sammelan.
Other Activities: Information on relevant activities such as Diabetes Canada Expo for South Asians held in Brampton, Expo on Burlington’s Housing Options for Seniors, Diabetes Canada Webinars, CARP Aging Wisely Information Series on Planning & Caring for You and Your Family, Healthy Aging in a Diverse Ontario etc. was shared with OKA seniors via the email distribution list, and a few members attended these events.
