The School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya and the Roshni Alumni Association, Mangalore jointly paid a tribute to the Founder Principal of the college, Dr. Olinda Pereira on 15th August to commemorate the occasion of her 95th birthday. The meeting was conducted on the online platform Zoom and was aptly titled “Reminiscence-A tribute to Dr. Olinda Pereira”. The program schedule was from 10 am to 11.15 am. Members of the Roshni fraternity had joined from around the world and were eager to share their experiences with Dr. Olinda. The gathering was welcomed by Dr. Meena Monteiro, (Dean of the MSW Department) who was also the compere for the program. The opening remarks were rendered by Ms. Philomena D’sa (Provincial, Daughters of the Heart of Mary) who spoke about how Dr. Olinda won hearts with her simplicity and the tremendous capacity she had to nurture relationships. The next to deliver her address was Dr. Jenis Mary, (Vice Principal) who spoke about how she found love and encouragement in Dr. Olinda when she came to Mangalore to pursue her higher education. She spoke about how she felt at home even though she was away from home because of the warmth and affection she received from Dr. Olinda. More than 15 members including the former faculty and alumni Mr. S N Gopinath, Mr. Bhima Rao, Prof. Rita Noronha, Mr. Ravi Bekal, Mr. Nelson D’souza, Prof . Maria D’costa, Prof. B M Madhava, Mr. Abdul Rehman, Dr. Audrey Pinto, Dr. Laxminarayana Bhat, Mr. K H Abdullah, Dr. Rameela Shekhar and Mr. P P Shetty spoke on the occasion. The alumni who shared their heartfelt moments had been students of various batches and the others were staff members from various departments. They all shared their unforgettable, memorable moments which they had spent with Dr Olinda. Each of them spoke about how they were touched by her commitment and dedication towards her profession and humanity. Dr. Cedric Prakash, Dr. Olinda’s nephew also joined in and remembered his aunt fondly for her precious advice and valuable guidance.
The vote of thanks was proposed by Prof. Evelyn Benis (HOD of the MSW Department) wherein she thanked the members and the management of Roshni Nilaya for having successfully attended the program despite their busy schedules and sharing their cherished memories on this event.
The next program on the agenda was the International webinar on “Covid 19-Effect on mind and body” which was held in memory of Maria Paiva Couceiro-Founder of Roshni Nilaya from 11.30 am till 12.45 pm. The chief guest on the occasion was Dr. G G Laxman Prabhu-Professor and Head of the Department of Urology, KMC Hospital Mangalore. He was welcomed warmly by Mr. Dheeraj Shetty (President of RAA Mangalore and also GM (HR) of JBF Petrochemicals Ltd Mangalore. Dr. Malini Hebbar (Retd Prof and HOD of English Department, St Agnes College), Mangalore introduced the chief guest in her charismatic manner to the audience and also served as the moderator of the Q&A session which followed in an effective and efficient manner. The doctor spoke about the ways in which one could keep oneself safe from the virus and also discussed the measures to be taken while dealing with the patients affected by the virus in a compassionate and caring manner. The message he gave was “You can’t, I can’t...but together we can fight the virus and emerge victorious”.
The vote of thanks was delivered by Ms. Shalini Prabhu (faculty in the MSW department) who spoke about Dr. Olinda Pereira being a lady with a charming smile and gentle demeanour but also one with courage, passion, conviction and determination. She thanked the guest speaker for his insightful speech, the RAA President and committee for having conceived the program and executed it to perfection , the management for having supported the program with enthusiasm, vigour and zeal and the members who had joined online from around the world in large numbers to pay their respects to Dr. Olinda Pereira.
