Gerry D’Mello

Daijiworld Media Network - Toronto

Toronto, Dec 20: Renowned personality Gilbert D’Souza has been unanimously elected as the chairman of Canadian Canara Vision Inc (CCVI), one of Canada’s prestigious institutions.

Gilbert is a well-known personality in Mangaluru, Bahrain, Oman, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Canada among the universal Konkani community. He currently resides in Mississauga Canada, along with his family. Before migrating to Canada, he was the owner of Al Taqa Equipment LLC in Abu Dhabi. After completing his graduation in Mangaluru, he worked for Reserve Bank of India, Bakelite Haylam and Hindustan Lever in Bombay, and subsequently joined Unilever in the Middle East, for 20 years and retired holding the post of sales manager. He is an ardent lover of Konkani culture and heritage and is very keen on taking CCVI to the next level.

Gilbert D’Souza

Canadian Canara Vision Inc (CCVI) is a non-profit organization established in 2015, created to support community-based ventures and to address the needs of our community. CCVI’s objective is to make a difference in the lives of Canadian Catholics, originating from the Indian sub-continent, by fostering social, cultural, religious initiatives, through a team of capable, committed and energetic individuals.

The foundation is actively engaged in lending a helping hand to members of the community in their hour of need, especially at the time of death. In addition, the organization periodically conducts educational seminars on investments, tax and retirement planning, thus providing valuable guidance.

In response to and the urgent need of the community, CCVI embarked on a noble project to establish a ‘St Peter’s Cemetery’, comprising 300 burial lots in the Meadowvale Cemetery, with the option to expand to 1000 lots. Out of these, 5% of the graves have been reserved for the needy members of the community at no cost.

The organisation holds an annual charity dinner and dance extravaganza to raise funds for this venture. Prominent personalities like Ronald Colaco and Frank Fernandes, hailing from Mangaluru, South India, have graced these events.

Gilbert ardently supports the organisation's next goal in creating a Konkani Cultural Center for the members of the community. This centre will be a location to nurture its youth, a common place to meet and greet the seniors and to conduct varied seminars. It will also host cultural events, thereby providing a platform to exhibit talents, telecast (project) regional movies and provide an array of other resources to the community.

The creation of CCVI is the vision of Maxim Mendes, the first chairman of the organisation. During the last four years, the organisation has overcome multiple challenges; with Maxim’s leadership and support of other directors of the organisation he managed to overcome these obstacles effectively. He is thankful to the directors for their financial support, voluntary work, cooperation and most importantly, the valuable support of the Konkani community in the Greater Toronto Area.

CCVI directors congratulates Gilbert on accepting the chairmanship and thank Maxim for his great contributions.

All are encouraged to visit their website for more details and upcoming events: www.canaravision.com

Directors of CCVI

Albert & Josephine Soosay
Arun & Jennifer Mendes
Boniface & Sharon Viegas
Gilbert & Janet D’Souza
Martin & Vinalini Menezes
Maxim & Nancy Mendes
Miriam Pinto
Nelson & Veena D’costa
Peter & Werrel Lobo
Ronald & Dorothy Rego