armstrongvazblogsfromgoa

    Margao, October 2: “I believe the only way to segregated garbage is by the creator himself (source), if he or she is disciplined everything falls in place,” says Stanley D’Costa of Dream Emerald Cooperative Housing Society, Navelim. Stanley is one of the several residents who stay in Dream Emerald Cooperative Housing Society Navelim, a multi-dwelling housing complex which has some 100 units, coming under Navelim village panchayat. Navelim, like all Goan villages which fall on the periphery of the cities, is trying to come with solutions for the moulds of garbage which find its way into dustbins installed in the village. Most of the garbage is from the multi-dwelling complexes which have come in the villages. Villagers in the interior parts of Navelim either burn the garbage and composite, although the number who opt for the latter option are few in number. Thus Dream Emerald Cooperative Housing society is a shining example in Navelim. “Non...

Mammography Unit, a Mobile Clinic Van and a cancer registry in place, taking into account the growing number of cancer cases from Goa, way back in 2010. India’s first mobile mammography unit gathers dust in Goa Goa has one of the highest incidence of breast cancer Margao: Dulari Dessai - my  neighbour  from Cuncolim - was all but 40 years old when she died. She was one of the many victims of cancer from Goa. Early detection would have helped in her case but it was too late. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Early detection combined with proper diagnosis, staging and treatment would help in achieving long term control or cure. Goa, according to health services surveys, has one of the highest incidence of breast cancer owing to diverse reasons such as late marriages and delayed pregnancies, declined fertility, no or less breastfeeding habit, improper nutrition, rapid lifestyle changes leading to lack of exercise amo...

Socorro Vaz charts Goa's football progress through Futsal Margao: It’s rainy season in Goa, and it rains cats and mouse in the coastal state of India. Time to have some real hot hot pakoda’s and roasted cashew nuts along with your evening tea before you venture out to play football in the muddy water of your local playground. The local playground may be available or not available for Rui and his friends depending on which grounds they want to spend playing football. Local grounds constructed by government and maintained by Sports Authority of Goa in different villages and cities are a strict no go for Rui and his friends. Rui is not the only one in football-crazy Goa who wants to enjoy playing football in the rainy season. There are many others. Gavin is one of them and he has had no problem of rains and lack of grounds throughout the season for the last three years. Gavin is a new breed of young aspiring footballers who pay...

Football is worth saving in Goa Football is worth saving. Goa Football Association needs to take its ball and make it talk.  It is past time to rid of lethargy at GFA. It is like a gangrenous limb that requires amputation before the infection spreads and the beautiful game becomes decayed beyond all possible recognition. Yes, football is still unquestionably the most popular sport on the planet. But a cloistered, corrupt like situation cannot function in a WikiLeaks world. It’s easy to be cynical about all of this, but cynicism is a luxury we can no longer afford.   Anyone paying attention to the myriad injustices emerging in the Goan football of the 21st century can see that the stakes are a great deal higher than whether a few palms are greased.

‘Cash for votes’ creeps in to Goan football Some will call it moral bankruptcy, others will point out it as a lack for strategic plan but for a silent majority it is plain bribery. The cancer of ‘cash for votes’ is slowly but surely creeping into the Goa Football Association (GFA) elections. After all football is part of Goan life and it is but natural for all the good things (read bad things) to find way into the football system of Goa. Goa polity has been used to political parties and candidates doling out liquor, cash and other goodies in the run up to the state and assembly elections for the last few decades. The last elections of the GFA Executive Committee held four years back was the first time money was paid and promised to the clubs by one of the contestant who lost the president’s election to Srinivas Dempo of Dempo SC. Dempo for the records did not indulge in any unfair practices but won on merit the confidence of the clubs. Some of the clubs compl...

Short-term player’s contracts rule the roost at Goa Professional League Disturbing trend emerges in Goan football                                    Daulat Dessai, 28, is a ‘professional’ football player, hails from Cuncolim and is due to play for one of the low-budgeted club in the Goa Professional League (GPL). He will earn around two lakhs if agrees to sign a four-month contract for the upcoming GPL event with one of the Goan club. Daulat has a difficult choice, like many of the so called ‘professional’ football players of Goa, he either can opt for a full one-year contract or a short four-month contract, the choice is his. But does he have a choice? Certainly not say football officials who know a thing or two about the murky behind the scenes which ail Goan football. First and foremost th...

AJ+ Call for Short Documentary Pitches Al Jazeera is preparing to launch a new digital platform called Project AJ+.  AJ+ is geared toward a youthful international audience that is most comfortable engaging with media on their mobile phones.  We are looking to commission original, innovative and engaging short documentaries produced by journalists, filmmakers and production companies around the world.  We’re soliciting for pitches for stories driven by strong characters interacting with the world around them, compelling voices and narratives, and unique insights into events, issues or phenomena that may be local but resonate globally. (We’re particularly interested in commissioning pieces from producers and filmmakers who are indigenous to or at least based in the place or region they are covering.) Stories should be current but not necessarily tied to current events. In addition to current affairs docs, we’re looking for pieces that address technol...

Goan football gone, going…….. down the drain By Armstrong Vaz Goan football is heading towards turbulent times. The alarm bells were ringing for long. The intensity has increased and reached its peak. Wilred Leisure has opened the floodgates of what is forecasted to be a tsunami. Wilred’s pulling out from the ten-team Goa Professional League (GPL), which is due to start in August, is one of the first major setback for the new Executive Committee of Goa Football Association (GFA), which took charge on July 27. The club pulled a fast one on GFA.  The company-sponsored club has a past, which no one likes to have against its name – match-fixing.   In 2004, Curtorim Gymkhana, Sangolda Lighting Club, Wilred Leisure and Dona Paula SC brought shame to Indian and Goan football by fixing matches. Two matches played, one in South Goa and the other in North of the state, saw an astonishing 118 goals being scored, in the play-off matches of the second division. ...

DFB development plan of 2000 - Germany’s path to success in Brazil Germany’s 2014 World Cup success has not come overnight. The national team has been building towards this excellence since 2000, when it could not advance from the group stage in the European tournament. The result of the fall out was a development plan.  A plan, which has had been identifying and training athletic youngsters in 366 districts. The system produced the wave of players in their mid-20’s who excelled in Brazil. The German system is important because there is a direct line from the development plan of the German federation, DFB, and some of the celebrity coaches from Germany plying their trade elsewhere.   Germany rarely needs a renewal not with three world cup won, but that does not mean success will come on a platter, they had to work hard for it. Germany’s surges ahead taking its core from the DFB program. The wealthy national league, the Bundesliga, has kept most national players at ho...