Transcription
Issue 25 April 2014 4 Pages For free circulation onlyFrom the EditorDear Readers,Happy first day of spring toour subscribers in northernclimates! It's been a hardwinter with record breakingcold and snow for you andwe hope it will be over soon.Along with spring comesEaster and we wish you andyour family a very HappyEaster.Femnet marks its secondanniversary now and we areas excited about ourbirthday as any two year oldcould be! Thank you for yourcontinued support andinterest and the lovelyfeedback you have beensending us. Pleaseencourage other women bycontinuing to send usarticles, memories, poemsand stories from your life.2Our dear Friends, Subscribers and Contributors,It is my privilege to write about the forthcoming birthday ofGoanet.Femnet, a monthly online newsletter forinternational women by women.When I mulled over the various possibilities of startingsuch an initiative in 2012, I wondered if my dreamwould ever materialize. I requested Herman, theoriginator of Goanet, to give women space andrequested his help in setting up this initiative. With hishelp and encouragement and that of his helpers,We feature Founder Betsy'sbirthday greetings on this Frederick and Bosco, we were on our way to startingup Goanet.Femnet. We did this with some trepidationpage along with a birthdaywondering if we could keep it going for at least 12poem by Isabella De Souza.We follow up last month'smonths!article on the internationalI am delighted that we are celebrating our 2ndwomen's art exhibition at theBirthday on April 5th, 2014. The following statisticsGoa Chitra with 10 year oldhighlight our wonderful and steady growth:Mira Kahate D'Souza'sreflections after participating in We started on April 5th, 2012the same event. Julia Kumareulogises her grandma, a Our organisation consists of one Founder andremarkable English womanseven Founder members.who spent most of her life inIndia in “Dear Grandma”. Visit our website www.goanet.org/femnet to getColleen De Souza continues in ato know the eight women who volunteered tosimilar vein with “Angelsgive of their time and energies selflessly.Amongst Us”. Dr. MargueriteTheopil encourages us to be We have compiled and released 24 Issues toaware in “Cultivatingdate, the current Issue being our 25thMindfulness” and Cynthia We h a v e h a d f u l l c o - o p e r a t i o n f r o mFernandes gives us a tongue incheek Supreme Court Order tointernational women who write their personal“Love your Husband”. Weinspirations, stories, travel accounts and otherconclude our articles section with ainteresting articles, puzzles, poems and bookpress release about a medicalreviews.breakthrough spearheaded byProfessor Francesca Cordiero. We Our current number of registeredfollow this with a special section forSubscribers stands at 460 your wonderful, heartwarming We have received and posted 271 items, upbirthday greetings.to Issue 24Enjoy!We will continue to look forward to your helpin submitting articles, poems,puzzles or whatever you thinkVisitwould make our Subscribers(for the Editorial Team)wanting more!for daily news updatesVisit us at femnet.goanet.orgHAPPY BIRTHDAY GOANET.FEMNETIsabella De Souza (Kenya)Happy Birthday Goanet.FemnetYou have turned twoCongratulations are in orderFrom all of us to youYour articles and poemsGive warmth to every heartWe all salute you todayFor making that first startThe encouraging articlesThe heart-warming storiesHave given many a readerJoy, comfort and sweet memoriesYou make us proudFor the good work you doYou are an inspirationFor this we salute youMay you grow to be 100 years oldMay you continue to inspire the youngand the oldWe wish you success and fameGoanet.Femnet we are proud of yournameIssue 25 Page 1
THE ARTIST FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF A CHILDMiss Mira Kahate D'Souza (Goa, India)The following address was presented at the Goa Chitra on International Women's Day.My name is Mira Kahate Desouza. I am a Beatles.10-year-old home-schooler from CurtorimThe next day we visited a small village andand I'm very excited to be here.I saw powerful women there too but in aToday, on International Women's Day, I very different way. Uncle Victor explainedwould like to say that I am comfortable to us that the old man we met was the lastbeing around powerful women. This is of his kind. He used to herd goats andbecause my Mama is a strong woman too. make brooms before he fell sick. Now theIn fact, she's the bosswomen of the villageof our house, not mydo all the outside workDada. But spendingin addition to doingthe weekend with 8the housework. I sawwomen artistslots of young men justshowed me thatsitting around onthere are many kindsflashy bikes but thereof powerful women –were no women insight – they werefrom the quietaway herding theelegance of Nirupagoats. It was a littleMaushi to the lovingsad.joyfulness of AuntyYolanda.Later that day, UncleUncle Victor had invited us to join the 8 Victor asked me and my friend toartists in the Netravali forest. We arrived interview the artists. We found out alllate that evening and it was mysterious sorts of interesting things about them. Forand dark with forest sounds and smells all example, Anjum likes to read biographies.around - it was really a magical night. I The person closest to Mekklah is herthought we had come to see the artists mother. Aunty Yolanda's favourite food ispaint but first we heard them sing! Do you sausages. Birgitta said she chose to be anknow that Loretti Tai sings as beautifully artist because she didn't want anyone toas she draws? We all sang and danced late control her and being an artist was theinto the night, in many languages and free-est job she could think of. I, myself,styles; from Konkani folk songs to like art because it makes me feel better.Hindustani classics to ABBA and the When I am sad or angry I draw or do craftand by the end of it I'm happy again.The artists all had different ways ofpainting. Some of them like Nirupa Maushiwere more private and liked to paint intheir room. Others were more outgoingand painted out in the open. But all ofthem were really nice to us and they didn'tmind us taking a peek from time to time.We saw some of the paintings in their earlystages but even then you could see howthat magical place was giving the artistsideas. Anjum drew the pots and vesselsshe saw. Mekklah applied some local mudon her painting. Birgitta made prints usingleaves that she collected. Nirupa Maushipainted the flowers and birds of the forest.Loretti Tai drew the wrinkled hands of thehard-working village women. It was reallyinteresting to me that even thougheveryone spent many days in the sameplace, they all expressed it differently.It was also very interesting for me to seenot only how the artists worked but alsohow an artist's daughter paints. Long ago,Dada told me what Pablo Picasso said“Every child is an artist, the problem ishow to remain an artist when they growup.” This makes me think of Sara, AuntyYolanda's daughter. She paints very freelyand she paints a lot. In fact, my favouritepaintings are hers and I think her workshould be shown here as well.DEAR GRANDMAJulia Kumar (Goa, India)This tribute was submitted by Julia Kumar in respect of her grandmother, Ruth Olive Rose from Liverpool, England who came to India as amissionary. Within a year Ruth learnt to read, write and speak in Tamil, the local language. She died on February 5, 2012 at the age of 96 inKotagiri where she spent the major part of her life.Dear Grandma,The day I first met you in Kotagiri is stillfresh in my mind. How excited I was tomeet you! I racked my brain to find wordsto have a conversation with you in English.You greeted us in the local language withfolded hands instead! You were a typicalEnglish lady, clad in a pale blue floral printdress and you had snow white hair. Thepeople of the small town fondly called youAunty. The shopkeepers waited for yourweekly shopping and the children for thepeppermint sweets you offered them.You used to visit us every month. Theneatly laid teacups and tea cozy wouldinform us of your coming. You were sovery English in everything you did, thoughyou loved to wear sarees. You alwaysappreciated the food preparation andthanked us for whatever we served you.My mom loved making your favouritemasala dosas and payasam. You patientlyanswered my questions about your life inVisit us at femnet.goanet.orgEngland. When you said youwere from Liverpool, it didn'tmatter much to me until Ilearned that the famousBEATLES were from your veryown place. Whenever my sonscreams supporting the teamLiverpool, I think about you.You encouraged me to collectstamps by giving me all thosefrom your letters. There is nota single grand or greatgrandchild of yours who didnot get a knitted doll made byyou and you never missed theimportant days of our lives.Even before we could think ofthe special day, your greeting card with aloving letter would arrive.We lived just 20 kilometers away, but yetyou would write letters to us in the locallanguage. Do you know how I use to takepride in showing those letters to myfriends? I still remember theAnnual Day of my school youattended where you weregiven the front seat to enjoyour bharathanatyamperformance.I like the way you mentionedthat you were proud of mewhen I treated you from myfirst earnings. You taught mehow important it is to makethe people around us happyby small deeds and how to beselfless.You never left your teddy bearbehind even for a night's stay.I was told that it was your mother's gift toyou on your first birthday. I could notcome to bid you farewell but I broke downalone when my sisters told me that youwent to rest with your teddy in your arms.You will always be in my memory as myfavourite grandmother.Issue 25 Page 2
ANGELS AMONGST USCULTIVATING MINDFULNESSColleen De Souza(Canada)Dr. Marguerite Theopil (Mumbai, India)It is easy, too easy, as we get caught upwith so many things in an overly-busytime, to lose sight of what is important inour lives. And if we are lucky, sometimes ateacher - in the form of a person, asentence, an image, a book - will appear.Once in a while we all get stressed out andfeel we've reached the end of the line andthat there is nothing else we can do aboutour situation. Most often we will also feelsuddenly enlightened either by an idea ofhow to get out of this, or by a person orstranger who gives us that little boost weneed. I like to call these people our“Angels” and there are many who liveamongst us.However, these “Angels” are just tools ofour Maker who happen to be there when itmost matters. I happened to come upon awebsite called “kindspring.org” and thisbrought back a few memories from daysgone by and would like to share thisparticular story with you.A young lady I knew had an arrangedmarriage and was five months pregnant.U n h a p p i l y, h e r h u s b a n d w a s aschizophrenic and she only opened up tome when things got really tough and shewas considering an abortion. Of course, itwas very difficult as this was against myprinciples but said I could not turn myback on her and would do all that I could toensure she was safe and had a safedelivery and would then see what to doabout the child. We got local authoritiesinvolved and had her things moved safelyto my home while her husband was outand had a restraining order issued.Knowing that I was one of the few friendsshe had, he obtained my phone numberand started calling me at all hours of theday and night. She was so overcome withthe situation that she decided to go backto him after a few days and left very earlyone morning before we even woke up.Sadly, very soon after that she lost thebaby and but also found the courage toleave him. Happily, a few years later, shemet and married an amazing guy. Shenow has a great career and is Mum tothree amazing young adults.One such teacher was a book, How to Traina Wild Elephant: And Other Adventures inMindfulness, authored by Jan ChozenBays. Abbess of a Zen monastery, alsopaediatrician, mother, and grandmother,Bays's book on mindfulness is designedparticularly for those who would love topractise mindfulness, but.can't seem tofind the time!' We are offered onemindfulness exercise per chapter. Each ismeant to be practised for one week,mindfully, before moving to or includingthe next practice.The practices range from the simple to do,to ones that are harder, even ones thatmight make us uneasy. Confrontingdifficult truths is an essential part of themindfulness process, and this is broughthome sharply in the practice This PersonCould Die Tonight' which encourages us toremember that when interacting withsomeone, anyone, it could be for the lasttime.In our quest for inner peace, sustainedmindfulness practice is a method that Ifind works even for the most excitable andreactive among us. And even if we lapse,All suggested practices deal with one of we will come upon those who bring usthree central tenets of mindful living: back to the path.staying in the present moment, beingFollow Marguerite Theophil on theaware of our own actions, and observingwebsite, www.speakingtree.inthe world around us. One of my favouritesis 'Use loving hands and a loving touch,even with inanimate objects.'SoundsSUPREME COURT ORDER!!!!simple, yes? However, it is so revealingLOVE YOUR HUSBAND!!!!!when you get down to doing it. For a wholeweek!Cynthia Fernandes (Mumbai, India)Entering this practice, we soon becomeaware of when we ourselves or others arenot using loving hands. We begin tonotice, perhaps as never before, howdoors are slammed, purchases shoved atus, money handed over impatiently,luggage hurled onto the conveyor belt atthe airport. We all know how to use lovinghands and touch, Bays points out; after allwe touch babies, faithful dogs, cryingchildren, and lovers with tenderness andcare. So how come we don t use lovingtouch more often, if not all the time? This Love your husband when he orders youto make tea or coffee because heis the essential question of mindfulness wantsto feel fresh to listen your nonstopWhy can t we live like this all the time?talks.Once we discover how much richer our lifeis when we are more present, why do weLove him if he looks at all the beautifulfall back into our old habits?females because he is justBays not only offers us a challenge - orchecking that you are still the best.invitation - each week, she leads us intodeeper reflections around each one.Love him if he criticizes your cookingOrdinarily we are more aware of usingbecause he is still improvingloving touch with people than withhis taste buds.objects. And yet, when we are in a hurry orupset, we do end up turning someone intoLove him if he snores at night andan object by the way we treat him. Wedisturbs your sleep because he isrush out of the house without sayingtrying to prove that he is the mostgood-bye; ignore a co-worker s greetingrelaxed person after being marriedbecause of a disagreement the dayto you.before; fail to pause a moment to expressappreciation. ".This is how other people Love him if he forgets to give you a giftbecome objectified, a nuisance, anon your birthday because heobstacle, and ultimately, an enemy."is saving money for your future.So if you have the time to go on thiswebsite “KindSpring.org” please do andread some of the stories, they will surelyinspire you. This may also give you thecourage to write a story or two on yourexperiences for Femnet. I was one ofthose people who was very reluctant toget on board at the outset, but eventuallyfound it to be a rewarding experience.Happy 2nd Birthday FEMNET and may theyears ahead continue to give your readers I w a s r e m i n d e d o n c e m o r e t h a ta warm fuzzy feeling while sitting with a mindfulness also involves working withdiscomfort - walking right into it, andcuppa and enjoying a good read.Visit us at femnet.goanet.orgfeeling within the body what is true. Andwhen we are this attentive, when ourmeditative absorption is deep, what wecall discomfort or pain begins to shift,reduce and perhaps even disappear.Love him. Because you don't have achoice and killing is a legal offence!Issue 25 Page 3
Dear Goanet-Femnet Readers,It gives me great pleasure to wish theGoanet-Femnet team congratulations ontheir second anniversary!It was just over two years ago now thatBetsy Pinto-Nunes approached mewanting to start an initiative to empowerwomen. After careful deliberation shedecided to start an international women'sNewsletter run by women. Betsy then puttogether a team of very capable andresourceful women with differentbackgrounds. Goanet teamed up with theFemnet team offering whatever supportwas needed. The Goanet-Femnetnewsletter was launched and was receivedwell. Today, the Goanet-Femnet newsletteris widely popular and is a massive success.A few members of the Goanet-Femnetteam deserve special recognition. Theyare, in no particular order:1. Betsy Pinto-Nunes, the driving forceand the main 'sourcing' member behindthe Newsletter;2. Janis Mwosa, the Editor who does thebulk of the editing work involved inproducing the Newsletter;3. Jaya Earnest, who is responsible formembership management, overseeingthemes and any other support as required;4. Marie-Dale, who does the design workon the Newsletter and maintains thewebsite.To all the Goanet-Femnet foundingmembers and contributors, I wish youmany congratulations on behalf of Goanetand all the best for the future.Dr. Herman CarneiroFounder and Chairmanwww.goanet.orgWhere Goans Connect!Happy birthday GNFN on your 2ndbirthday! Congratulations! With BetsyPinto Nunes Founder, the editor Janis, JayaEarnest, Marie-dale Pais, designer, all whoput GNFN together month after month andthe supporters, GNFN is in very safe andreliable hands and is here to stay!I am sure you will all agree the articles,stories, recipes and poems have been funto read and pass on. Let's together find atleast 5 new readers, and make this 2ndbirthday a bumper one!There is much to write about. Tell us whereyou are, your town or country, a personalexperience, your garden, yourgrandchildren or your hobby.I am in Goa at present and reading aboutwomen celebrating their achievementsand being true role models in the localpaper almost daily.Let's hear from you soon!Pam Gonsalves, Founder MemberBIRTHDAY WISHESPRESS RELEASEProf. Francesca Cordeiro: Drugs breakthroughcould end misery of painful eye injectionsGoanet.Femnet is proud to carry this press release of Professor Francesca Cordeiro, aclinician scientist with a specialist interest in the field of glaucoma andneurodegeneration. We wish to add our congratulations for yet another achievementand to wish Francesca every success in what she continues to do in her field. She is exSaligao Goa, and ex-Nairobi, Kenya, daughter of Rufino and Lira Cordeiro of Bray,Berkshire, UK; sister of Lucinda and Mary Anne. She is married to Dr Raj Persaud.A "Magic bullet" breakthrough could spell the end of expensive and unpleasanteye injections to treat blindness, experts reveal today. Scientists at UniversityCollege London have found a way to deliver drugs to the back of the eye in simpleeye drops. Lead author of the research, Professor Francesca Cordeiro, said: "Eyedrops that can be safely and effectively used in patients would be a magic bullet - ahuge breakthrough in the treatment of AMD and other debilitating eye disorders."(This press release first appeared on 6 March in the Daily Express.)Congratulations Betsy on the Femnetsecond birthday! It has become aninstitution with universal appeal. How do Iknow? I edit the website atwww.goanvoice.org.uk which attempts toalert the Goan Diaspora about relevantarticles in the Press. Goan Voice has listedthe articles that have appeared in each andevery issue of Femnet from the very firstone. Checking the website statistics, I cantell how many people have accessedFemnet from my site and also which part ofthe world they are from. I did a quick checktoday and have to compliment you on thegrowing popularity. On average over twohundred people access Femnet from GoanVoice UK alone and the geographicalspread is truly worldwide. UK tops the list,followed by Canada, US, India andAustralia. Following on are Kenya, Portugal,UAE, Spain, Italy, Germany, Norway,Switzerland, and even countries like Brazil,Turkey, Cyprus, Qatar etc. Of course, thegeographical distribution reflects GoanVoice's readership and is only a smallproportion of your readership as most willprefer the free subscription with issuesdelivered to their mailbox. Others alerttheir friends to Femnet articles and bypassGoan Voice. So you are doing very well!There is no turning back for you, now!!Eddie Fernandes (Goan Voice, UK)I am delighted that Goanet-Femnet hasreached its second birthday.Many people have great ideas fornewsletters but few make it past thesecond or third issue. So well done to theteam Janis, Jaya, Marie-dale and of coursemy mother, Betsy.I look forward to every issue and can seethat it is getting better month on month.Looking forward to many moreanniversaries!Cynthia Pinto-McDonnell, FounderMemberOur birthday month is a good time topause and take stock. Our second yearhas gone smoother than the first. It's asure sign we are growing! In addition tothanking the team behind the scenes thatmanages to source articles, keep us ontrack administratively and presenteverything beautifully, I would like to givethanks to our writers who have ensuredthat we have had at least seven goodquality articles to share with you eachmonth. Please do keep the articlescoming! And finally dear Subscribers, Iwould like to thank you for your feedback.We need it to ensure that we keep ontrack!Janis Mwosa, Founder MemberHappy Birthday FemnetContinue the good work of bringing in allwoman related articles under one roof. Amust to be read by all women far andnear May you grow and leap and makeus all proud. Thank you again for givingme an opportunity to pen in a few words inyour newsletter.Cynthia Fernandes (Mumbai, India)Femnet has achieved another milestone its 2nd birthday. The foundations are nowlaid and the roots have taken hold. It ismy hope that the ideas, thoughts,narratives, stories, experiences sharedby our wonderful global womencontributors and readers continues togrow. Let us become more creative,explore new themes, and have womenacross the generations share theirmemories. So my very best wishes andcongratulations to Betsy as she continuesto grow her dream, and the team thatbring the issue to fruition. Happy 2ndAnniversary.Jaya Earnest, Founder MemberBIRTHDAY WISHESBIRTHDAY WISHESBIRTHDAY WISHESBIRTHDAYWISHESBIRTHDAY WISHESBIRTHDAY WISHESBIRTHDAY WISHESVisit us at femnet.goanet.orgIssue 25 Page 4
Happy 2nd birthday to Femnet! I feltprivileged to be asked to be a foundermember and enjoyed my term withFemnet tremendously. The support andencouragement of its founder membersmade Betsy's online magazine, a reality.Femnet has since showcased manybudding authors, poets and gave me anopportunity to write spontaneously onfamily and life experiences. As themagazine goes from strength to strength,women should feel proud to belong to thegender that is made of stern stuff, jugglingcareers and home life. I would also like tothink that daughters view their mothers inan admirable and favourable light, for theircontributions to Femnet – a fine exampleto young girls as they blossom into youngwomen.I am certain Femnet is ready now to,encourage articles on any sensitivesubject, thereby broadening its horizonsand accepting that it is a diverse world outthere. “for we women are not only thedeities of the household fire, but the flameof the soul itself.”( Tagore)Many congratulations Betsy & TeamFemnet!Mafalda-Anne (Mafie) deSa (UK)Congratulations to the Editorial Team ofGoanet.Femnet on its second birthday. Ifeel honored to be one of the ardent fansand a contributor of Femnet. It is a boldventure founded by one of our Goanwomen Betsy. The editorial team likeJanis and Jaya need our kudos too as theyall work together to bring out the beautifulon-line magazine. The oak tree grows outof a tiny acorn, so I wish Femnet will growto be a giant on-line magazine one day.Bella Comelo (USA)Happy birthday Femnet! As a semi-regularcontributor and regular subscriber, I cansay that I enjoy reading the articles andother contributions in this onlinemagazine. I look forward to receivingthese in my inbox. We were asked what weenjoyed most in the magazine, but that isdifficult to say. I read the whole thing andenjoy it all. When I see the newest editionin my inbox, I save it for last, to read at theend of the day when all my work is doneand I want to relax and take my timereading - like dessert. It is interesting'getting to know' so many women throughthis medium of the electronic printed word.It is also fun when I see a contribution fromsomeone I happen to know. It is a greatmeans of familiarizing oneself to customsand ways of different cultures from aroundthe world. I hope to resume sending incontributions when my hectic scheduleonce more allows me the luxury of writingagain. I truly appreciate this avenue topractice and hone my writing skills. Keepup the good work, and happy birthday!May you have many, many more!Chari Kingsbury (Athi River, Kenya)Visit us at femnet.goanet.orgWow! – a second birthday already. I canhardly believe that it is two long years sinceBetsy and her dedicated Editorial Teamcame up with their very first issue.Since then, they have religiously broughtout every succeeding issue, always filledwith interesting articles on a variety oftopics which cater to every taste and everyage group.We have much enjoyed the personalreminisces of the various contributors,especially their stories of the Christmasesof yore. Personal stories from some of theother contributors added much to ourreading pleasure.We very much enjoyed Colleen's account oftheir miracle baby, Catherine, and Betsy'sown account of her wedding day and allthat went into it.Pressures of other commitments precludeus from commenting on so many of theother articles in every issue, most of whichwe always find of great interest.All that now remains is to congratulateBetsy and the entire Editorial Team pastand present for the herculean efforts theycontinue to make to provide us, thereadership with so much of interest andvalue.We wish you ALL a Very Happy secondbirthday on April 5th 2014, and mayFemnet continue to grow from strength tostrength.Elsie and Mervyn Maciel (UK)It is a pleasure to note that GoanetFemnet will be celebrating their secondanniversary on April 5th 2014.I would like to commend you and yourteam for all the hard-work.I soappreciate the wide variety of interests,topics and relevant articles yourmagazine provides. Goanet-Femnet hasgained remarkable popularity which is awonderful achievement!Congratulations and with all good wishesfor the future.Teresa Dourado (Nairobi, Kenya)Happy Birthday Goanet.Femnet!! I havefound the magazine to be informative andinteresting. I always like to see whatcorner of the world someone is writingfrom – it gives me a wonderful sense ofconnection. May there be many manymore birthdays. Congratulations to theteam and all contributors, well done.Ciru Musyimi (Nairobi, Kenya)I wish you all a very Happy 2nd Birthdaytoday 5th April.'Birthdays are like feathers in the broadwings of time.' The more you praise andcelebrate your achievements the morethere is to celebrate.HAPPY BIRTHDAYGOANETFEMNETAND MAY YOU COMPLETE MANY MANYMORE SUCCESSFUL YEARS.Sara Noronha (Goa, India)First I would like to congratulate you onyour birthday, for getting Goanet.Femnetoff the ground; that was a very difficultthing to do; it is the same as a small child,learning to stand upright. Now that you areable to walk, we hope that you'll be soonrunning with the wind--- public appeal.May your readers and writers continue toe n a b l e G o a n e t . Fe m n e t t o g r o w i nrelevance and depth.Lakshmi Persaud (UK)Congratulations on your 2nd birthday! Ith a s b e e n e n j o ya b l e t o r e a d y o u rnewsletters and to contribute articles tothis wonderful effort. I really appreciatethe mix of articles, poems, recipes - thereis always something to learn.Many blessings in the year ahead,Marguerite Theophil (Mumbai, India)I'm impressed enough with Femnet toacknowledge the fact that I have hadseveral opportunities to express myselfin some of Femnet's articles, as well as toread with avid interest information thatother writers from throughout the worldhave come up with.I also accept the fact that my daughters,Lucinda and Mary Anne, have also hadoccasion to participate, with an addedbonus from my daughter Francesca'sm o t h e r- i n - l aw, L a k s h m i , a n d h e rfrequent up market writings.Many Happy Returns for Femnet's 2ndBirthday and many many more in theyears to come. Love.Lira Cordeiro (Bray, UK)"You know our good wishes are alwaysthere with you and Femnet. You've donean amazing job getting it together andtapping into many talented people. Allyour women readers will be able to relateto the insightful articles and touchingstories. God bless you and your efforts.Now imagine me singing this:Happy Birthday Goanet.Femnet. May youhave many more. I have enjoyed readingdifferent articles about women'sexperiences all over the world.Contributing to this magazine has alsohelped me learn a lot about myself andthings I need to change. I am amazed alsoat how much fun I have had as I havethought through the articles to write. Ihave truly grown thanks toGoanet.Femnet. Long live Goanet.Femnet! * *. .* * * *. Happy Birthday * *. . * * * * . To Yo u * * . .* * * *. Happy Birthday * *. . * * * * . To Yo u , * * . .* * * ** * *. Happy Birthday DearFemnet, * *. .* * * *. Happy Birthday * *. To You!Sarah Mbwaya (Nairobi, Kenya)Brenda Rodrigues (Mumbai, India)Issue 25 Page 5
It is my privilege to write about the forthcoming birthday of Isabella De Souza (Kenya) Visit for daily news updates HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOANET.FEMNET 2 Happy Birthday Goanet.Femnet You have turned two Congratulations are in order From all of us to you Your articles and poems Give warmth to every heart We all salute you today For making that first start
