SINDHI CULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF TORONTO (SCAT)
The Year 2008 at a glance…..
By Kajal Ambwani, Programs Director
The Goal of the SCAT Board of Directors was to arrange “Community”, “Fellowship” & “Cultural” and above all, FUN events for the members.These programs were a Grand Successes, made possible by the hard work & dedication of the Board members and the participation & support of the enthusiastic SCAT members.
The first Cultural cum Fellowship event, a Sindhi Movie Nite, the movie “Paare-waari” was screened at our Gurmandir on Saturday, April 26th.
This event was Free for the members and was sponsored by the Board of directors. We had over 125 members at the screening and during interval, Chhola-Dhabal, Mixed Pakoras, Fresh Jalebis , Tea and Soft drinks were served. Members thoroughly enjoyed the delicious food.
On Saturday, May 24th SCAT Board arranged a Luxury Motor Coach trip tp CASINO RAMA for members and guests.
One large Luxury Motor coach started from “Square One” and picked more members from Gurmandir en route to Casino Rama. Mr. Gulab Butany, our Vice President and me were the Hosts on this trip. SCAT President Mr. Ramesh Shahani was present at the Square One venue to personally welcome and greet each member that boarded the Motor coach, providing light refreshment and bottled water.
Bus ride with two Hindi movies, Casino Rama visit and a Buffet Dinner with choices of desserts, all for just 5 Dollars! There possible couldn’t have been a better deal! Members thoroughly enjoyed the outing, sang on top of their voices joyfully and played Antakshri on the return trip. A Jhullelal Audio CD donated by a SCAT member Bharat Sharma as “gift” to each family was a Cherry on the Sundae!
Since then there have been several requests to arrange a similar trip to Fallsview casino in Niagara Falls. Annual Family Picnic on Sunday, August 31st at the Centennial Park was a day to remember too! The weather Gods were smiling; the temperature was 26C, negligible humidity and gentle breeze. It was a picture perfect day for the Family Picnic.
Almost 150 SCAT members, their families and friends enjoyed the Free BBQ Corn, sugar sweet Watermelon and Indian Style Tea all day long. SCAT Board; volunteers and members worked hard hand in hand to make this event a grand Success.
The President Mr. Ramesh Shahani worked tirelessly to supervise and implement the multitasks needed to smoothly run the show. Gulab Butany and Manoj Balani worked the BBQ throughout the day. Deepu Bharwani cheered the children with special gifts like Toothbrush, dental and Beauty products from Colgate, courtesy of Poonam Sabnani, Ball Caps and T-shirts by Lalu Gurmukh and DVD’s by Soni Shahani.
Your Board is grateful for these gifts donated by our members.
A variety of sports and games were arranged to suit all ages. Sunil Shahani and Vishal Shahani organized VolleyBall Tournament. Sabina Malkani and Soni Shahani manage the game of BINGO for more than 50 participants. Dr. Jaya Chanchalani organized a Musical Dance… a game of elimination, which was a Blast!
And to top it all, Sonia and Satu Wadhwani made the Indian Railway Style Tea for the one and all. This was a much needed and most appreciated beverage after lunch! It was a pleasure to see several Past Presidents at the Picnic. One past President congratulated the Board for it’s good work. For well organizing the picnic and giving SCAT members a wonderful time.
Needless to say, the success of the programs the Board has organized has been due to teamwork and participation is the members. And the most sought after and much awaited event of the year has been the 2008 SCAT Annual DIWALI BALL. The event planned for Saturday, October 25th was completely sold out in less than seven days!
The Board of Directors sincerely express their gratitude and thank the SCAT members for showing such solidarity and trust in the current Board.