HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR GERALDO PACHECO.
Mr. Geraldo Pacheco seen sixth from left with his wife.
Yesterday,1st August, it was a very especial occasion for me along with a few of my ex Arpora School colleagues to greet our teacher Mr. Geraldo Pacheco on his 80th birthday, at his residence at Parra, Bardez, Goa.
Thanks to the initiative of my ex colleague Mr. Cipriano from Arpora who currently is holidaying in Goa from UK, we a few of us joined together and visited Mr. Pacheco's place to greet him.
Mr. Pacheco's first assignment as a teacher was at St. Joseph's High School, Arpora, Bardez, Goa, in 1965. Earlier he was working in Bombay after his graduation in Science. He passed his matriculation thru Arpora school which is the first English High School of Goa. This school then had a very high standard not only in academics but also in sports and other extra curricular activities. Besides being a very good student at Arpora, Mr. Pacheco was a very good sportsman excelling in athletics where Polevault was his forte in which item nobody in Goa could outbeat him at All Goa Interschool Athletics competitions.
I was his student from the day one he joined Arpora where he taught me General Science, Maths, Physics and Chemistry till I finished my SSC.
As a teacher he was excellent and as a human being he was much more than that, for this reason we feel not only like respecting him but more than that, adoring him. In this direction we grabbed this rare opportunity to go to his place and greet him on this rare occasion, personally.
For me personally, he was not only a great teacher but more than that a great guru, mentor and a great guide who always guided me in the right direction besides helping me to cope up with my studies. Being a top sportsman in Goa as a footballer and an athlete there was lot of distraction on my studies but Mr. Pacheco would immediately come to my rescue. He wanted me to complete not only my SSC but also graduation. He told me one thing, "for people like us, education is the only mode to cross all the man made barriers".
Otherwise, he was also helpful to other students but on me he focused his attention more because I was then a top sportsman of Goa from that school and since student sportsmen were not known to be good students, he used his wisdom to elevate me in studies as well.
At 80, he is doing well and looks active, enjoying his life well with his wife, children and grand children. This is a big blessing for him from God for the good work he did as a teacher and a human being. Teacher of his type are rarity nowadays because he belonged to that great Goan yesteryears generation.
Sir, I wish you all the best and many more happy birthdays. May God Bless You with good health.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Candolim, Goa.
Tel: 7507394349.