Thika Oshwals 75/100 Years Celebrations

As we celebrate 100 years of Oshwals arriving from India to Thika, and 75 years of our community, let us spare a moment and reflect on the immense change that has taken place in our lives over these years. 

Think of what those young 10-15 year old boys and girls must have felt when they saw the shores of Kenya, their first stop in Africa.  They had only 100 Rupees in their pockets and three pairs of clothes.  What could have been on their minds and what aspirations did they have?  Would they have thought that within the first sixty years, our total Oshwal population in Kenya would have grown to 20,000, or that Oshwals would have firmly set their feet into businesses, education and healthcare?

Kenya became the birthplace for many of them and with tremendous courage and self-esteem, a lot of Oshwals later migrated to the UK and other destinations in the late 1960’s.

Today, our young sons and daughters are qualified in every field of education, name it doctors, pharmacists, dentists, accountants, bankers, actuaries, lawyers, engineers, artists, architects, and head some of the biggest multinationals around the world.  Oshwals have a foothold in industries throughout Africa, India, UK, Europe and the USA.

However, all these changes have not affected our feelings towards our community.  Our original motto still binds us together:

To get together is a beginning.
To live together is progress.
To work together is success.

These celebrations will surely be dedicated to all those young Oshwal boys and girls who could not live to witness their dreams and aspirations, which have turned to reality.  It is also dedicated to all our leaders, past and present, who have given selfless service to our community.  What else can we say but thank them for putting the Oshwal name high up on the ladder of dignified world communities.

We are proud to be Oshwals.

Thika Rocks!

 

All Thika Oshwal families are invited to participate in the exhibition. Below are the set guidelines for exhibiting. The more photographs we have the better.

Guidelines for the exhibition

HISTORY

  1. Brief history of when your family came to Thika and whether they are still living there or have migrated to other towns or countries.
  2. Family tree, family portraits (old and new).
  3. If you have any old artefacts from your family’s first days in Thika.  
  4. Your old memories of Thika

BUSINESS

  1. Brief details of your original business in Thika and all your business interests to date.
  2. Any special recognition/ awards by the business community.

EDUCATION

  1. Please indicate the educational achievements of family members.
  2. Graduation ceremony portraits.
  3. Any special recognition or awards by the educational boards.
  4. Excellence in any sporting activity.

NATIONAL AWARDS

  1. Please indicate if you have achieved any special National awards from any government.
  2. Philanthropic work carried out by the family including participation in VOC committees and projects.

FINALLY

Please indicate in maximum 20 words your feelings for Thika. We recommend a font size of 16 for all the information for the exhibition with a maximum of 6 pages. All exhibition material from UK Oshwals can be emailed directly or given to the UK sub-committee.

Programme for Celebrations

DATE EVENTS
     
11/12/2009   Sanatra Pooja at 9:30am. All students of Patshala are invited.
Slide show and exhibition at night with dinner from 7.00pm onwards at Thika Mahajanwadi.
     
12/12/2009   Public Holiday – Independence Day.
Exhibition open all day.
Gala dinner with presentation of awards from 7.00pm at Thika Mahajanwadi. Dress code: Formal/Black Tie
     
13/12/2009   Picnic lunch at Thika Gymkhana from 11.00am onwards.
     

DONATIONS:

Oshwals have been known to be philanthropic and as part of the celebration we intend to raise a significant amount to be donated to a worthy cause in Thika. Our donation scheme is as follows:

Silver donor - £250 or Kshs. 25,000

Gold donor - £500 or Kshs. 50,000

Diamond donor - £750 or Kshs. 75,000

Platinum donor - £1,000 or Kshs. 100,000

75/100 years Celebrations / scholarships

In the year 2011, 47 students were given 5000/= each total amount being 235,000/=

In the year 2012, 46 students were given 5000/= each total amount being 230,000/=. 200,000/= was also given to Dipal Naresh of Nairobi who is studying Medicine in Australia.

2. V.O.C donation

In the year 2011, 1,523,406/= donation was given for education, food and medical support.
The same donation was given the in year 2012 amounting to 936,804/=

Cheques payable to Visa Oshwal Community Thika.

The committee has decided to donate KSH 1.5 million (1,500,000ksh) in the form of bursaries to 75 students in schools around Thika who will pass with the highest marks in this year’s KCPE Standard 8 examinations. These examinations start this week (first/ second week November)

Each student will be given Ksh 5,000/- per year for the next four years to complete Form 1 to Form 4.

The community is also going to plant 3,000 seedlings at KIENI Forest to support the fight against deforestation and environmental concern of the country.