Kanajar Welfare Association Kuwait (KWAK)

KWAK in its Decennial Year - A Dream turned into Success

The parishioners of Kanajar residing at Kuwait had come together with unity to strive towards a common goal. It is evident that this unity has fulfilled towards the progress and upliftment of Kanajarians both at Kuwait and back home at Kanajar, with whatever huge or small support received from our esteemed members.

It was the dream of one man, Mr Lawrence D'Souza who visualized the association of Kanajarians residing at Kuwait, for the benefit of each other. He put this idea into the minds of a few fellow parishioners and thus "Lourdes Zamath Kanajar" which was later know as "Kanajar Welfare Association Kuwait" (KWAK), was formed on March 12, 2000 with its 14 founding members. Soon after, with the active leadership of Mr. Lawrence Saldanha and others, the associations for Kanajarians were formed in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Mumbai. All these associations, with the blessings from our patron Lady of Lourdes, are working towards a common motto: Betterment and progress of the people of Kanajar.

Within 3 months of the formation of KWAK its strength grew to 100 members and within a year there were 140 members.

Following are the eminent persons who led the association through the successive terms:

Lawrence Saldanha (2000-02 & 2006-08)	Lawrence D'Souza (2002-04)	Melwyn Mascarenhas (2004-06)
Antony Victor Miranda (2008-10)	Henry Britto (2010-)

KWAK - 2002


KWAK - 2004


KWAK - 2006


KWAK - 2008


KWAK - 2010

The main mission of our association have always been:
 - Upliftment of the Kanajar parish
 - Providing education to poor children of the parish
 - Extending a helping hand to the parishioners here in Kuwait in times of need and difficulty.
 - Annual Celebration of the Kanajar feast together with all the Kanajar parishioners.
 - Making arrangements for funeral in case of a demise of a fellow parishioner.

Following are some of the major achievements of KWAK:
 - Kanajar association became a leading example to all during the renovation of the portico of church.
 - For the betterment of our parish, Lourdes Charitable trust was founded soon after which Lourdes Charitable Hospital was established.
 - To help our members during emergencies a mortuary fund was established according to which a total of Rs 25,000 will be donated to the family members of the deceased. (Last year, the family members of Benedicta D'souza and Mary Menezes had received this amount)
 - Every year Nativity fest, Kanajar feast is celebrated in a grand manner together with all the parishioners residing here in Kuwait,
 - A yearly picnic and a get-together is arranged by the end of the year.
 - Kidchamp-2008 (dance competition) was organized in order to showcase the talents of our young children.