Founder’s Day
1st October 2015
My Dear Staff and Students
Good Morning
All started in 1966, 2 years before the Independence of Mauritius, in a wooden building at Remy Ollier Street. With less than 80 students, one morning on the 10 of January 1966, when cyclone Denise was approaching Mauritius, London College opened its door to make education more accessible to the young boys and girls in the vicinity of Port Louis.
Headed by a very ambitious young man, Harold, having the unconditional support of his parents and having by his side, his wife, Therese, here are we, the big and proud family of London College almost 50 years later.
If today we are proud of London College, if today we are proud to be a member of this institution, if today we are enjoying the best facilities available, if today we are enjoying a better condition of service, it is thanks to the contribution of Harold Chan Lam in the education sector at regional, national and international level.
Harold Chan Lam was born on the first October 1938 and left us on 10 May 2012. He would have been 77 today. Harold Chan Lam is synonymous to London College and vice versa. When we refer to London College, we refer to Harold Chan Lam and this is why we have to commemorate, Founder’s Day, on 1st of October every year.
Harold Chan Lam left London College as a heritage to Mauritius. He himself pronounced this sentence in his speeches. To leave an institution to one’s country means that London College must have reached a certain standard, a very well respected institution and being well viewed by the public at large.
This reference in the field of education today, took us almost 50 years to attain and we are still innovating and moving along with progress and education is not static.
Harold Chan Lam worked very hard to emerge and differentiate London College from other institutions and it was not an easy task. It thanks to his devoted staff and of his students who acted as good ambassadors to attract more students. Nothing was served to Harold Chan Lam on a tray, but he had to earn them. Patience, Hope, Courage, Struggle, Fighting spirit, Energy, Belief, Leader, Intelligence, Follower, Friendly, Firm, Perseverance were the basic ingredients for the success Harold Chan Lam and through him London College.
My Dear Students and my colleagues, what we have inherited we must preserve and make it more fruitful. I know that I have great responsibilities. I have been taking them and I will continue to take them. You also as students and staff of this institution you have your responsibilities to take and I want you to assume them.
As we read in newspaper of more cases of violence at schools, more cases of teenage pregnancy, more cases of drugs, more cases of harassment, more cases bad behavior, disrespect, I want you to shoulder your responsibility as students and as educators.
If we all shoulder our responsibilities and assume the consequences of our actions or reactions, I am sure that we will encounter less problems. You should respect yourself and others and in turn you will be respected. You should respect the values and culture of others so that we can continue to live together in this country called paradise. Your family, the school, the country and the world need you and I have faith in you. Without discipline there will be no progress.
As you know, next year we will be celebrating our Golden Jubilee and I want that we celebrate together. Celebrate together means that you have to be with us and to be with us in 2016, you must succeed in your exams. You must work hard and make a lot of sacrifices and you will harvest the fruits on the first of December.
I am glad that most you have contributed for a full page of Best Wishes for London College which will appear in the newspaper beginning next year. I make an appeal to all Londoners (students and staff) to fully collaborate and contribute towards the success of this event. We should be proud of our institution. I know that I can count on you for the success of all activities what we will undertake in 2016. Let us together show the world what we can do and make the founder who is up in this blue sky proud of his children as he has been a father for all of us.
Today, a series of activities have been organized to commemorate the Founder's Day and I want you to fully participate as it forms part of the Londonian culture. Later during the day, representatives of teaching and non-teaching staff, of students and of management will go to cemetery to laying some bouquets on the tomb of late Harold Chan Lam as a sign of respect towards him.
I seize this opportunity to wish you, the students, good luck for your end of year exams and I ask you to always aim higher as it is the only way towards success.
I thank you for your attention.
Mr Terry CHAN LAM
Rector/Manager
London College