Curcino PIRES Obituary

CINO PIRES

I met Cino in Lusaka, Zambia in 1968 when I accompanied the Football Team from Mumbwa Secondary School for the match against Kabulonga Boys Secondary School in Lusaka. The match was played in the afternoon and it was not possible for us to return to Mumbwa, 100 miles away and travelling through dirt roads through the Bush. So, we had to be accommodated at the school. This was the normal practice in those days.
Kabulonga Boys Secondary School then was one of the Prestigious Boys School in Lusaka which followed British Grammar School Traditions, Cino was probably the only teacher of Asian origin in that school at that time. Seeing another Asian in me and knowing that I also had recently arrived from Kenya, we struck up a longstanding friendship. As Cino was the Master of one of the Boarding Houses, he had his quarters, an extremely comfortable one, in one of the Boarding Dormitories. He was to accommodate me. Dinner was a very formal affair. In the dining Hall, Boarders sat in order of their Houses, in full School Uniform. The Master's table was on a stage with all House Masters dressed in their evening suits. The Headmaster sat at the Head of the table. Once prayers were said, food was served by the smartly dressed catering staff of the school. This experience was a far cry from what I had to endure as a teacher out in the bush in Mumbwa.
Zambia attained its Independence from Britain in October 1964 and one of the policies of the First President Dr. Kenneth Kaunda was to establish Secondary/High Schools in each District of Zambia. As Zambia did not have qualified teachers to teach Science and Mathematics and indeed other subjects in these schools, teachers were recruited from various countries. The quality of teaching Science was of concern and under the leadership of Prof. Alan Ward of the University of Zambia, the National Inspector of Science Mr. Dave Syme, along with Senior Teachers such as Mr. Roy Clarke of Munali Secondary School, Mr. M.T. Thomas of Canisius Secondary School, Cino Pires of Kabulonga Boys and a few others, the Science Teachers' Association was formed. They organised Teachers' Conferences during the School vacation periods in Lusaka, Kabwe, Kitwe etc where Science Teachers from all parts of the country gathered to be trained in the better presentation and dissemination of Science to their charges in their schools.
One of the aspects that emanated from these conferences was to encourage students to work on Projects' with a Scientific bias. With the support of the Prof. E,C,Lawson, the First Dean of the School of Engineering, Prof. Alan Ward, the Dean of Natural Sciences of the University of Zambia, the Ministry of Education, the two mining conglomerates RCM and NCCM, an organisation called the JETS (Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists) Organisation of Zambia was formed in 1968 whose main objective was to Promote and Popularise Science and Technology amongst the Youth of Zambia through the Schools System. Cino formed one of the first Science Clubs in Lusaka at Kabulonga Boys, was an active organiser of subsequent Regional Science Fairs for the Lusaka Region and an energetic supporter of the National JETS Fairs that were held annually in Lusaka.
As time went by, we found ourselves living in adjoining countries and we would have long chats during the Christmas period.
In December 2018, I sent him the following message:

Hi Cino

I have not heard from you for some time. We usually have a chat
around Christmas, but not this year.

Is everything alright?
Are you OK?
Could you e-mail me your telephone number please?

With my best wishes

Jacob

I recently decided to check on his whereabouts and read the sad news of him having passed away in March 2019.
I cherish the memories of our friendship and of the experiences we had together in Zambia and will truly miss those long sessions that rekindled our experiences of our life in Kenya and in Zambia of days gone by. Cino was a good friend. Rest in peace mate.

Picture of Cino at the Regional JETS Fair in Lusaka 1976 is attached

Jacob John
The First National Secretary, JETS of Zambia (1972 1981)

Sad to hear of Cino's passing. I certainly enjoyed working with you Lynette at the Huntly Stratford project. Ironic that I went to Huntly College in the early 60's.

Deepest sympathy, Grant Johnson

Thankful for wonderful memories of our time together in Zambia, and visits to our home in Canada, which will keep Cino forever alive in our hearts. Till we meet again in that Great Mansion in the Sky!
Warm hugs to Lynnette, Anton, Andre and families.

So sorry to hear about your loss. He will be sadly missed. Love and thoughts to all the family

Deepest condolences to family and friends. He was an incredibly inspirational and humble teacher, who always had a smile. Whod have thought physics could be fun! He will be missed but never forgotten. Arohanui.