Dornald Lenroy Thomas

Mr. Thomas is the descendant of Indians who sailed the seas from India during

the last half of the nineteen century (1861-1880). He is a co-founder of the St.

Vincent and the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Indian Heritage Foundation

and has done tremendous research over the years. This includes visits to the

public archives in both the UK and SVG and a three- month course and field

trip in India in 2007. He has moderated and administered discussions related

to the heritage and culture of the SVG Indians over the last fourteen years. This

book therefore synthesizes his knowledge, that of the forums and his elders

to bring an enjoyable experience to the readers and hopefully influence their

future life choices.

Mr. Thomas was born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He obtained his

primary and secondary education at private, religious schools in the village of

Richland Park. On completion of his High School education, his first formal

job was teaching at the same primary school he attended. During this time he

was also involved with helping his parents on their farms, operating a grocery

shop and making hats and caps. While at the shop in the 1970s, his great uncle,

Mr. Vincent Moore would tell him the stories of his ancestors. As his interest

grew, he was able to construct a fairly comprehensive family tree reaching to

his ancestors who came on the ships from India.

In 1980, he obtained a BA degree in Business Administration in Trinidad,

specialising in Accounting and also took courses in Journalism. There, he encountered

a more undiluted form of the Indian culture than in St. Vincent and participated

in various Indian cultural events and ceremonies. In 1984, he returned to SVG

and worked as an Accountant with both the government and the private sector.

Several years later, getting bored with the monotony of sitting down every day,

he applied for a job as Senior Project Officer, heading the Projects Department

at the National Development Foundation, appraising business projects. This

allowed him to do field trips visiting with entrepreneurs, farmers and fisherfolks.

One aspect of business project analysis he got to love was marketing. In 1994, he

went to the UK along with his family and completed a MA in Export Marketing

Management after which he worked in the fields of marketing management

and general management for several years.

While in England, encounters with the Indian community who migrated directly

from India to England, sparked his interest in deeper consideration of

the difference between those Indians and those with roots in the Caribbean.

He noticed that they had vastly different cultural identities which impact their

outlook and attitudes. It was then that he started a deeper research into the

history of his own roots. In this quest, he later visited the National Archives at

Kew Gardens, London and the Archives in SVG.

Several years later, on August 16, 2005, while visiting his elderly cousin Mr Osley

Baptiste at Indian Bay with his sister, a wonderful thing happened. By chance a

few more of his cousins came to visit and later in the evening a discussion ensued

which ended in firm steps taken to form the SVG Indian Heritage Foundation

(SVG IHF). He was later integrally involved in the operation of this organization

performing several functions as an Executive Committee member. This includes

writing the minutes of the Foundation, organizing events and liaison with the

media. As the Foundation grew, links were made with several organizations and

the Government of India. In 2007, he was chosen to visit India for a course at

the National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (NI-MSME).

His time in India included field studies, travelling from NI-MSME, Hyderabad

to various places as far South as Karela. He was also afforded the privilege of

discovering some cities of the SVG Indian ancestors.

In February, 2008, Mr Thomas moved to Turkey where he married a Turk,

and has since been teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL). However,

he has continued to be intimately involved with the SVG IHF and its activities.

He started the SVG Indian Heritage group on Facebook on February 14,

2010 along with eight Indians of Vincentian heritage in the diaspora. He now

administers the website team and Facebook group of the SVGIHF. He has

gathered tremendous information about the history of the Indians of SVG while

performing the functions as the main moderator of discussions on these forums.

Mr Thomas therefore has a wealth of knowledge about the roots of the SVG

Indians and experiences that are unique. These include his research from the

archives in the UK and SVG and his experience of their culture and life both in

SVG and India. He is therefore most delighted to bring this wealth of knowledge

and experience to you