Mangalore: Rohan Monteiro, Lawrence Mendonca among Rachana Awardees
Pics: Brijesh Garodi
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (BG)
With Inputs from Media Release
Mangalore, Oct 31: The 11th Rachana Awards will be conferred on Sunday, November 17 at 6:30 pm at Milagres Jubilee Hall, Mangalore, said Ivan D’Souza, president of Rachana, addressing a press meet here on Thursday October 31.
The Awards will be bestowed on Rohan Monteiro as the (Entreprenuer of the Year), Jacqueline Colaco (Outstanding Woman of the Year), Prof Edmund Frank (Agriculturist of the Year), Dr Stanislaus F D’souza (Professional of the Year) and Lawrence Mendonca (NRI Entrepreneur of the Year).
Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza, bishop of Mangalore will preside over the function. Dr Oscar Fernandes, union minister for transportwill be the chief guest. Dr Shantharam Shetty and MLA J R Lobo will the guests of honour, Ivan added.
The selection committee included Dr Derek Lobo, Dr Errol Pinto, Eulalia D’Souza, Felix Pinto, Fr F X Gomes, Gilbert D’Souza, Capt J P Menezes, Marcel Monteiro, Marjorie Texeira, Dr Meera Aranha, Dr Norman Mendonca, Roy Castelino, Walter D’Souza, Felix Albuquerque and C J Lobo.
Ronald Gomes, convener, Rachana Awards 2013, Marcel Monteiro, past president and William Rebello, PRO were also present.
Rohan R Monteiro - Rachana Entrepreneur of the Year
Dedication and passion, hard work, faith and perseverance are the true ingredients for the success of Rohan Reginald Monteiro, a young and enterprising entrepreneur of Mangalore.
With a humble beginning by selling consumer products to a massive real estate empire of Property Infratech India Pvt Ltd, he has carved a niche with nine completed and 10 ongoing projects.
A philanthropist, he has helped for a right cause of every community and provides direct and indirect employment to over 1400 people.
Lawrence Mendonca - Rachana NRI Entrepreneur of the Year
Lawrence Mendonca, an alumni of St Aloysius College and BE (MTech) with a rank from Karnataka Regional Engineeering College, Suratkal, Mangalore.
He has been an entrepreneur in Dubai for the last 36 years. He is proprietor of Standard Fabrication and Engineering Works, Dubai and partner of 8 other companies that employ approximately 1000 people, many who are from Mangalore origin.
A philanthropist, he is a lead member of Kanara Entrepreneurs Ltd which supports, nurtures and encourages budding entrepreneurs.
Dr Stanislaus F D’Souza, Mumbai - Rachana Professional of the Year
Dr S F D’souza was ‘Outstanding Scientist’, associate director, Biomedical Group and head of nuclear agriculture and biotechnology division Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai. He retired recently.
He was coordinating various activities of the division with respect to agriculture, crop improvement , soil sciences, plant and microbial biotechnology, environmental biotechnology, food technology/ food irradiation etc.
Under his leadership, 19 new crop varieties have been developed in oil seeds and pulses which have been released and gazette notified by the ministry of agriculture, government of India, for commercial cultivation in the country and are very popular among the farmers, including Karnataka.
He has over 41 years of research experience. He has to his credit over 200 scientific papers in reputed international journals, over another 200 papers in text books and seminar proceedings and a few patents.
Jacqueline Colaco Rachana - Outstanding Woman of the Year
Jacqueline Colaco is a lady with an indomitable spirit and resilience. She represented India in the national hockey team in 1971.
At the age of 36 she was affected with a debilitating disease rheumatoid arthritis at the peak of her life when she was a banker in New York. Now at 63, she is single and is actively associated with the Association of People with Disability, rendering her valuable service to the organization which is striving for equality and justice for people with disability.
The hands that wielded the hockey stick for India between 1964-1971 were unable to even hold a book to read or even do simple personal chores. With her fortitude to overcome adversity in life through her abundant fighting spirit has made a difference to her own life and to lives of thousands of people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis through the ‘Arthritis Foundation (India) which she established in 1995.
Jacqueline Colaco is no doubt an epitome of courage, forbearance, resilience, dedication and positive approach to life.
Prof Edmund Frank - Rachana Agriculturist of the Year
Prof Edmund Frank, a first generation agriculturist, has converted a barren land at Bolanthoor, Bantwal taluk into a high yielding farm with arecanut, coconut, banana, papaya and a variety of fruit trees.
As an innovative farmer he also rears turkeys, ducks, rabbits, goats, cows, fowls and dogs.
He has developed unique methods of making cattle fodder using the ‘sailez methods’. He prepares his own bio-pesticides and compost manure enriching bacteria through bio-digesters.
He is also an educationalist, banker, social worker and philanthropist of far excellence. He conducts self employment classes for youngsters and adults in his farm.
Research students and scholars from agricultural colleges come for field visits to his farm to get practical inputs.