Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Jun 16: Daijiworld Weeky, on the occasion of its 5th anniversary, will confer 'Swabhiman Awards' on seven persons who are differently-abled, yet achievers in their respective fields. They will receive the prestigious Award on June 18 at 10 am during Daijiworld Weekly's anniversary event at Town Hall.

Addressing a press meet here on Monday June 16, Hemacharya, editor-in-chief of Daijiworld Weekly said that the Swabhiman Awards will be conferred on Anjana Devi of Ujire, Calistus D’Sa, Mangalore, Hameed and Lathif Brothers, Ujire, Jagadish Poojary, Adyar Padavu, Neha Rai, Puttur, and Sabita Monis, Beltangady.

Justice Santosh Hegde, former Lokayukta of Karnataka government accompanied by Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi, chancellor, Yenepoya University, Leo Rodrigues, NRI enterprenuer and philanthropist, and V P Lobo, chairman and MD of T3 Urban Developers Ltd will present the awards, Hemacharya said.

Each award consists of a cash prize of Rs 25,000, a memento and a citation.

Fifteen names were shortlisted by Daijiworld Weekly out of the numerous nominations received. The nominations were then scrutinized by a jury, consisting of Basti Vaman Shenoy, a social activist and president of World Konkani Center, Ronald Anil Fernandes, bureau chief of Deccan Herald English daily, Vasant Kumar Shetty, founder and principal of Saanidhya Residential School for Special Children and Shahanaz M, editor of Anupama magazine for women. William Pais of Orchid Art Gallery was the chief coordinator.

The team after having reviewed the merits of each candidate and having visited their place of residence recommended the names of the seven winners.

William Pais, Basti Vaman Shenoy, Ronald Anil Fernandes, Vasant Kumar Shetty and Shahanaz M were present.

About the Awardees

Anjana Devi, Ujire - Self dependent and Self-confident

Anjana Devi lost her mobility to polio when she was just three years old. She lost her mother when she was just ten months old. Although her father, Manjunath Prabhu provided her with both safety and paternal love, she had her own struggle to fight. Ever since, Anjana struggled with an innocent smile, only to come out triumphant in her long march.

After passing her SSLC examination, she was encouraged to take up other vocational training to become self-reliant. She refused to accept disability pension, and took her case to the tasildar to organize health camps for the physically disabled like her. Ever since she is arranging ID cards for the disabled through which people like her can avail facilities provided by the govt and NGO organizations. She has started a self-help group for the disabled which meets every 15 days, where they share problems and challenges faced by the fraternity. They together try to give a ray of hope to the distressed world. Anjana Devi believes that if one door gets closed, it also opens ten other doors for the real seeker.

Calistus D’Sa, Mangalore - A lamp in a darkened world

Calistus D’Sa is the principal of Roman and Catherine Lobo School for the Blind. He himself is visually impaired, but he is ably guiding many visually impaired children on the path of seeing the light. He was educated in the Divine Light School for the Blind in Bangalore. He went on to do his masters in St Xavier College Mumbai and also served as lecturer in Mumbai.

Calistus puts forward his view on disability rather emphatically. Being disabled of course has its set of problems but it should be by no means a deterrent to the path of success, he says.
"Disabled do not need charity, they need opportunity," he says with a smile. He stresses the need for change in community’s attitude towards the disabled, which will pave the way for changing the government response for the differently-abled.

Well-qualified and well-mannered, Calistus serves as a beacon of hope, in an otherwise darkened world. He teaches, encourages, and guides the young minds to an enlightened vision of the world.

Hameed and Lathif brothers, Ujire - Ray of hope despite being visually impaired

Hameed and Latif are brothers living in a remote village in Machar near Ujire in Beltangady. They not only share blood relation but also share a common disability of being visually impaired. Hailing from a poor Muslim family, dealing with this disability was an added burden that could not be handled. Non-plastered mud walls and floors speak volumes about their sorry state of affairs.

Being at the flipside of fate, both the brothers have come out courageous, kind and generous. Despite being visually impaired, they help other disabled in their locality to get to know about the different government schemes and help them get identity cards. The rural illiterate and disabled have benefited by their service.

Both Hameed and Lathif wait for long hours outside government offices on behalf of other disabled, which has been of great help to them. It's the finest example of being mutually beneficial, of helping each other and understanding their disabilities.  This is great relief in the face of utter dismay and Hameed and Latif have brought a smile on some one else’s face, makes a strong point of cooperation.

Jagadish Poojary, Adyar Padavu Mangalore - Building life with extra zeal

Jagadish Poojary’s house at Merlapadav, a village on the outskirts of Mangalore, is completely a misnomer to his list of achievements in various competitions in body building. The two-room house with barely few necessities stares at us and raises a question as to how can someone rise to the level of achievement, let alone the disabled. The numerous awards and trophies won by him hardly have any display space in the house, not even a decent cupboard.

Despite odds and lack of facilities, Jagadish had the will to excel in sports and saw to it that bodybuilding gave him the platform to excel. He rose from district level to the national level, got felicitated by chief minsters and other dignitaries, but his poverty stayed arrogantly where it was, and he continues to live with his parents and a sister, in helpless condition.

Jagadish works at Sahyadri Institute of Technology as a trainer in multi gymnasium in the campus, and conveys the message to the strong and healthy students that if a polio stricken person can body builder, why shoudn’t they try their hand at physical training too. And it works, according to him. He is the true example of how disability could be overcome with strong will and resolution.

Neha Rai, Puttur – A ton of confidence behind a veil of disability

Neha Rai by birth is a victim of what is known medically as “Severe Kypho Scoliosis”. Her limbs lost their purpose to stand up and be counted. Life stared at Neha with its ugly face, testing her ware- withal to stand its scrutiny. In this tussle Neha, came out winning, beating every challenge successfully. She just completed her graduation in what could be said “miserable state” by a normal person. But it was not so for Neha, as she dissected the mystery of her misery head on.

She is the only offspring to her parents- Venugopal and Nayana Rai and the trio triumphed in putting life on track. She consistently maintained brilliant academic performance throughout. At schools, though she was faced with unwelcome gestures initially, soon became the favourite student of her teachers and a loveable friend to her classmates. Excelling in extracurricular activities, she wrote poems, played chess, won prizes in English and Hindi elocutions and drawing.

Neha Rai wants to pursue her post graduation in commerce and become a bank officer. Her relentless hard work encouraged by her parents stands as true example of how to deal with disability. Nayana Rai also intends to start a Trust for the help of disabled and giving them crucial help.

Sabita Monis, Beltangady - Deformity is no deterrence

Absence of hands was never an impediment to her spirits in making up with the abled. Sabita Monis, hailing from remote and rural village Beltangady of Dakshina Kannada district, had to walk one and half mile to her education. A postgraduate in Social work she works as a student welfare officer at Alva’s Educational Institutions.

The genetic deformity took away her hands, coming in the way of her leading a normal life. Supported by siblings at the tender age, Sabita managed to write using her feet, as if it were her hands. Today she manages almost all tasks using her feet. Every day, she writes for 20 km to reach her work place, attending to the hues and cries of a variety of varied complaints from students arriving from different parts of India. Sabita’s parents - Basil and Benedict Monis may heave a sigh of relief after years of struggle to put their daughter on normal course, as she is independent with most of her tasks. Today, Sabita stands as a shining example to those with disability, of how it can be converted into ability, that it is no deterrent to success.