Dubai: UN awardee Ashwini Angadi honoured by Kannadigas

Dubai: UN awardee Ashwini Angadi honoured by Kannadigas

Mangalore Today News Network

Shodhan Prasad

Dubai, March 24, 2014:  Kannadigas in Dubai organized felicitation  to  honor  visually challenged Bangalorean girl Miss Ashwini Angadi  achiever of ’Youth Courage Award’ by the United Nations in 2013 while she was in Dubai  attending Global Education Skills Forum Seminar held at JW Marriot in Dubai.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Program started with invocation song by Sarala Raghu Prasad followed by welcome speech by Shodhan Prasad of Nama Tuluveru who welcomed  Ashwini Angadi and all the prominent Kannadiga guests.   Speaking in the event Abu Dhabi Karnataka Sangha President, Sarvotham Shetty and Radio Spice MD, Herman Lewis lauded Ashwini’s achievements and   interacted  with her during their speeches. Other guests who expressed their views on the event were Murugesh Gajere, of Basawa Samithi, Aruna  Muthugadur of Kannada Koota and Manohar Thonse of Abu Dhabi Billawara Balaga.

They lauded and expressed their  happiness and pride of Ashwini being a Kannadiga girl achievement to reach  the United Nations.   

Ashwini was honored  with Shawl, Flower Bouqet, Fruits, Memento & ’Sanmana Patra’ in remembrance of her Dubai visit. Along with organizers Deepak Somashekar of Overseas Kannada Movies & Producer Shodhan Prasad of ’NIREL’, were other guests including President of Kannadigaru UAE, Sadan Das, Uma Vidyadhar  & Mallikarjuna Gowda and heads of several  other associations including Sarvotham Shetty, Manohar Thonse, Satish Venkataramana, Ramachandra Hegde, Herman Lewis, Praveen Shetty  and other guests.  Usha Deepak Somashekar rendered a brief introduction of  Ashwini beautifully to the audience and also read the ’Sanmana Patra’ to the audience.
 
After receiving the honor Ashwini Angadi expressed her happiness to be with overseas Kannadigas for the first time in her life.  From the clap response she even was able to identify the exact number of audience assembled during the programme.  She was happy to hear the audience speaking in Kannada that too outside Karnataka and pledged the audience to teach their children Kannada which she said is very important.  She spoke about her challenging beginning and the  difficulties she had faced in her initial career.  She said that she took all these difficulties as challenge and made them as opportunities being a happiest woman despite blindness.  She thanked her critics in her walk of life and said that because of their criticism, she could take up challenge and reach the current position.

She explained her achievements and hard work going places helping special challenged people throughout the country through the NGO Leonardo Cheshire Disability Organization and promised to continue more towards society.  She want to be an inspiration to the special challenged people by making them self support like herself and also mentioned about opening a new school for disabled children to prepare them as Doctors and Engineers.  She shared some of the lighter moments during her invitation visit to Europe.
 
Ashwini Angadi of Namma Bengaluru is a visually challenged girl who was in Dubai invited to attend a world level conference called ’Global Education Skills Forum’ organized by Gems Education.

She was among the 850 eminent people from around the world of Policy, Business, Academia, Development and Finance who came together to consider new ways of tacking the education crisis we face. Delegations from 59 countries ranging from the United States & United Kingdom to Mongolia, Serbia and Montenegro, and even Myanmar participated in the event. Among them were 7 former Heads of States and Prime Ministers, 32 Education Ministers, 13 Chairmen of large companies, 45 CEOs, and many educators.  Ashwini in the conference spoke on the topic ’Education for Girls with disabilities’ and was one and only to get a good round of applause amongst others.

Ashwini was honored with ’Youth Courage Award’ for Education by United Nations on ’Malala Day’ and was one of the seven girls awarded from all over the world and may be the only Kannadiga girl to be honoured by UN. Born in a poor rural family of Karnataka is 100% visual impaired in both the eyes. She was discriminated everywhere during her earlier days wherever she was moving. She did her 10 years of schooling in special schools, then completed her Pre-University in NMKRV college where she was a rank holder. She even secured a rank in her B.A. Degree. She was offered a job in an IT firm but she declined it to work as a NGO at Leonardo Cheshire Disability Centre where she is happy to serve disabled children in their education.  In the award ceremony, Malala declared that the day should be called ’Ashwini Day’ instead of ’Malala Day’.

Her personal struggle and achievement will be a great encouragement to all specially for the physically challenged children of India and world as a whole. So far no government organization have come forward to support her in her great motive and she all through is sacrificing her youth towards a noble deed, herself being visually impaired.  She says achieving education is only 50% of the life but helping and giving to society  will make one’s life complete 100%.

Later vote of thanks was beautifully presented by Mallikarjuna Gowda who also anchored the program in his own imitable style.
 
Sumptuous vegetarian dinner was arranged in the honor of Ashwini Angadi and the program concluded with lots of appreciation from the audience who were spell bound hearing about Ashwini’s great works.  Audience came forward whole hearted in supporting Ashwini and poured in donations to her new School construction.

Those who want to contribute can send funds directly to her below bank account which may help her in her great initiative in this tender age for a noble cause:

Name: A. Ashwini
Bank: Axis Bank - Bangalore
Account: 914010008213504
Swift Code: AXISINBB138