DR. DESAI TOUCHING OTHERS IN HIS QUEST TO HELP THE DEAF
PROGRESS OF PROJECT DEAF INDIA
2007 – 2008
Dr Raj Desai, a member of the Newport Balboa Rotary Club, District 5320 and Chairman of Project Deaf India (web site projectdeafindia.org), was invited to give two keynote addresses by the District Governors of District 3050 and 3060 in India. The annual district conferences were held in the State of Gujarat and at the cities of Ahmedabad and Bhuj on Decenber 28 and 30, 2007.
Attendance at the District Conferences numbered 2000 to 3000 Rotarians at each. The venue of the conference is held in a large football size open area decorated by a beautiful tent and a large stage. In addition to the usual Rotary speeches, 4-5 GUEST speakers from the local area are invited guest speakers and a representative of the Rotary International Presidents Represenative from India. Dr. Desai was the only speaker from a foreign country with an opportunity to create an awareness of his goals of Project Deaf India Dr. Desai had good news to share on the progress of the Pune Rubella vaccination program for teenage girls.
A total of 200,000 girls are in the process of being vaccinated and should be completed by the end of March, 2008. A second project of Early Detection of Newborn Deafness and Intervention will begin in April 2008 in Goa.
YEAR 2002
March 17, 2002 PROJECT DEAF INDIA UPDATE REPORT
June 27-30 American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin Report “Improving Children’s Lives Through Immunization and Education” by Dr. Rajendra Desa
YEAR 2001
January 2001 DR DESAI SPEAKS TO SILICONE VALLEY TIE, San Jose, CA
April 2001 Dr Raj Desai visits National Technical Institute of the Deaf, Rochester, NY
and Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C.
May 2001 Dr Desai Speaks to Southern California TIE,Cerritos,CA
Rotary International Conference Exhibit, San Antonio,TX
December 2001 SEEKING HELP
I just returned from India having achieved some progress on Project Deaf India:
My itinerary: Los Angeles to Singapore, Bombay, Bangalore -Mysore:
Los Angeles to Singapore
I stopped over in Singapore for three days for Rotary Club talks on the project.
Anyone desiring more information, please contact Dr. Desai at his new Phone # 949-673- 5596; Fax 949-673-5536 or e-mail to rgdesai@aol.com
PROJECT DEAF INDIA SUCCESSFULLY EXHIBITED AT THE ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION IN SAN ANTONIO TEXAS….Shown is the Deaf India Booth (click on photo to view) with Dr Desai and fellow Rotarians.
Written Report on the conference from Dr Desai
Page One Page Two Click on report to read
May 2001 Dr. Desai was invited by the “TIE-The Indian Entrepreneurs” group of Southern California, on May 16, 2001. He addressed a group of vibrant, hi-tech audience of 200+ young people and created an awareness of Project Deaf India. A lot of interest and interactive occurred following the meeting.
In summary, The Project Deaf India remains alive and vibrant, creating a mass awareness both in our Rotary friends, as well as in the community. Dr. Desai plans to set up an “American Sign Language School” in Mysore to train more sign language teachers in India. He desires to apply for volunteer grants to send sign language teachers to Mysore and diligently pursues his dream with the cooperation of several Rotarians from California, India, Canada, and Great Britain.
April 2001 Dr. “Raj” Desai visited Rochester, NY at the world renowned “National Technical Institute of the Deaf” (NTID,), where he w«6 invited by the Vice President and person in charge of the Global Education Program, Professor James DeCaro and the CEO of NTID, RTN Barry Culhane. The NTID trains deaf and hard-of-hearing students for various PolyTechnical vocations (1100 new students per year) and mainstreams them to the Rochester Institute of Technology (PIT). Every student is provided with a sign language teacher-interpreter and a note taker. Alt the professors at NTID are bilingual.
Shown are Dr Desai with Professor DeCaro, Vice President of NTJD (Click on photo for larger view)
Dr. Desal started his day with a talk to the Rotary Club of Rochester’s breakfast meeting.
He then proceeded to NTtD, where Dr. DoCaro took him on a personal tour from 9 am to 6 pm, of the various departmente such as Computer Science, Machine Workshop, Lens Grafting, Photography, etc. One of the highlights was a “Ceramic Art Museum” donated by a Japanese deaf artist, worth millions of dollars.
At the lunch hour, Dr. Culhane, CEO of KIT joined Dr. DeCaro and Dr. Desai.
Dr Culhane happens to be one of the leading Rotarians of Rochester. It was a great opportunity for Dr. Desai to know both of them informally. They promised their help and encouraged Dr. Desai to start a mini-NTID in India, beginning with the “Computer Science School for the Deaf.
Dr. Desai then went on to Washington, DC, to celebrate the 1″ year birthday of his granddaughter. He was also invited to give a talk to the International students studying at Gallaudet. Following his lecture, two students of sign language indicated their desire to go to India. Dr. Desai also visited the Computer Science Department at Gallaudet and the Department of Global Education, where he was received with equal enthusiasm.
“Raj” is shown by Kutani Porcelaens
created by Mr Kutani of Japan.
A deaf ceramic artist.
DR DESAI SPEAKS TO SILICONE VALLEY TIE
January 25, 2001
On January 14, 2001, Dr Desai was invited to Silicone Valley meeting of The INDUS ENTERPRENEURS (TIE), to give a talk on “Project Deaf India”. TIE is an organization representing a diverse set of industries including software, biotech, financial and other services. It is an opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs in various stages of realizing their entrepreneurial dreams. In Northern and Southern California, it meets monthly in Cerritos and Santa Clara.
The meeting was well attended by over 800 people because of the keynote speaker, Nobel Prize Winner, Economist Dr A. Sen of India. (Sixth Indian to win the Nobel Prize). Dr Desai and S. Iyar, CEO of Webex were the other speakers. Dr Desai illustrated his talk with Power Point slides, an exhibit at the registration area and pamphlets describing his mission. The president of TIE thanked him with a follow up letter “your presence and articulation about your mission on behalf of the deaf people added an element of spirituality to our monthly meeting. “ It is hoped that Dr Desai’s talk will create an awareness and interest by those in attendance.
Dr Desai is back to normal activities following his knee surgery and plans to attend the Rotary International Convention in June at San Antonio. He wishes to thank Rotarian George Cooper, Mr and Mrs. Ronald and Susan Kwecht for their continued support for web site publication.