The Fact File The Change Makers Based on SCMLD (Pune) Seminar on 21-22 April 2012

The Fact File The Change Makers Based on SCMLD (Pune) Seminar on 21-22 April 2012 Mrs. Lalitha Raghuram. Country Director Mohan foundation Operation Eyesight Universal Lalitha and Raghuram are a couple and a team. They counsel families of accident victims who are declared brain dead, to donate organs to save other lives. Tragedy struck them when they lost their son to a road accident. But Raghurams decided to see their son live in others by donating his organs. They run Mohan Foundation in Hyderabad. Ms chandralekha, Social Activist Nat Purwa, Lucknow As a daughter of Nat Purwa, a village close to Lucknow, where every girl is raised to be a prostitute, Chandralekha had no choice but to get into the profession. For 20 long years Chandralekha sold her body to earn a living. She gave birth to four children. 15 years ago Chandralekha reached breaking point. “ I went to a village nearby where a drunk thakur held me at gun point and abused me and that is when I came home and cried and decided that I have to give this up, “she said. Mr. Charudatta Vitthal Jadhav, Vice President International Braille Chess Association Mr. charudatta Vitthal Jadjav became visually impaired due to an eye disease at the age of 13. Today, he is 41 and lives in Mumbai. He plays and promotes chess among the visually impaired; also he was the first Asian to be the Vice-President of International Braille Chess Association. He is involved with the All India Federation of Blind for Chess and many of his students have participated in world chess championship. His chess software for visually impaired is helping people in 18 countries. Mr. Uttam Teron,Founder, Parijat Academy Uttam Teron, the person behind Parijat Academy at Pamohi village just outskirt of Guwahati city has made it to the list of 35 Indian youth icons. Uttam Teron has established Parijat Academy in 2003 for four poor children in Pamohi village with Rs. 800 which has now more than 500 students along with 17 staff members. Mr. Nityananda Das, Choreographer and Teacher Kalashram Shri Nityananda Das lost one leg in an accident about 10 years ago, in spite of that he is a Nayapalli odissi Dancer, living in Bhubneshwar. He left home at the age of 10 and joined Jatra where he learned Odissi with the group. He dances with one leg and he is also a choreographer and a teacher who runs a school by the name of Kalashram. Mr. Swagat Thorat, Producer-Director, Wildlife Films-Editor, Sparshdnyan3 (India’s 1st fortnightly Newspaper in Braille for the Blind People) 45 year old wildlife photographer, Swagat takes out India’s first Braille newspaper for the visually blind. Published twice a month, sparshdyan or knowledge by touch is a 50 page Marathi newspaper launched in Feb 2008. Swagat puts in his own money for the printing of the paper and takes a yearly subscription fee only from institutions that can afford to pay. He’s given the blind their basic right to news. Mr. Rangaswamy Elango Panchayat President, Kuthambakkam Village He is a Gandhian, dalit and the Panchayat president of Kuthambakkam village (made up of 7 hamlets) of Thiruvallur in Tamil Nadu. Born and brought up in the village, Elango is a chemical engineer and was a scientist at the Council for Scientific Industrial Research. Ekabgi’s visits to this village exposed him to the hardships of poverty, case riots, illiteracy, and illicit arrack trade. In 1994 he quit his job and started working on a rapport building exercise in his village for two years, and independently contested and won the 1996 Panchayat election. He connected rural development models across India. Special Note: Ordinary people doing extra ordinary activities- for the betterment of the society