A Ramp Show For Special Souls

The Blissful Fashion Show with Special Souls was an initiative of the Lions Club of Juhu & Leo Club of Juhu. The cause of the specially-abled children & youth has been very close to the heart of the Lions club of Juhu.

Audiologist-Speech Therapist Lion Devangi Dalal had been instrumental in the organizing and in the execution of this special show. Powered by Hyatt Regency, Mumbai, the hearing impaired kids from Sadhana Vidyalaya, supported by Josh Foundation, mentally challenged kids from Dilkhush Special School, physically handicapped kids from Little Angel School, Khar, including blind girls, supported by NAB, was a part of this special ramp walk with celebrities such as Aditi Sharma, Rahul Sharma, Rishina Kandhari,

Shadaab Faridi, Manisha Saxena, Kiran Rajput among others including club members. The man behind choreography and the exquisite clothing designs was celebrity designer Aashish Dwyer. 

“Let’s do away with myths and misconceptions dealing with any handicap. Let’s give them a quality life by enhancing their potentials. Let’s learn to live life as bliss and learn to face challenges like them. They’re a part of our society and let us get together in nurturing a better future for them,” imparted President Lion Raj Wankawalla, Lion Rajesh Rasania, Mamta Parekh and Riddhish Shah.

The specially-abled kids defied all odds and overcame crippling limitations & taboos placed by the society, to develop into gifted individuals. This fashion show carried a social message that was reflected by these special souls. The event showcased that they are second to none, as they walked the ramp, hand in hand, with celebrities & members.

Audiologist-Speech Therapist Devangi Dalal has the final word. “Every individual, whether normal or handicapped, has the potential to do something extraordinary. We just need to help them explore it so they can do better than normal individuals. In today’s world, moral support and security is crucial. The feeling of someone being there for you itself makes an individual more confident. This is my thought process.”

Sudhanshu Pandey, Preeti Jhangiani and Parvin Dabas at Karan Gupta, MD, IE Business School's IE Venture Day, a business plan competition for startups

At an event held by IE Business School, students from the prestigious IIMs, IITs, IE and ISB participated in a business plan competition. The IE Venture Day saw hundreds of institutes participating in business plan competitions and then the winners were flown to Mumbai to compete with each other. More than 20 teams competed to win the final competition.

“To create awareness in building an entrepreneurial environment, attention should be given to create an infrastructure for mentoring startups. India is the third largest start up economy in the world and our students need to be encouraged to create more businesses,” said Dr. Karan Gupta, the Managing Director of IE Business School, a Harvard & IE Business School alumni and founder of the Karan Gupta Education Foundation.

 “At IE Business School, we foster an environment of entrepreneurship in whatever we do. From having classes in Entrepreneurship to hosting a Venture lab where students are guided how to incubate business plans, we are committed to teaching students innovation. At the IE Venture Day, we heard from the best minds from, the most prestigious institutes of our country. We are excited to see these ideas turn into real businesses,” added Dr. Gupta.

 Actors Preeti Jhangiani, Sudhanshu Pandey and Parvin Dabas were present to share their experiences with the various businesses that they have started and to encourage the budding entrepreneurs. In a panel discussion, they spoke about how acting skills can be translated to businesses and how the best startups sometimes emerge due to necessity. “Passion is the most important ingredient in any startup,” said Sudhanshu Pandey. Funding is one of the most important ingredients in any startup success and “Be a big fish in a small pond - don’t waste your money. Spend your money wisely,” advised Parvin Dabas. And some final advice for the eager students - “Hard work day and night, be ready for the long haul. Watch shows that promote Entrepreneurship” added Preeti Jhangiani.

 The Spanish Consulate General in India, Mr. Jorge Cadenas and Economic Commercial Head Vanesa Alvarez were present at the event and spoke about Spain being an education destination and an attractive space for young entrepreneurs.

 The jury and panelists consisted of venture capitalists including Akansh Jain, Ashish Dave, Prakash Ranjalkar, Ashutosh Kumar, Megha Jain, Dibeyendu Ganguly and Dharam Mehta among others. Vikas Chaudhury, President of Reliance Jio Ventures enthralled the audience with his take on the startup ecosystem in India.

 The event saw pitches from not only business school students but also high school students. “It was very interesting to see such young students pitch such innovative business plans,” said Vidushi Daga, founder of Clone Futura.

 The IE Junior Venture Day was won by students from the Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad. Their winning startup was ‘Pyreoil’ which converts useless plastic to oil which can then be used for furnace and tire oil. The first runner up prize was given to students from Neerja Modi High School, Jaipur whose startup called ‘Plankton’ worked with Biodegradable plastics. Interestingly both the winning plans dealt with environmental issues and are can solve the huge plastic waste problem in India and around the world.

 The winner for the main IE Venture Day business plan startup competition went to Disguise Cosmetics, a company that manufactures vegan makeup. The jury was impressed with the cruelty free makeup, a conscious lifestyle brand. The 1st runner up was IIM Kozhikode for a plan presented on growing vegetables without the use of soil, thereby revolutionizing the way farming is done in India. The 2nd runner up was IIM Ahmedabad, where the students presented a plan called Moodcafe – an anonymous chatapp and website that provides help for people facing any kind of psychological issues.

Almas Mukri from the Worli BMC School won the IE Social Impact business plan startup competition. Her business ‘Basket of Joy’ is an online organic fruits basket company that creates social impact and spreads joy at every step of the business. The 16 year old daughter of a vegetable vendor, sources fruits from organic farmers and sources woven baskets from sex workers. The greeting cards sold by her company are made by handicapped people and the couriers used employ deaf people. The other social impact plans presented included ‘100 Women’ which encourages entrepreneurship among impoverished women. A website where students can find mentors to help them was another idea presented to help students who are lost and in need of guidance. “I am most pleased with the students who despite not having the same opportunities as privileged children, managed to come up with such innovative ideas and startups. I only wish each of them could get a winning prize,” added Dr. Karan Gupta.

 The winners of each of the competitions received cash prizes of Rs.50000 each and a scholarship to study at IE Business School and IE University in Madrid, Spain

Audiologist-Speech Therapist Devangi Dalal working on an initiative in Maputo, Mozambique to make a deaf school digital.

 The project is in association with Rizwan Adatia Foundation at the Health Ministry of Mozambique.

Dr.Aneel Kashi Murarka, Neetu Chandra, Shama Sikander & others celebrate pre-Diwali with underprivileged kids

Neetu Chandra and Dr.Aneel Kashi Murarka with kids 

Dr.Aneel Kashi Murarka’s Ample Missiion’s ‘Samarpn’ is a one of its kind inter-school competition wherein a unique platform is provided to underprivileged kids to showcase their hidden talents. Recently, Ample Missiion joined hands with MOM (Meeting of Minds), a group of like-minded educationists, from 8 prominent slum schools, with over 5000 students, situated in the impoverished Malad-Malvani area, and organized one such event for kids comprising of Literary Arts, Performing Arts and a fashion show. Actors Neetu Chandra, Shama Sikander, Rakesh Srivastava and Sooraj Thapar graced the do and showcased their support in this noble cause. The dignitaries also celebrated a noiseless pre-Diwali by lighting diyas and distributing sweets and handmade diyas to children at the event. The day-long event was held at Shaila lawns in Goregaon East. 

Celebs galore at Mohit Hussein and Chhavi Mittal's SIT party.

 

 



 

People who are called deaf and dumb will no longer be labelled that way! - Shibani Kashyap

Dino Morea, Mukesh Rishi, Shibani Kashyap, S Ramachandran, Dr.Aneel Kashi Murarka, Dr.Farhad Vijay Arora motivate  100 hearing impaired children with Dr.Jayant Gandhi and Audiologist Speech Therapist Devangi Dalal of JOSH Foundation in association with ATOS

The JOSH Foundation initiative with ATOS at Santokba Hall, Mumbai saw over a 100 children with hearing impairment being presented with Digital Hearing Aids and the inauguration of a sports education programme for 600 students across various special schools. Besides hosts Audiologist-Speech Therapist DevangiDalal, ENT Specialist Dr.Jayant Gandhi of JOSH FOundation and Murli Menon and Gohil Surendrasinh of ATOS, the programme that was attended by 150 children and 50 teachers among others also saw actors Dino Morea and Mukesh Rishi, singer Shibani Kashyap and journalist-filmmaker S Ramachandran, filmmaker Dr.Farhad Vijay Arora, philanthropist Dr.Aneel Kashi Murarka inspire and entertain the children.

The hearing impaired children sang songs, danced to music that they could not hear without missing a beat and did sports demos. Not one made it evident that he/she is hearing impaired!

JOSH Foundation is an NGO for the upliftment of children with hearing impairment, set up by ENT Specialist Dr. Jayant Gandhi and Audiologist – Speech Therapist Devangi Dalal, with a mission to empower  differently-abled children.

Devangi Dalal requested those present to join the foundation to encourage the kids and play a vital role to include them in the ‘normal’ society. "The best and the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they can only be felt," she avered.

“We, at JOSH Foundation, have believed in giving back to the society what we have received. Both Dr. Jayant Gandhi and I have worked towards benefitting children with digital hearing aids. Each device changes the life of not just the child but the family as well. We are glad that ATOS is helping us in this initiative. The sports initiative helps in the child’s self-development, inculcates confidence and team building as well,” added Dalal.

Mukesh Rishi said, “in the foreign countries when a child is born, he/she is immediately tested for hearing within 6-8 months of birth so that issues, if any, can be detected and rectified. The treatment can be done with ease and the child can find relief for life. I urge our Government to work in the same direction so our kids can have a better tomorrow.”

“A deaf child is normally termed as dumb as well. But the child actually needs a digital hearing aid like I saw today at the JOSH and ATOS initiative. The child becomes an asset to the society and we see them touch the skies. Each of us should do our bit,” adds Dino Morea.

“People who are called deaf and dumb will no longer be labelled that way because now, with the help of the digital hearing aids, they can hear, speak, sing and dance, just the way any of us would. JOSH Foundation and ATOS, together, have defied the perception of the deaf and dumb, empowering them thereof,” expressed Shibani Kashyap.

Journalist-Filmmaker S Ramachandran, filmmaker Dr.Farhad Vijay Arora, Philanthropist Dr.Aneel Kashi Murarka and other guests also lauded the JOSH Foundation-ATOS’s noble initiative.

Philanthropist Dr.Aneel Kashi Murarka and his foundation, Ample Missiion, honoured and felicitated at the IDF Foundation Day celebrations. Dr.ARK Pillai’s book, Hope On The Horizon, was released by Dr.Murarka who was also the Chief Guest at the event.

Audiologist and Speech Therapist Devangi Dalal and ENT Surgeon Dr.Jayant Gandhi, through their JOSH Foundation, visited over 25 children from a Nasik school, with high quality digital hearing aids, based on individual requirements. With this, JOSH Foundation has completed the project of donating hearing aids to hundred kids from ATOS in a single month.

Audiologist and Speech Therapist Devangi Dalal and ENT Surgeon Dr.Jayant Gandhi, through their JOSH Foundation, visited over 25 children from a Nasik school, with high quality digital hearing aids, based on individual requirements. With this, JOSH Foundation has completed the project of donating hearing aids to hundred kids from ATOS in a single month.

RANVIR SHOREY, PARVEZ DAMANIA & ASHOK DHAMANKAR GRACE VISHWA SAHNI AND SONU GUPTA’S SOLO ART SHOWS

Scientists, Saints and Philosophers converge at Vishwarajbaug near Pune to herald World Peace Monument!

Celebrate the difference!

Out of 120 million population of our country, 6.3% have hearing difficulties and out of that 60% are kids. Out of that, only 5% of the population is getting correct treatment and eventually become self-dependant.

Audiologist-speech therapist Devangi Dalal feels that Instead of treating the rest of the hearing impaired people as a liability to our country, we should work towards creating awareness and with a dedicated approach we should work towards converting them into useful assets of the society.

Says she, “Anyone can have less hearing because of Wax or middle ear problem, cough & cold, sensory neural loss. Wax i.e. outer ear problems and middle ear problems can be treated with medication and surgeries. However sensory neural losses can only be treated with hearing aids or cochlear implants surgeries. These treatments can be given according to the individual requirements and cannot be done across the counter. It is a process one has to go through. Right diagnosis, right technology and proper rehabilitation - right mix of this entire process one can produce wonderful results.”

Adds Dalal, “Hearing and listening are very important for communication. We must know how to take care of it and prevent any damages to it. We take utmost care and due diligence in investing in technologies for TV, Mobiles and other electronics devices but ignore them while investing in right Hearing aids to overcome our hearing disability, which can actually change our lives !!!”

Dalal along with Dr Jayant Gandhi runs the Josh Foundation where she helps thousands of hearing impaired children across India.

Dare to be wonderful !

Audiologist Devangi Dalal & Dr.Jayant Gandhi with their students who have overcome hearing impairment 

Hear The Future

Our attitude can change the future of 63 million hearing impaired people. In most cases, children who struggle to hear can be helped with the correct hearing aid. We need to understand that hearing disability can be a renowned speech impediment resulting in the child being a socially isolated underachiever, something that can be prevented/controlled", says Audiologist, Speech therapist and Author Devangi Dalal, the recipient of Humanitarian Award from the American Academy of Audiology (AAA).

Dalal has dedicated her career to improving the quality of life of hearing impaired children of India for the last two and a half decades, and also provides free hearing services that is new digital hearing aids to hearing impaired children, enabling them to speak and attend normal schools. Dalal believes that "a hearing handicap is no longer a handicap", and is currently working at providing hearing impaired children in India the same privileges as the hearing impaired children in Europe and the United States through her foundation with Dr Jayant Gandhi, Juvenile Organisation of Speech and Hearing (JOSH), whose purpose is to educate and empower hearing impaired children.