General News
Inspirational meastro conquers disability
By Usha Desai
When you catch the first glimpse of Sujeet Desai, he is effortlessly playing the alto sax to a small yet enthusiastic audience at Hope Qatar, a training centre for children with special needs, in Abu Hamour.
After a round of applause, he plays again - this time as the background for a musical chair game which immediately creates a joyous atmosphere.
Sujeet has Down Syndrome but that has not deterred him from mastering over six musical instruments. And when his father, Dr Sharad Chandra Desai says his son connects best with people when he plays music, you can understand why.
Besides having a masters in music, US-based Sujeet, who is 28, is a taekwondo expert, medallist in Special Olympics, orator and accomplished swimmer. But above all he is a self advocate for people with disabilities. And in this capacity, he has been invited to Qatar to narrate his inspirational life story in the inaugural presentation of Message of Hope series.
โIts part of our mission to spread awareness about children with disabilities and show that if given the right opportunities at the right time, such children can achieve great heights,โ said Rajeev Mathew Thomas, founding member of Hope, while introducing Sujeet and his parents to local media yesterday.
According to Dr Sindoor Desai, Sujeetโs mother and the president of Asian Parents Organisation of Children with Down Syndrome, compared to two decades ago when she was desperately seeking information and support to bring up her son, parents of such children are better informed today and have access to online support groups thanks to the Internet. Also thereโs more acceptance of such children in mainstream society. โThese changes have happened through constant parental advocacy,โ she added.
Besides parental support, there must surely be something within Sujeet which propels him to excel? โItโs his eagerness to learn,โ says Dr Sindoor.
The mother-son duo presented awareness workshops later in the evening at Doha Modern Indian School where Indian Ambassador Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa was the chief guest.
Also present on the occasion were founding members of HOPE including Adv Nizar Kochery, advisory board members, and a large number of educators and parents.
Through an audio-visual presentation, interspersed with live saxophone performances, highlighting the time from his infancy to his recent independent life, Sujeet talked about how he was able to come up against all odds to master multiple skills.
In her talk on โImprovising Disability with Multiple Intelligenceโ, Dr Sindoor urged the parents not to worry about what their children canโt do instead focus on what they โcan doโ and help them in achieving the same.
Another skill which Sujeet is trying to master at present is โ driving. His favourite car is the Nissan Murano. He will have to wait a while before he can drive one because he has only a Learnerโs License for now. But as far as his life is concerned, he is indeed in the driverโs seat.Sujeet is to present a concert jointly with Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra tomorrow at the Aspire Hall.
Additional Information
Country: Qatar
Website: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=346579&ver sion=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
Email: N/A
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Source: Email from: Akari IKESHIMA
When: 31/3/2010
