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Samarthanam’s Co-Founder - Mahantesh G Kivadasannavar

Press Release
08/11/2022

Samarthanam’s Co-Founder - Mahantesh G Kivadasannavar

 

Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled was founded in 1997 by Mahantesh G Kivadasannavar and his schoolmate Sugur Paramashivaiah Nagesh. Along with being the co-founder of Samarthanam, Mahantesh also serves as the president of the Cricket Association for the Blind in India.

 

When Mahantesh was born, he was a healthy and normal baby but when he was six months old he lost his vision due to a virulent attack of typhoid. He attended a regular school in his village until the age of ten when his father heard about Sri Ramana Maharishi School for the Blind in Bangalore. Mahantesh began attending classes there and he began to thrive in his education. Once he finished his school there, he went on to do his Pre-university course at the National College, Jayanagar, Bangalore and he pursued his undergrad education at the National College, Basavanagudi, Bangalore. He then went on to complete his Master of Arts and Master of Philosophy in English literature at the University of Bangalore. Once he completed his education, he became an English teacher at the Law College in Bangalore for three years.

 

Although Mahantesh enjoyed his job as a teacher, he became tired of his humdrum routine. He always had the urge inside of him to do something for the visually challenged, which inspired him to create Samarthanam. He decided to quit his job as a teacher, and put all of his energy into creating Samarthanam. He couldn’t do this alone though, so he worked with his schoolmate and childhood friend Sugur Paramashivaiah Nagesh (also known as SP Nagesh) to create Samarthanam.

 

Along with being the co-founder of Samarthanam, SP Nagesh was also the founder and president of Cricket Association for the Blind in India. He played a significant role in conceptualizing Samarthanam and leading the blind cricket association. Although he was partially blind at birth, he was a major driving force behind the initiating blind cricket and he improved the skilling and training at Samarthanam with his fundraising ideas. He passed away on April 14, 2016, but his contributions to blind cricket can never be forgotten.

 

Through the creation of Samarthanam, Mahantesh and so many others have been able to help disabled people in India gain the education and skills that they need to be self-sufficient and independent. One thing Mahantesh says and stands by is “I believe in building a society where people with disabilities are potential tax-payers but not dole recipients.” He truly wants to support disabled people in India and he doesn’t want them to seem like a burden on society. Considering his service to the community, Mahantesh was recently awarded an honorary doctorate.

 

As many of you may know, Samarthanam USA, Juju Productions, Indian Association of Greater Boston, and India Society of Worcestor are holding a fundraising concert event called Nazraana on August 20 at the Hanover Theater. All of the proceeds will be going to support the Livelihood and Resource Centers at Samarthanam and will help people with disabilities gain the skills they need to gain economic independence. These centers are established across major cities in India like Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Belagavi, Bellary, and Bangalore to name a few. These centers not only provide livelihood training to youth with disabilities, but also to youth who are underprivileged. Samarthanam understands the need for empowering the disabled youth which is why they provide the necessary mobilization, training, grooming, and confidence building to help them successfully enter the workforce. The Livelihood and Resource Centers at Samarthanam also provide motivational sessions, mock interviews, personality building, volunteer interactions, exposure visits, and more. To learn more about the Livelihood and Resource Centers, click here - https://www.samarthanam.org/livelihood-resource-center/

 

Samarthanam USA, Juju Productions, Indian Association of Greater Boston (IAGB) and India Society of Worcester (ISW) are proud to present “Nazraana” - a live music concert featuring Vijay Prakash and Anuradha Palakurthi. The concert is a multilingual event, and will be held on August 20, 2022 at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA.

 

Tickets are on sale at sulekha.com/nazraana22 and if you have any questions, would like to sponsor the event, or would like to purchase group tickets, you can email info@samarthanamusa.org. All the proceeds from the concert and any donations made will go towards helping Samarthanam Trust for Disabled reach their goal of helping 1 million disabled people by 2030.

 

Please connect with us on FaceBook’s event page - https://fb.me/e/3d7kFioZ7

Check out the promotional video here - Vijay Prakash Live Concert in Boston - Nazraana



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