Venue: Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Jury:
Dr. Mohini Giri - Chairperson, Guild of Service
Mr. N.Vittal - Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner, Govt. of India
Mr. Rajiv Menon - Cinematographer/Film maker
Ms. Suhasini Maniratnam - Actor/Director
Ms. Jayshree Raveendran - Founder & Managing Trustee, Ability Foundation

Chief Guest:
Shri. T.N.Chaturvedi - Governor of Karnataka

Guests of Honor:
Justice Mallimath - Former Chief Justice of Karnataka
Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy - Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys

The Awardees

CavinKare ABILITY Award for Eminence:

SMA Jinnah (Madurai, Tamil Nadu) Poverty and visual impairment were the twin odds Jinnah had to combat. Undeterred, he not only managed to get himself educated, but also founded the Indian Association for the Blind (IAB). He has since then helped 3000 other visually-impaired persons through education, training and employment opportunities.

CavinKare ABILITY Award for Mastery:

Prasad Nagesh Ghadi (Mumbai, Maharashtra) An amazingly talented teenager, Prasad’s determination and courage to fight against social and physical odds have helped him emerge a winner and be a source of inspiration for others. He doesn’t allow acute muscular atrophy that has rendered movement below shoulders impossible, to come in his way of creativity. Prasad has gained mastery in Indian classical music and painting.

Preeti Chhatrapati (Mumbai, Maharashtra) Brushing aside the disadvantages of being profoundly hearing impaired, she emerged a successful software programmer and taught herself to speak three languages. Preeti took up computer programming as a challenge, and is a consultant to a multinational software company that provides banking solutions software to major banks all over the world.

CavinKare Ability Special Recognition Award

Boniface Prabhu (Bangalore, Karnataka) Sports always fascinated Boniface and he took up wheelchair athletics, finding himself excelling effortlessly. Blessed with an absolutely positive attitude, he used every opportunity to hone his sportsman skills. Paraplegic since the age of 2, he was the only Indian representative at the wheelchair grand slam tennis tournaments, winning a medal in every match.