Participants


	Alim Chandani Executive Director Alim Chandani graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) with a B.S. in New Media and E-Business and from New York University with a M.A. in Deafness Rehabilitation and Higher Education. Alim is now working towards obtaining his doctorate degree in Administration and Supervision in Special Education at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. In 2005, Alim was a human rights delegate for Global Youth Connect with fellow delegates in Cambodia. Inspired by this experience, he conceived the idea of providing cross-cultural programs for American deaf youth within developing countries. Thus, the concept of GRO was born. Presently, Alim has a specific mission and vision and carefully plans each trip in furtherance of GRO's goals. He constantly looks for ways to create and enrich global networks between deaf communities and seeks the long-term success of these connections.
	Tamer Mahmoud Program Coordinator Tamer Mahmoud was born in Egypt and grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri. He attended Rochester Institute of Technology and obtained his B.S. in Information Technology. Tamer loves to interact with people and has worked in a variety of settings with deaf youth and college students. Tamer recently worked as a Pre College Outreach Specialist at National Technical Institute for the Deaf Tamer traveled with GRO on its first official trip to Thailand in the spring of 2007. Based on his passion and success during the Thailand trip, he was appointed assistant coordinator for one of the GRO delegations traveling to India in the summer of 2007. Tamer also created GRO's first official website, and hopes to further GRO's success in the future. He sees GRO as a future icon for the global deaf community.
	Anita Kurian Assistant Coordinator Anita was born in South India and moved to New Jersey. She is currently pursuing the last phase of her Biotechnology program for a B.A. degree at Rochester Institute of Technology. Anita displayed her advocacy and leadership skills through various roles and participated in GRO Thailand ‘08 and GRO Kenya ’09. As a result, Anita wants to contribute to GRO because it is set up for the right cause, the right requirements and definitely the right hearts. Anita wishes to work with the delegates to make a difference in India – even if one Indian citizen has been helped, it will be like we helped the world. GRO is always in her heart.
	Alison Saracena Point of Contact Born in Connecticut, Alison moved to San Francisco after graduating from college in 1977. She had a range of jobs including working at one of the top rated restaurants, Aqua, and doing specialty painted finishes (faux bois and marble were her favorite). In 1991 she traveled to India on a whim, and it changed her life. After a number of trips to India she went to Calcutta in 1996 and worked as a volunteer at one of the Missionaries of Charity projects. Never having seen such poverty she felt compelled to return and do something to help. In 1998 she and her partner Bryan sold everything and moved to Calcutta. Uddami, a technical school that offers computer skills to families with low income, was started in 1999. Being in contact with so many accomplished deaf people led Alison to believe that if the different deaf groups she met worked together, a huge difference could happen in the quality of the lives of the deaf young people she knew. Her dream is that these young people some day will have communication skills that will not only give them more opportunities but connect them in a meaningful way to the global deaf community.
	Carlos Mayans Point of Contact Carlos González Mayans, was born in a small island called Gran Canaria in the Atlantic Ocean, part of Spain, in 1983. He studied in a German school which gave him a multicultural view of the world from an early stage of his life. Afterward, he studied Computer Engineering in the University of Las Palmas. Before completing his studies the university gave him the opportunity to participate in the United Nations Volunteer program in a project in Kolkata, India. The project was geared toward the creation of Cisco Academies by creating partnerships with local NGOs and supporting them after that. He discovered Uddami and immediately started to work with Alison since both easily found ways in which they could help each other. Carlos became a teacher for Uddami (one of his dreams) and together, they were able to finish a complete Cisco course.
	Pappu Mishra Point of Contact An all-around guy that is most rare for anyone to find, Pappu have been working at Shuktara for as long as he remember - it must have been fate for he happened to live right next door when he learned of Shuktara and met David Earp! Several years later, he is as much involved as he is passionate about Shuktara, the deaf community, and making a difference. Boasting in 4 languages, (7 when you're counting ASL, ISL and West Bengali), he is the go-to guy for anything and all things that needs to be taken care of in Kolkata. He is the go-to guy for any information, for any resources, for any ideas, suggestions, recommendation - you name it, he's the man for you. It is his hope and dreams to see the deaf community rise above itself and meet on par with the hearing community - to a point where the deaf community are understood and respected by many and all.
	Jess Zeller GRO Delegate Jess is now in her fourth year working at the Lexington School for the Deaf in Queens, NY as a school mental health counselor. She finds her job to be very rewarding, especially when she see how her students have grown to become better individuals. Jess attended college in different places, including Arizona State and eventually Gallaudet University for graduate school in school counseling. This became one of the best decisions she ever made and she is now back to her roots, which was unexpected. With experiences in the educational field for more than 10 years, she looks forward to sharing her experiences, knowledge, to work and learn from US and Indian delegates during GRO India 2009!
	Jocelyn Vallery GRO Delegate Jocelyn Vallery’s sign name is JV, and she was born in a town near Philly in PA. She grew up mainstreamed with a deaf program at a hearing school. There was always a small number of deaf students at her school. She often wondered if there are many more deaf students out there. So Jocelyn decided to enroll at RIT which gave her a culture shock due to many deaf students; however, she enjoyed it because at least she could share her first language with them. Recently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, now pursuing a Graduate’s degree in Information Technology concentrated in Web Development and Animation.Traveling to Honduras was her first international experience – she also had the opportunity to visit Kenya with GRO. There, she realized that this is something she loves to do and wants to contribute to other countries. She plans returning to Kenya to ensure the Kenyan Youth Leadership Camp continue for young deaf Kenyans. So Jocelyn wants to participate in India and learn much as she can so she can try set up a school in Guyana (and other countries if possible) for deaf people to reach their fullest potential to live on their own.
	Jody Bingham GRO Delegate Jody is a third generation deaf person and comes from New Jersey. She recently graduated from Gallaudet University with a B.A. in Communication Studies with the goal to pursue a master’s degree in International Development. Jody is bundled with experiences as she discovered that her passport is filled with stamps from Belgium, France, Amsterdam, Cancun, Costa Rica, Rwanda, Cabo San Lucas, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and soon to be: INDIA! Jody’s recent trip to China inspired her to connect with others globally, and to empower and advocate for deaf individuals. She is honored to be a delegate for GRO and looks forward to exploring, meeting, and learning about India and its culture.
	Johney Ragoobir GRO Delegate Johney was born in Guyana, South America and moved to NYC when he was 3 years old. Upon entering Rochester Institute of Technology, he learned ASL as his second language and met many fascinating deaf people. He is currently a B.A. student for Network System Security Administration. Johney’s ancestors moved from to Guyana from India and he wants to learn more about the history between the two countries. He is also very interested in the information technology sector in India and if doors have been opened to more deaf people for job opportunities. In India, Johney also wants to learn how to help to raise deaf awareness. One day, Johney wants to go back to Guyana and help them realize the potential of deaf people and to set up a school for deaf people.
	Lauren Searls GRO Delegate Lauren is a native of Rochester, New York. She attended Simmons College for her undergraduate education and received a Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry. Lauren now works at Harvard School of Public Health as a research assistant in the Department of Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology. Lauren plans to attend medical school to get her medical degree and ultimately would like to pursue a Masters in Public Health (MPH). Lauren is deeply interested in medicine, public health, nutrition and preventative health of minority populations. She hopes the GRO experience will help her see firsthand what the healthcare is like for the deaf community in India and ways in which she can make a difference.
	Rachel Blake GRO Delegate Rachel Blake was born in a deaf family in Connecticut, USA. She graduated from Gallaudet University in December 2009 with a B.A. in Psychology. Then she went off to India for a GRO delegation in 2009-2010. Ever since then she has been traveling and hasn't looked back, at least, not yet! She traveled across the States for the summer, and is currently in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos & the Philippines!). Rachel is finally reading books again, loves taking photographs, eating international food, and dancing. She is thrilled to be returning to India and to GRO (as an assistant) this winter!
	Sarah Houge GRO Delegate Sarah Houge is a Minnesota native and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in English and Masters of Education focusing on Special (Deaf) Education. She has worked as a teacher in several programs in Minnesota, as well as Hawai’i, Jamaica and Kenya. Sarah provides consulting services to deaf schools and interpreters locally and abroad in areas of advocacy, multiculturalism and bilingual education. In 2010, Sarah received her M.A. in International Development for People with Disabilities from Gallaudet University and most recently worked with the World Federation of the Deaf in their Human Rights and Capacity Building Project in the West and Central African region. She provided training to members of national Deaf Associations, service providers and other organizations working with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population in ten countries of the region.Sarah participated in GRO India 2009 as a delegate and is very excited to be returning to India as an evaluator for the delegation coordinators and delegates.
	Arnab Ghosh Host Delegate Grew up in a town called Mushidabad which is about 250 KM away from Kolkata (6 hours drive) - however, live in Kolkata in order to attend school. He is currently taking class 12 and attending Uddami to learn Cisco with a goal of teaching deaf children in the future. At the age of 20, he enjoys playing chess and learning how to mime. His future goal is to work and teach deaf children. He has a younger sister that is also deaf.
	Bharath Hari Host Delegate My name is Bharath Hari. I'm from Bangalore, India, and a graduate in Commerce. I've good knowledge of PhotoShop, and other graphic tools. I'm a good painter as well with over 100 awards to my credit. One of my painting is now a “greeting card” by ITC Ltd., Bangalore. At age 13, I held painting exhibition along with my grandmother [Grandma and Me] at Chitrakala Parishat, Bangalore. I was then the youngest painter to hold an exhibition. Apart from these, I did win awards for participating in national swimming competitions held at Amravati, Pune, and also in Bangalore. I've been playing snooker, and learning salsa too. Being adventurous, my passion is to see and explore the world around. Nowadays, I'm working as a designer and an illustrator at Dpod Studios, Bangalore. Being hearing-impaired has never been an obstacle for me, rather, I took it as a challenge to prove my mettle.
	Gaurav Jalan Host Delegate I am Gaurav Jallan. I am hearing impaired. I am from Assam. I have studied Diploma in computer science and Engineering from JSS PPH Mysore. Have won more than 35prizes in various football competitions held in Chennai and other cities. Have also won prizes in painting competitions. I am a good salsa and Hip Hop dance also.. I am currently a trainee at Dpod studios and studying Flash animation. I like to travel all over the world along with impaired to learn more about the culture and their way of communicating. I read lot of books..
	Kishan Raju Host Delegate My name is Kishan Raju. I am 23 years old. I am boy. I am deaf and sign language. My home state is karnataka (India) I got passed 10th std and puc also DTP, software program, hardware and networking. I have learnt somethings in computer, like work web design, software program, hardware and networking.I am planning to study degree. Still i did not get a job.It like help the poor children and who have disability.I am move friendly with everyone. I love to make party and chill out with friends. I love travelliing and sports. I want to have move knowedge in future. i love everyone:)
	Priyanka Ghosh Host Delegate A Kolkatan deaf, learned Indian Sign Language, West Bengal Sign Language, speak Bengali and English - with tantamount of lingustic skills, she learned about GRO through Uddami. Priyanka decided to join GRO so that she might be able to learn to work with other deaf people, spread more empowerment, and witness deaf individuals being on par with hearing individuals. Her mission is to learn to work with different delegates of different background, share cultures, expose what she has learned from her experience with GRO - especially that deaf people can improve their perspective of what it means to be deaf.
	Raja Mohan Das Host Delegate Yet, another delegate from the Shuktara home, at the age of 18 - he's already showing his artistic skills, dancing skills, and his hunger for knowledge (as well as food). Because of his artisitic skills, it has become a work of passion where he create a work of art and sell them to generate incomes. During his free time, he enjoys playing football (soccer), basketball, and loves to glue himself to the computer. He hopes to travel the world, to see many things, and to continue to creat art through constant life inspirations.
	Shantara Rao Host Delegate Hailing at the age of 21, he comes from the home of the famed Shuktara (www.shuktarahome.org) currently taking class 2 and learning computer skills at Uddami. During his free time, he enjoys playing football (soccer) - currently work as a Block Teacher Reach, where he trains other to implement patterns on paper. His future goal is to visit a water park called Nicco Park and to find a job, perhaps at Coffee Day!
	Shyam Sundar Barman Host Delegate Born and raised in Kolkata, now at the age of 22, he's in class 12 and talking class at Uddami with a future goal of teaching deaf children the very material he's learning in school. He is studying Cisco and will study Information Technology next year. During his free time, he is very athletic and enjoys playing cricket - a member of the West Bengali Federation of the Deaf team. He also enjoys drawing and creating a work of art. His future goal is to find a job, work with children, and teach what he have learned thus far.
	Vikas B Vinchhi Host Delegate I am VIKAS B VINCHHI. I am 24 years old. I joined Sheila Kothavala Institute for the Deaf (SKID) in 1990. I have completed SSLC(10th std) in 2004 and also Advanced Diploma in Computer Application(ADCA) for one year. Then got faculty for ADCA in APD for one year. Then I joined 1st PUC and 2nd PUC mean 11th and 12th Std in SRN Adarash College. I am doing in 4th Semester B.com(Bachelor of Commerce) in that college.