Kannada Pata Shale Dubai, a free Kannada language teaching school started in Dubai in 2014 is run by Kannada Mitraru UAE, a nonprofit association with over 100 volunteers serving the school. It is free for all children aged between 6 to 16 years who are willing to learn Kannada language.
The 9th year valedictory event of Kannada Pata Shale Dubai was held on April 29 at JSS International School, JVC Dubai. Kannada Pata Shale Dubai popularly known as KPSD has over 650 students this year, who attended the closing ceremony event, received their certificates and medal of appreciation from guests and dignitaries. Dr Mohan Ava, the president of Alva’s Education Foundation of Moodbidri graced the occasion as chief guest and was honoured by Kannada Mitraru UAE for their contribution in the field of education.
The well-disciplined event started on the dot as announced was noticeable, as the vice president Siddalingesh Revappa explained that KPSD is well known for time consciousness as he said that the teaching has to be backed by being an example.
In his presidential speech, Shashidhar Nagarajappa sought the blessings of Shri Shivaratri Deshikendra Swamiji for their invaluable support and blessings to establish Kannada Pata Shale Dubai. He further explained the selfless services of 17 teachers who dedicated 6 months for the school without any remuneration. KPSD teachers who had served more than 4 years were recognized with ‘Shikshana Koustub’ award. This year’s awardees were Meena Harish Kodi, Divyashree Nagaraj Rao and Usharani Kotresh. Shashidhar urged for the support of Karnataka government to recognize KPSD so that the NRI students who complete 12th standard and move from UAE to Karnataka for their professional courses, who need to take CET exams, are required to attend separate Kannada exam, which is unnecessary for KPSD students and hence needs to give exhumation for those who are having certificates from KPSD.
An extravagant display of talents was seen, as children showcased their talent in Kannada language through various art forms like dance, singing and acting. The skit ‘Ekalavya’ was the heart winner with the spontaneous dialogues which is unseen in the young diaspora. A play ‘Kannada Granny and Naughty children’ mesmerized the audiences with its message to emphasis the importance of learning Kannada language. An overcrowded auditorium cheered the young performers with joy of appreciation.
In the formal event ceremony, the KPSD patron and president of KNRI forum Praveen Shetty thanked the parents for bringing in a record number of children and making KPSD a big success and appreciated the Alva’s Kannada and cultural activities such as ‘Nudisiri’ and ‘Virasat’ and called in for all the support. KPSD patron and KNRI vice president Mohan Narasimha Murthy appreciated the service of the teachers and called for highest number of admissions in the coming years.
Post felicitation, Dr Mohan Alva gave an impressive and elaborative speech. In his words of humbleness, Dr Alva sought the blessings of Shri Shivaratri Deshikendra Swamiji. He further on appreciated the efforts put in to keep the culture and language alive and pass it to the next generation. He further called all parents to continue to teach Kannada as their primary language. He further assured his support to KPSD for getting necessary recognition from the state government and assured of an award of appreciation from the government.
One of the most prestigious awards for contribution to Kannada ‘Kannada Mitra-2023’ was awarded to Dr Rajani Krishna Rao for her invention of phonetics techniques to teach and learn Kannada language. Another Kannada Mitra-2023 awardee Huchhamma Basappa Choudri was felicitated virtually due to her inability to travel to Dubai.
Further in the dignitary’s speech, Harish Bangera thanked the parents for sending a record number of students to learn Kannada and he appreciated the efforts of the teachers. The next speaker, the CEO of JSS Schools Dubai, Govind Rao Naik welcomed Dr Mohan Alva to the JSS institution and remembered the days of KPSD foundation at JSS school in Al Safa and wished all the organizers a grand success for the future years. Sarvottam Shetty, president of Karnataka Sangha Abu Dhabi made an impressive speech and explained the origins of Kannada and wished all the parents and organizers.
Another guest of the event, award winning director, actor and writer of Sandalwood, Shivadhwaj Shetty gave a joyous speech of appreciation and thanked the parents and teachers for their love of the language.
General secretary Sunil Gavaskar, joint secretary Shivasharanappa Meti, treasurer Nagaraj Rao and organizing secretaries Mahadev, Harish Kodi, Jeetendra, Prakash, Vijay, Santosh, Guru Prashanth, Sudhir, and Suresh managed the certification and medal of students in the first batch of students.
Over 500 students were encouraged with certification and medal of appreciation. The felicitation was done by all the dignitaries namely M E Mulooru, advisor of Karnataka Sangha Sharjah, prominent businessman Harish Sherigar, honorary advisor of Karnataka Sangha Dubai Jayanth Shetty, James Mendonca of Mangalore Konkans, vice president of Karnataka Sangha Dubai Daya Kirodian, Balakrishna Salina of Mugaveers UAE, general secretary of Karnataka Sangha Dubai Manohar Hegde, Vokkaliga Samaja UAE president Dr Rashmi Nanda Kishore, former president of Karnataka Sangha Sharjah Novel Almeda, president of WOW Power Yoga Anand Bailooru, and Basava Samithi president Dr Mamatha Radder. Other heads of associations who participated and wished the event were Sagar Shettar couple and Vineeth.
The entire event was well coordinated by the organizing secretaries in various roles such as dinner distribution by Santosh, Harish Kodi and Rohit, and the stage co-ordination was handled by Girish Patwari, Yuvaraja, P Wadekar, Rohit and Shivu. Guest welcome was handled by Girish Kalkund and Guru Prashanth, and the creative and AV display was superbly managed by Shashidhar Mundaragi, Grish Vorate and Vinay.
The stage and student coordination was handled by a team of 16 teachers managed by Roopa Shashidhar.
Adhish Rajneesh Wali has been appointed member of London Youth Council. The 24-year-old from Bidar is the first from the State to have been appointed so.
London Youth Council, established by the Faith and Belief Forum, is made up of young leaders from various faiths and beliefs who are leading an interfaith movement in London with youth in the forefront.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Wali said that the council works together to learn the practices and preachings of various faiths, conducts research to influence policy and organises events to bring young individuals together to learn, build skills and make plans to build a movement of young activists.
Mr. Wali, who participated in the prestigious sixth Annual London Faith and Belief Community Awards 2022 at Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, London, recently had an insightful discussion with Kenneth Olisa, OBE, His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Greater London.
The London Youth Council successfully organised a Youth Interfaith Summit on climate change at the London School of Economics, which attracted over 300 young individuals.
Mr. Wali said that the topic of climate change is one of the biggest challenges.
Mr. Wali is a ParliaMentor Leadership Award winner and also the first from the State to win a student union elections in the U.K.
IISc Prof Mahesh Kakde received the award in the mathematical sciences category for his contributions to algebraic number theory which is predicted to help in computing and cryptography.
Six researchers were awarded the Infosys Prize 2022 on Saturday in recognition of their work in their respective fields.The Infosys Science Foundation, a not-for-profit trust, annually honours researchers in the fields of engineering and computer science, humanities, life sciences, mathematical sciences, physical sciences and social sciences.
“The Infosys Science Foundation has instituted the Infosys Prize to highlight the importance of scientific research for the development of India and the world. From exploring the frontiers of brain research and astronomy to developing solutions for the urgent healthcare needs of underserved populations to examining the notions of justice in a fast-changing world inundated by the climate emergency and pandemics, our laureates are working on the cutting edge of science, technology, and scholarship….,” said Kris Gopalakrishnan, president, Infosys Science Foundation.
Prof Suman Chakraborty of IIT-Kharagpur has won the award in the engineering and science category for developing diagnostic devices for easy access and use in rural areas. In the humanities category, Vice-Chancellor of National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Sudhir Krishnaswamy, was honoured for his work on “the importance of the basic structure doctrine of the Constitution that was adopted by the Supreme Court in 1973”.
IISc Prof Mahesh Kakde received the award in the mathematical sciences category for his contributions to algebraic number theory which is predicted to help in computing and cryptography.
Chairperson, Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Vidita Vaidya was honoured under the life sciences category for her work on understanding the brain in the context of mood disorders like anxiety and depression.
Prof Nissim Kanekar of National Centre for Radio Astronomy, Pune, and Prof Rohini Pande, director, Economic Growth Center, Yale University, were respectively awarded for their work in the field of physical sciences and social sciences. Prof Kanekar was awarded for his studies on galaxies during the ‘cosmic noon’ era, while Prof Pande was awarded for her research on governance and potential policy change for the benefit of social justice.
Dr Mahima Swamy, from Bangalore, one of the University of Dundee’s most revered experts within their School of Life Sciences, has been named as one of the rising stars of European science. Due to her research, she has been chosen to join the prestigious European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Young Investigator network.
Based within the University’s Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (MRC-PPU), Dr Swamy heads a research group that investigates immune responses in the intestine and joins 23 other researchers to become a part of the network of 135 current and 390 former members of the programme.
She said, “I am really excited to be a part of this network and meet all the dynamic young scientists doing cutting-edge research across Europe. I believe that being a part of this esteemed group will help our research immensely, and I am very grateful to my lab and my mentors for the support that got me this award.”
A key part of Dr. Swamy’s work is the study of inflammatory bowel diseases and how these can be prompted by the body’s immune system attacking the gut lining in the absence of infection. Research in the Swamy group aims to address how we can better harness the gut immune system to protect against harmful invasion, but also prevent it from damaging the gut.
The EMBO Young Investigator programme supports the scientific endeavours of researchers who have become laboratory group leaders in the past four years. EMBO Young Investigators are selected by a team of EMBO members for the high standard of their research.
“It is marvellous news that Mahima has been awarded a prestigious EMBO award,” said Professor Dario Alessi, Director of the MRC-PPU.
“It is well-deserved recognition and a huge boost for the vital research that Mahima is undertaking on deciphering the biological roles of the enigmatic Intraepithelial lymphocytes that patrol the intestinal epithelium. Mahima’s work is contributing to improved understanding, treatment and diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer.”
The work of Dr Swamy is just part of the reason the University of Dundee remains on the cutting edge of new research and technology.
A woman, native of the taluk is selected to serve in the medical team of FIFA World Cup that is going on at Qatar.
Pratibha N Darkasu, wife of Naveen Poojary, a resident of Darkasu in Kudambettu village is the woman who is selected for this coveted job. She has become the only woman from Karnataka to serve in the medical team of World Cup.
Pratibha is the daughter of Narayana Poojary and Srimathi couple, residents of Siddakatte Soorande in Bantwal. She lives with her husband Naveen in Doha Qatar since many years.
Pratibha works in Hamad Medical Corporation government hospital.
Her special service was recognized during coronavirus pandemic also for which she was honoured.
Now she is selected as the nursing in-charge for the World Cup considering her outstanding service in the health sector of Qatar.
City’s Karthik Vijayamani speaks about his victory at the Gulf Achievers Award 2022 for his short films, making songs for the IPL and the nature of Dubai’s content creation industry.
When Bengaluru’s Karthik Vijayamani went to Dubai in 2014 for a job in the science and technology industry, little did he know that films were his calling. But after producing multiple short film projects in the past eight years, Vijayamani has recently been recognised for his contribution after he won the Gulf Achievers Award 2022 as the best short film content creator in Dubai. He was recognised for his projects Dad Says, Dance Battle 2022 and Chords of Love.
Now, after amassing recognition in the UAE, Vijayamani feels things worked out for him after his company, Avighna Productions, redefined the concept of an advertisement. “Our production house has made multiple ads. While working on those projects, we thought of taking a different approach. We took more of a narrative route in a short-film format. We felt it would help us relay a message to the audience better,” says Vijayamani about their work that also incorporated a few Bollywood celebrities to help the project reach a wider audience. These short-films were released in Dubai and Sharjah.
Outside of making short films, Vijayamani’s production house has also created fan anthems for the Indian Premiere League (IPL) teams Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore & Mumbai Indians. Of these three, the CSK one titled ‘#CSKReturns Anthem’ especially made the rounds during IPL 2019 and has over 3.6 million views on YouTube.
“Making music for the IPL is challenging because of the intense competition. There are thousands of people who make IPL songs. The game is not just about making the song but how we choose to market. A bad marketing strategy can ruin a good song’s success. In our case, we created a film that said that whoever in the audience will dance to the first few beats of the song and put it up on social media, we will give them a gold coin if they gain a huge number of views. That strategy worked out for us,” he shares.
Vijayamani feels the content creation industry in the UAE is different compared to India. “The biggest challenge is that the people of Dubai are not easily approachable. I first had to familiarise myself with all the top Sheikhs in Dubai and maintain a healthy relationship with them.
Once I started to gain their confidence, things started to get easier. In 2018, they gave me one opportunity to make a song about people of determination, which is the official term for specially-abled citizens in Dubai. We made an album with people of determination that year. The success of that project opened many doors for me,” he concludes.
Karnataka Sangha Sharjah will be celebrating 67th Karnataka Rajyotsava Day as well as its 20th anniversary on Sunday November 13 from 3 pm onwards at Winners Sports Club, Ajman, UAE. During the programme, Karnataka Sangha Sharjah will also present the ‘Mayura Vishwamanya Kannadiga Award’ to Dr David Frank Fernandes.
To grace this occasion, Kantara, the blockbuster Kannada film’s lead actor-cum-director, Rishab Shetty will be the chief guest.
‘MAYURA VISHWAMANYA KANNADIGA’ AWARD 2022
Dr David Frank Fernandes, a businessman, film producer and a well-known orator has been selected for the ‘Mayura Vishwamanya Kannadiga’ Award 2022. He has been promoting Kannada language, literature and culture in this part of the world from several years and truly deserves the award. He is the managing director of Mosaco Shipping & Forwarding Company in Dubai which is serving in the UAE for the past many years.
As a part of the 20th anniversary and dispalying multi-religious togetherness in this part of the world, Naved Magundi, Mallikarjuna Gowda and Rajesh Sequeira will be specially honoured for their contribution towards Kannada language, art and culture.
‘CHINNARA CHILIPILI’ – A SPECIAL CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME
Celebrating November 14, Children’s Day, there will be a special ‘Fancy Dress Competition’ for children.
FREE ENTRY
President M E Muloor along with his managing team at Sharjah Karnataka Sangha have appealed all Kannadigas living in the UAE to attend the programme and make it a huge success.
The Karnataka government has announced the Kannada Rajyotsava Award winners for the year 2022 to coincide with the celebrations of the Karnataka formation day. Here’s a look at achievers from all walks of life who have won the award for the year 2022
From the grand steps of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru and the high seas off Malpe coast in Udupi, Kannada pride reverberated across the world with about 1.5 crore people singing six classic Kannada songs, including the state anthem at the same time at 11 am (IST).
As part of the ‘Koti Kantha Gayana’ programme on Friday — a precursor to the Rajyotsava celebrations on November 1 — citizens, government officials, politicians, students and eminent people gathered at various places within and outside the country to sing together in Kannada. Minister for Kannada and Culture V Sunil Kumar said programmes were held at 10,000 locations in 50 countries, including 27 states in India.
Adorned in state flag colours – yellow and red – they sang songs including ‘Udayavagali Namma Cheluva Kannada Naadu’, ‘Baarisu Kannada Dindimava’, ‘Hachevu Kannadada Deepa’ and ‘Vishwa Vinuthana Vidya Chetana’, besides the state anthem.
‘Koti Kanta Gayana’, a golden day for K’taka: Bommai
At many places, family members of government staffers were also invited to join the event, with some taking an oath that they will use Kannada in their office work and will introduce the language to those who are not familiar with it.
In some places, songs were being played in the background. Special teams of musicians were called at the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) head office in Bengaluru. Over 1,000 officers and staffers attended the programme. Similarly, over 2,000 people gathered at the Bengaluru city police commissioner’s office on Mahaveer Jain Road (Infantry Road). Crowds gathered at the KSRTC office and Bengaluru University Jnanabharathi campus as well. Over 3,000 staffers of Bannerghatta Biological Park and students from various government schools participated in an event held at the zoo premises at 11 am.
In Udupi, over 100 fishing boats sailed far out into the sea off the Malpe coast as they took part in the event with enthusiasm. In Dakshina Kannada, an event was held at Panambur Beach as people sang the Kannada songs on cruise and fishing boats. These songs were sung in villages and towns across the state. Even those travelling on flights took part in the programme.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that through the ‘Koti Kanta Gayana’, great respect was shown to Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, and the state government is determined to build a bright future for Karnataka and Kannada.
Speaking to reporters after launching the event at Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, Bommai termed it a golden day for the state of Karnataka. He said this could be a world record.
Perhaps October 1, 2022, turned out to be a red-letter-day for the Mangalurean community in Canada when Canada’s Prime Minister thanked Dr Dorothy Rego BSc, MSc, PhD, MPH in his letter and when she received a prestigious Yeomen Service Award 2022 from the Canadian Canara Vision Inc (CCVI) in recognition of her remarkable contribution in the field of Scientific Research, Public Health and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada.
Dr Dorothy Rego, an immunologist, microbiologist, and public health professional has worked in the field of science for over 15 years. Enormously passionate about science, Dr Rego is especially committed to focusing on the needs and health of others and the most vulnerable.
Message from Prime Minister of Canada
Originally from Gurpur-Kaikamba in the suburbs of Mangaluru, she currently resides in Brampton with her husband, Ronald Rego and two children, Seneca and Roysten. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Botany, Zoology and Chemistry from St Agnes College, Mangaluru in 1991 and Master of Science in Microbiology from Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru in 1994. Dorothy also successfully completed her Master’s cum Doctorate (PhD) in Microbiology/Immunology from the University of Ottawa in 2008 and MPH (Master of Public Health) from the University of Guelph in 2017.
Dr Rego’s areas of expertise includes disease surveillance, vaccine implementation, gender equality, tobacco control, women’s empowerment, maternal child health, cancer research, HIV prevention, food fortification, anaemia reduction and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. She has 7 peer reviewed publications in highly influential American, British, and Indian journals and an impressive 5 scientific reports and 21abstracts published to add to her already remarkable portfolio. As a scientific researcher, she has worked for Health Canada, Peel Public Health, Global Affairs of Canada, and the Gates Foundation.
Dr Rego was part of the leadership team of Peel Public Health’s response to COVID-19 pandemic. She played a crucial role in conducting high quality synthesis of evidence which focused on reviewing the existing evidence and disseminating the evidence to decision makers in the implementation of public health interventions and policies.
Pre-pandemic, Dr Rego worked with WHO (World Health Organization) where she conducted a comprehensive review addressing policy recommendations for anaemia reduction strategies among women of reproduction age in low- and middle-income countries at a global level. Deployed to Africa for HIV work, she took great pride in working closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health in implementing HIV self testing program among homosexual men to enhance timely diagnosis of HIV and linkage to care.
Prior to her migration to Canada, Dr Rego worked for reputed institutions in India such as CMC Vellore and JIPMER Hospital in Puducherry. Her work with children under 10yrs for a vaccine implementation study at JIPMER Hospital was the impetus for her increasing passion in public health.
An amazing and highly intellectual personality like Dr Dorothy Rego does not need any further introduction. After the Award ceremony, I had the unique opportunity to toss a few questions at her as the representative of Daijiworld.com.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q. On behalf of Daijiworld.com, I am privileged to interact with you. Tell me how it feels to bag a prestigious Award from a renowned non-profit organization like CCVI for your remarkable contribution to the field of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science.
A. First and the foremost, I thank God for blessing me with wisdom, humility, and grace. These blessings have enabled me to scale mountains and face challenges. I also thank the CCVI for recognizing my work and bestowing me with the Yeomen Service Award. I am humbled and deeply appreciative of this prestigious award. I admit that my contributions to the field of Scientific Research, Public health and Social Science are still on a small scale; however, I view the award as a way forward to do and be more. This recognition has spurred and inspired me to learn and implement more in my fields of expertise.
Q. Can you please tell us something about your parents, siblings, and your childhood days in the picturesque town Gurpur-Kaikamba in Mangaluru, India?
A. I was raised by my father, late Dominic R J D’Lima. My grandmother, late Lucy D’Lima along with my paternal aunt, Leena D’Lima gave me an amazing childhood. I have only one younger sibling, Don John D’Lima who is an Advocate in Mumbai. My weekend nature walks in the lush greenery of Kaikamba along with my dad in the picturesque Gurpur aroused my curiosity about all things related to science. I still cherish the joys of playing some country games like lagory, kutti donne, jibli and mane aata along with 4 other kids in the neighborhood. It was an unforgettable childhood filled with setbacks, love, adventure, mystery, tragedy, loss, and joy.
Q. Can you please tell us something about your early schooling?
A. My journey into my professional development began from the century old Pompei higher primary school in Gurpur under the leadership of the late Sr Patricia. With great pride, I say that I learnt my first alphabets in this Kannada medium school. With immense gratitude, I mention that Sr.Laetita Bath from the Bethany congregation held my tiny hand and hovered it around the cement doodle to make the correct impression of my first Kannada alphabet. My heartfelt appreciation to Sr.Laetita Bath for her dedication and patience. From 1976 to 1983, I made a lifetime of memories from throwing stones at mango trees, picking Sapodilla aka chikoo’s during recess, chasing snakes in the lush green landscape, drawing well water using a bucket and rope to care for school garden and shedding tears to ‘Punya Koti’ narrative by Lucy teacher. An even more historic memory was walking as a class to meet Mother Teresa at Rosa Mystica grounds in 1980. I was awed by that meeting and inspired by Mother Teresa’s selfless work to do the same in my capacity and give back to the community and people amongst who I grew up. Among all, I did not want to attend classes. My beloved Lucy teacher would narrate this well to the readers in this platform. My teachers (the two Jacintha’s, Lucy, Gracy, Jerry, Jayanthi, Sr Jonett, Sr Shanthi, Sr Selma, the late Stella and Late Natalia,) put heart and soul in imbibing me with wisdom and knowledge. Even though this school’s structure was in a dilapidated condition in the mid 70’s, it did not deter me in carving a niche in building my career.
My next journey began in the Bethany run Rosa Mystica High School (RMHS) in Gurpur under the leadership of the late Sr Mediatrice. RMHS gave me an outstanding education with the best teachers, and they were: Sukanya, Leena, Agatha, Josephine, Yuvaraja, Sunder, Shabaraya, Felix, Shreedhar, Sr Wilma, Sr Helmina, Sr Afflicta, Sr Metilda, the late Sr Olivia and the late Sr Mediatrice. My science teachers inspired me with their extra ordinary teaching skills in Pythagoras Theorem derivation and taxonomical classifications which helped me to further refine my passion to progress in the field of biological sciences.
Q. Can you please tell me how your pre-university / university studies at India’s renowned St Agnes Institutions helped you to achieve the success that you are enjoying today?
A. In 1986, I entered the gates of St Agnes College as a PUC student in the science stream with absolutely zero English speaking skills. St Agnes College under the leadership of Sr Aloysius welcomed me with open arms, making me feel like her own as I came from a background different from most English-speaking students. St Agnes College was so open, welcoming, and reassuring that soon after my first term, I forgot about the past and plunged into new challenges. Over the next 5 years, I grew up intellectually both in wisdom and knowledge. I made friends who remain close to my heart today. I met teachers who shaped me in many ways, and as friendly and accommodating as they were, they always had best the interests for me. I bow with respect to all the signatures of my teachers (Maria, Noeline, Usha Nalini, Leela, Sr Beatrice, Saramma, Bhasker, Nagaveni, the late Kamala Devi, Sr Prem, Leo, Prema, Ronald, Saraswathi, and the late Mohan) imprinted on my lab records which I call my personal treasures. These lab records are maintained in mint condition in my ancestral home. The memories of my education such as the dissection tables of Zoology, the color reactions in chemistry labs, the Botany herbariums followed by robust record work where I tried to grab as many experiences and opportunities as I could are still fresh in my mind. The gallery style classrooms, where curriculum was intense, and marks were earned not handed out. It was here that I was introduced to the art and science of Biology which later metamorphosed me into a microbiologist, immunologist and public health professional with several degrees, awards, and accomplishments with exciting work experiences.
Q. Say something about your family and what motivated you to upgrade your educational credentials in Canada? Did you receive any inspiration from anyone or did anyone play a key role in your professional development?
A. My husband Ronald Rego migrated to Canada in 1996 from Dubai in search of greener pastures. I married Ronald in 1998 and joined him later that year in Canada. When we got married, it was my plan to upgrade my educational credentials. We are blessed with two children, 19-year-old daughter, Seneca and 16-year-old son, Roysten. Both children were born in Ottawa and these children were products of my graduate school in addition to my thesis. We currently reside in Brampton.
In my professional development, I credit my dad as being my single greatest influencer followed by my husband. They are both my heroes. My dad had only my best interest at heart. While growing up I had too many why questions to my dad, most of them were related to science. He was like an encyclopedia for me in an era when technology was absolutely zero. My dad reiterated to me several times what it meant to be a woman in the society and the vulnerability associated with being a woman. My dad insisted that women needed to be empowered with highest level education, dream an exciting career, and reach out to others.
My other hero stepped into my life after marriage but when I expressed my desire to upgrade my educational credentials, my husband whole heartedly not only encouraged and supported me but also accepted me as his student wife. He worked extremely hard to make ends meet while I took my backpack and went to the University as a student. In the late 90’s to early 00’s, there were not many options to specialize in public health in Canada, therefore I was left with specializing in basic sciences with an MSc/PhD in Microbiology/Immunology from the University of Ottawa. When Canada opened doors for public health in 2003 after the SARS crisis, I was already halfway through my MSc/PhD programme and I did not want to make a detour to public health. A few years later, it was a turning point in my life, which I call falling in love but with global public health. I decided to make 3-point turn into international public health and wanted another degree, Master’s in Public Health. When I expressed my desire, my husband whole heartedly supported me again. I became his student wife again in my mid 40’s. I am indebted to these two men and will forever be grateful to their selfless love and support.
Q. Because of your outstanding intellectual and service-oriented qualities, we look up to you as the most successful contributor in the field of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada. Could you tell us the secret behind your success?
A. This entire journey is akin to sailing through a storm and finally surviving the storm to reap the fruits in different continents. There have been turbulent times in this entire journey, but I persevered through all the challenges and triumphed. If I reflect on the journey, I can’t answer how I managed to endure and conquer. Sometimes, I worked too hard and sacrificed my sleep. There were times I stood up to myself to alter the challenges into enriching, rewarding and gratifying experiences. I always believed in myself and had immense confidence in my abilities. Overall, I was vibrant, full of energy, determined with a strong will power, courageous, focused, and confident. These qualities are the secrets behind my success.
Q. Dr Rego you were part of the leadership team of Canada’s Peel Public Health’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Could you please tell us what was your role in the implementation of public health interventions?
A. COVID-19 pandemic was a rapidly evolving science and the public health professionals must always be current with science to deliver best interventions for the betterment of the community. It was quite a challenge for us. In the first phase of the pandemic, my role included genomic surveillance to conduct a landscape analysis to identify the emerging variants of concerns circulating in the community. I worked extremely hard with 12-hour rotational shifts consistently to keep the Peel community safe. I quickly transitioned to Mass vaccination Program (MVP) in phase 2 of the pandemic. In MVP, I provided high quality synthesis of evidence which focused on reviewing the existing evidence and disseminating the evidence to decision makers in the implementation of public health interventions and policies. My efforts on identifying knowledge gaps in evidence led to the prioritization of COVID-19 vaccine to high-risk occupational groups in some settings in the Peel region. Also, I provided evidence-based guidance documents to the process management team which facilitated the smooth execution of mass vaccinations in the Peel region. In addition, I closely monitored the reported Adverse Effects Following Immunization (AEFI) that occurred from COVID-19 vaccination and reported these incidents to the regulatory bodies for further follow up.
Q: I learned from various media reports about your unique contribution to the field of Public Health and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada. Can you please share some of them with a few details?
A. I will use one each example from India, Africa, and Canada to answer this question.
In 1995, I started a very challenging job at the JIPMER hospital in Puducherry, India. JIPMER is the pride of India. It is a government of India enterprise with a state-of-the-art facility and provides free health care. I was appointed to work with children under 10yrs for a vaccine implementation study in Pondicherry. It is so unfortunate that many of these kids in this coastal belt did not even live to celebrate their 10th birthday. They would succumb to some respiratory infections. Therefore, the goal was to visit the schools, collect throat swabs samples from kids to identify the culprit and then determine the next steps. My work began with calling out the tenders, purchases, school visits, sample collections, lab research and report writing. I saw high rates of vaccine preventable diseases among children, lack of advocacy among the public, low vaccine uptake and extreme poverty. This realization ignited a fire in me to give my best to the betterment of health through scientific research. My mentor, Dr Reba Kanungo did an excellent job of mentoring me from onboarding to recharging me whenever I was distracted and unfocused. Her motivational words included, “You are a perfect fit for public health, you work very well in the community, take it forward”. That is where it all began, the passion for public health. My pranam to Dr Kanungo, ‘Guru Devo Bhava’ – teacher is God.
In 2018, I was deployed to Africa. I took great pride in working closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health in implementing HIV self testing program among homosexual men to enhance the timely diagnosis of HIV and linkage to care. This project was truly the best time of my life. My responsibilities were to assess implementation of HIV self-testing program among Men having Sex with Men (MSM) in Kenya. The stakeholders included MSM community, peer educators, outreach workers, health promoters, Kenyan Ministry of Health officials and scientists (infectious disease specialists, mathematical modelers, epidemiologists, and medical anthropologists). The key tasks were to perform an evidence review, administer focus group discussions and quantitative data collection in three counties called Kisumu, Kiambu and Mombasa in Kenya. This data was used in conducting a research design workshop in Nairobi, Kenya which highlighted the planning, organizing, designing, and delivering HIV self-testing program in Kenya. At the end of the research design workshop, I took the lead in the preparation of scientific reports, evidence briefs, research ethics submissions, grant application and a publication in British Medical Journal. It was a very time sensitive programme with numerous complex deliverables, but I was successful in meeting all the deliverables.
During pre-pandemic time, when I was working with Nutritional International in Ottawa, I had a stint with World Health Organization (WHO) in conducting a commissioned review. Our team addressed policy recommendations for anaemia reduction strategies among women of reproduction age in low- and middle-income countries around the world. This 78-page review included an emphasis on nutritional and non-nutritional causes and contributing factors for anaemia. I conducted a secondary data analysis on micronutrient supplements, iron deficiency, anti-natal care, iron folic acid supplements, dietary diversity, food security, deworming, access to water and sanitation to reduce transmission of helminthic infections and use of insecticide treated nets for malaria vector control using data from complex databases. My experience felt as if I was travelling through the 132 countries and conducting landscape analysis to summarize the key issues related to anemia. In this review, we addressed many gaps in and problems with anaemia reduction efforts, identified and described various components required for successful evidence-informed anaemia reduction programmes, and included recommendations for programme implementers and decision-makers, with links to multiple resources and tools that can be contextualized to each country’s situation. This work is published in WHO website. This is my biggest triumph in my contributions to public health.
Q. That’s incredible! Now you have achieved yet another milestone. The Prime Minister has a special mention of you in his letter to CCVI. If I’m correct you are the first Mangalurean to receive such an honor. Don’t you feel so proud to receive such recognition from the Prime Minister of Canada?
A. I was delighted to learn that our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, having learned of my enormous and valuable input into various areas of science has sent an eloquent and wonderfully written appreciation letter to me. This letter will always be treasured by me. A classmate who I am very close to and now residing south of the border joked, “I love your Prime Minister Trudeau but now I envy that you have his letter”. I am humbled to receive this letter of appreciation from our dear Prime Minister Trudeau. And this is yet another incentive to carry forward my plans and goals.
Q. What are your future plans in the sector of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science?
A. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my roots and my birthplace. My childhood, hometown, the schools I attended nurtured me. These are my greatest treasures in life. As I said in the beginning, this award is a way forward. I am looking for avenues and opportunities to give back to the community such as implementing some public health programmes which can benefit the most vulnerable women and children in Mangaluru. My focus will be mostly concentrated on maternal child health. I am currently putting together the resources and doing the groundwork to bring on board the stakeholders to take a deep dive into the program. I want to leave a strong legacy behind. This is my dream, and I am excited to realize these dreams.
Q. What is your message to the younger generation, especially to our community youth?
A. I reiterate the same words of wisdom imparted to me by my dad. Empower yourself with highest level of education, harmonize your available resources, align your goals, build a network, envision an exciting career, and help others. Apart from your core skills, find a hobby or hobbies that motivate you and help you grow as these should be your natural therapeutic release. In my own life, gardening in the summer and cooking authentic Mangalurean food are my natural remedies to relieve my stress. In a nutshell – always dream high, stay ambitious, seek opportunities, work hard, do your due diligence, be honest, do not lose hope and always pray. When you excel in life, stay humble and down to earth, but don’t forget your roots. Give back to the community when you get an opportunity to do so. This is my message to the youth of our community.
Q. What is your message for the people of the west coast in India who are settled in Canada?
A. We should be thankful that we are living in a beautiful multicultural country called Canada. We, the people of the west coast of India, should take pride in keeping our mother tongue, heritage, tradition, and our culture alive. We all have inherited rich traditions that we grew up with, whether they are daily habits, festivities, music, sports, celebrations, or food. We must preserve our traditions by continuously practicing them in the country where we currently reside while adopting new traditions and habits.
A huge heartfelt thanks to you Gerry baab and to Daijiworld for giving me an opportunity to go down the memory.
