You Drive-They Navigate! Mangalore Round Table 190 to host Guiding Stars ’18
You Drive-They Navigate! Mangalore Round Table 190 along with CREDAI-Mangalore to host Guiding Stars 2018- a Special Event with Special Children.
Mangaluru: Addressing the media persons during a press meet held at Mangalore Press Club, Neil Rodrigues-Project Coordinator said, ” United Toyota- Guiding Stars 2018’, a treasure hunt for specially-abled children will be flagged off at United Toyota Showroom Mangaluru on Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 9:00 am.This is the sixth consecutive year that this event is being organized, and this year’s event is being jointly organized by Mangalore Coastal Round Table 190 and CREDAI, Mangalore. We are confident that your presence and support at this event will help make it successful and enhance its mission to champion the cause of specially-abled people. Around 25 specially-abled children from Roman and Catherine School for the Blind’-Mangaluru will take part in this event”
‘I cannot see, but I will guide you on your path’- Can this be true? During ‘Guiding Stars’, a 4-wheeler treasure hunt, Mangalore Coastal Round Table 190 makes this a reality. Specially-abled children who are not fortunate enough to have the gift of sight from the Roman & Catherine School for the Blind, will turn into navigators to guide drivers to their destinations. How do they do it? The route for Guiding Stars is scripted in Braille – a language that the visually challenged use to read. Braille consists of a series of dots or indents made on thick paper.To a sighted person this will look like a set of random indents, but when those who understand braille run their fingers over these dots, they are able to read out the message represented therein” added Neil.
He further said, “Each letter of the Alphabet and each numeral has a specific representation. This is how a visually challenged child can tell the sighted driver where to go. The chief event sponsor for Guiding Stars 2018 is United Toyota. Yatish Baikampady and Issac Vas (The route map is provided by the ‘Baikampady Vidyarthi Sangha’) have supported the event by designing the route for the treasure hunt just as in all the previous years.There is no participation fee for either the children or the public.The car that solves the maximum clues in the optimum time is the winner and all winning team participants are given a trophy. Each child who participates in the event is rewarded for their participation as they are the true stars of the day.Every participating team is given a framed photograph of their flag-off memento for their participation.”
“During the past five years, a large number of Mangaloreans and local businesses have provided financial support for this event. This has helped MCRT 190 with many charitable projects including those for special children. These include JAWS software that helps the challenged children with computer usage and braille books to enhance their learning. MCRT 190 welcomes participation from the public for this event. In order to align the participants with the number of visually challenged navigators, it is necessary to pre-register for the event ” added Neil Rodrigues.
ABOUT GUIDING STARS 2018: YOU DRIVE. THEY NAVIGATE!
Guiding Stars Treasure Hunt is a unique treasure hunt involving specially-abled children, who collaborate with participants from the public.
– A team is formed by a licensed driver of a car and a special child as a navigator
– The clues and map are provided in Braille – the script used by visually challenged people to read and write.
– The team is challenged to go through all points on the designated route map and answer all questions on the provided questionnaire = The team that solves the maximum clues in the optimum time by visiting all the designated spots,while picking maximum number of treasures is judged the winner
– The treasure hunt challenges: the participant driver’s skills to meet the objective within the stipulated time, speed and distance criteria; the navigator’s skill to read and understand Braille clues effectively; the participants’ skills to understand and communicate with their specially abled navigators and answer the questions correctly.
– By promoting close coordination between the driver, the visually challenged navigators and challenging them to jointly interpret the clues along the route,this event promotes inclusivity and openness where people overcome their inhibitions and communicate across natural barriers You Drive.They Navigate!
Sudeesh Karunakaran, Varun Rao and Nihal Shetty- Chairman, Secretary and Fundraising Committee member respectively of Mangalore Coastal Round Table 190 were also present during the press meet. The chief guest for the flag off will be Police Commissioner TR Suresh and for the prize distribution at the end point (Mahesh PU College) will be Ajith Kumar Rai Malady -president of Bunts Mathr Sangha.
There is no participation fee or charge. All that is required is a 4 wheeler and a mind set of cooperation and collaboration to have fun while also making a special child’s day memorable. The specially-abled children will be assigned to each participating car by the organizers. Please bring your cars and come support the guiding stars!
Pre-registration is simple and hassle free by calling the number 9731777602.