On 5th August, 2018, Tanya Computer Center (TCC) will hold its 12th Convocation Ceremony with the inspirational Shalini Saraswathi as Guest of Honour. Located at the MNB Industrial Home for the Blind, Jogeshwari, TCC provides training in Basic Computers and MSCIT, a course recognized by the Maharashtra government which makes a candidate eligible to apply for a government job. TCC is founded and run by the dynamic Tanya Balsara, who has lead by example, serving as an inspirational figurehead, overcoming her own visual impairment, and choosing to get successfully computer-trained in 2000. TCC’s Guest of Honour, Shalini Saraswathi, is yet another inspiring individual who has overcome the most severe physical challenges to become an adventure enthusiast, blade runner, marathoner, public speaker, and is the Deputy GM at Firstsource Solutions.

Shalini’s tryst with a deadly bacterial infection cost her all four limbs, making her a quadruple amputee. But, her determination and never-say-die attitude made her an athletic star and she even started participating in marathons. Shalini also advocates for the inclusion of Persons with Disability (PwDs) on various platforms. She is an Ambassador for Adventures Beyond Barriers Foundation, a non-profit promoting inclusion of PwDs through the platform of adventure sports, and is involved with Saviour of Soul, an NGO that works with rehabilitation of sex workers and their children as well as Gender-Based Violence.

Tanya Balsara is also closely associated with the Blind Graduates Forum of India (BGFI), an NGO that was set up for the welfare of the visually impaired, and conducts activities like knowledge sharing sessions, treks, picnics and experiential learning programs.