Sujeet Desai the Messenger of HOPE 2010 is a young adult with Down's Syndrome living with his parents in United States of America. With the help of his mother and father who are strong advocates for his rights and abilities, Sujeet dispelled all doubts about his abilities by proving that he was more abled than disabled.

Sujeet who holds a Masters Degree in Music from the Berkshire Hills Music Academy in Massachusetts plays over 7 musical instruments. He is also a master of taekwondo, a great orator, swimmer, medalist at various Special Olympics events. He has been the recipient of various national awards in USA. He has appeared on various international news channels, featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, and travels around the world advocating the cause of persons with special needs.  Currently Sujeet travels around the world spreading the Message of HOPE and is a source of inspiration for thousands of youngsters and their parents who see Sujeet as a role model and a benchmark for what their own children with disabilities can achieve.

In Qatar, Sujeet and his mother Dr. Sindoor Desai joined hands with HOPE Qatar center for children with special needs for two separate events.

Seminar for Parents, Teachers, and Students

In a special seminar held at the Doha Modern Indian School Qatar, Sujeet and his mother spoke to parents, teachers, educators, social workers, and persons working with disabled, and a sizeable number of youngsters. Sujeet presented a musical power point workshop titled 'Story of My Life' in which he shares his story from infancy till after his marriage, his current independent life and also described his struggles with self advocacy during his various achievements.  

Dr. Sindoor who is the President of Asian Parents of Children with Down’s Syndrome, and Sujeet’s mother, talked in her widely acclaimed workshop about life time parental advocacy for a special child, and how to apply “Theory of multiple intelligences” to overcome their weaknesses and bring the best in the child. She also explained various researches to show how human brain can be trained to use multiple intelligence theory in medical field as well as in schools.

View seminar photos here

Special Musical Concert together with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra

In a separate event a few days later, Sujeet Desai enthralled music lovers from across nationalities at the Qatar Aspire Hall at a special musical concert during which he showed his musical abilities on various instruments. He was accompanied  by the chamber members of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra which is a member of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. The collection of songs included famous Western Classical numbers along with popular Hollywood Musical themes. Sujeet combined his musical abilities with his wit and humor and emphasized the message that if children with disabilities are given opportunities, they can achieve great success in life. His parting message to the audience was 'if they have at least one of the many different intelligences, then they should not be called DISABLED'.

View concert photos here

Click here for official video on Message of HOPE 2010

Click here to view the different videos of Sujeet Desai performing with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra

More about Sujeet Desai at his website