Asian Achievers Awards

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JANUARY 2010

Celebrating

Achievements

9th Asian Achievers Awards, Wembley Stadium 3rd December 2009

Sponsors

FORUM INSURANCE E S TA B L I S H E D S I N C E 1 9 9 0

Supported By

Sponsored Charity

Media Partners

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Celebrating, Rejoicing and Saluting the Asian Achievement n the 9th Year, Asian Achievers Awards (AAA) have reached a further height in terms of the number, qualities and varieties of the nominations. It was appropriate that this award was hosted at the home of World's football i.e. Wembley Stadium. May I congratulate all the nominees, thank the nominators and recognise the great number of achievers in various fields, who have remained anonymous for whatever reasons.

Over the past 40-50 years Asians came from the Indian subcontinents and the former British possessions with meagre material resources, but with enormous ambition, hope, determination and willingness to work hard. Together with the traditional values and skills they have achieved spectacular success in almost all walks of life, thanks to the British tolerance and economic/administrative environment. Yesterday's immigrants are today's well recognised and respected British citizens.

To honour those who are worthy is considered to very important in almost all cultures. To be honoured by fellow citizens through a genuine 'people's awards' procedure is especially much more significant. AAA is an event for the achievers, of the achievers and if I may say so organised by the achievers.

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar have over 25000 paid subscribers and some 5000 additional copies are sold through retail newsagents. The vast readership and the credibility makes it a rewarding exercise for the advertisers as well. Asian Business Publications Ltd (ABPL) publishes several theme based titles through out the year besides Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar newsweeklies. We also have several events (seminars, road shows etc) for health, education, community developments at various venues in different parts of the country.

The chief guest for the 9th Asian Achievers Awards was none other than Baroness Shriti Vadera.

She has reached the highest position ever achieved by any non-white in the British power structure. Perhaps this was the first such event where she accepted to be the Chief Guest. Shritben's presence, participation and if I may say so performance has inspired innumerable people both at home in the UK and overseas.

We were privileged by the presence of a galaxy of eminent personalities including Keith Vaz, MP, Virendra Sharma, MP, Dolar Popat (TLC Group), Dak Patel (London Sam), Jagadish Chander (Incredible India), Rohit Shelatkar (on behalf of Kartar Lalvani, Vitabiotics), Deepak Kuntawala (DVK Foundation), Mukesh Mamotra (Forum Insurance), Yogesh Mehta (Team Allied Group) and many more.

Amongst the winners, finalists and nominees are

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for the first time a member of the Wales Assembly, Mr Mohammad Ashgar, representing Plaid Cymru. The avenues for achievement in great Britain are limitless.

As usual we sponsor and promote a charity every year. St Luke's Hospice provide crucial and sterling service, which is considered to be second to none. The distinguished guests raised over ÂŁ55,000, which is very gratifying- and some more money is believed to be on the way.

This commemorative special being published in the beginning of 2010 is itself a very symbolic reminder that the credit crunch and other economic problems are not an over powering impediment to the progress and generosity of the British Asians. I am grateful to all our readers, sponsors, advertisers and members of ABPL Team for making 2009 so successful and satisfying.

Best Wishes for the New Year C B Patel Publisher/Editor Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar Asian Achievers Awards

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Providing free hospice care to the community A message from the Chief Executive St Luke’s Hospice was honoured to have been choosen as the charity for the 9th Asian Achievers’ Awards on 3 December. It was a memorable occasion and on behalf of St Luke’s, I offer my hearty congratulations to those who were nominated for, and to those who won the awards.

Throughout the evening, there was an ubiquitous sense of community and as the Hospice that provides services to the communities in Harrow & Brent, I and all my colleagues who attended the event, felt very much at home. May I, through the columns of this paper, thank most sincerely all those who gave so generously in support of St Luke’s. We had hoped to raise sufficient on the night to support two specialist nurses and I am delighted to say that we have achieved that target.

It is this tangible support that helps to reinforce the concept of community cohesion and we are proud to be part of such a vibrant and vital community.

Chief Executive, Mike Coward

Our nurses make a real difference "I was in dreadful pain which was becoming worse, my kidneys failed and I nearly died but the nurses of St Luke's didn't give up on me, they tried three or four different pain killers and were always ready to listen to me and respond quickly when the pain got worse" "The care and respect given to dad by the doctors and nurses at the final stage of his life was exemplary" “Nothing was too much trouble for those nurses”

St Luke’s a family perspective "The hospice is not about death, its about making the quality of life better for those who come here. We could come in whenever we wanted, day or night. In fact my brother stayed every night all the time my mum was in here. Mum was a Hindu and she appreciated being able to have all of her gods out and read her prayer book whenever she wanted - the hospice catered totally for her individual spiritual needs. As a family we were able to have comfort from each other knowing that my mum was in totally safe hands" "My advice to anyone thinking about hospice care would be at the earliest opportunity take advantage of St Luke's. You will benefit profoundly from the experience. It was a haven for my sister she thought she would have to travel to India, but it was right on her doorstep" "St Luke's sent professionals into my home to care for me. There was a genuine care for us. Every time I did something new the carer said 'You couldn't do that last week'. It was the constant encouragement that kept me going"

St Luke's is reliant upon the support of people like you to continue to provide free hospice care to the community.

If you would like to help by making a donation, volunteering or hosting a talk about the hospice for your community, contact Pam or Chhaya: 020 8382 8000, email prussell@stlukes-hospice.org

www.stlukes-hospice.org St Luke's Hospice, Kenton Grange, Kenton Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA3 0YG Registered Charity No 298555

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Chief Guest

t was a pleasure and an honour to be the Chief Guest at this year’s Asian Achievers Awards. The nominations and awards showed the depth of achievement in all walks of life by a community I am proud to belong to.

The nominees and award winners were truly inspiring and it was amazing to have in one room so many people who have made a positive contribution to our society over the past year.

I would like to thank the Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar for inviting me to be a part of the event. Even more importantly, I would like to thank all the readers who nominated people for the awards this year – without you the awards would not be possible.

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Baroness Shriti Vadera Advisor to the G20 Presidency

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar Asian Achievers Awards

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Celebrating Asian Contribution, Commitment and Success he prestigious Grand Hall in the world renowned Wembley Stadium was the venue for Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar's annual 9th Asian Achievers Awards (AAA) on the 3rd of December 2009.

The glittering awards night, which since inception has recognised and honoured within the British Asian community, saw many highlights including guest appearances like the renowned cricketer Allan Lamb and celebrity singer Navin Kundra. Another highlight was the impressive £55,000 and above raised for the St Luke's Hospice, Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar's charity of the year.

Showcasing the best that the Asian community has to offer, the Awards featured a perfect mix of entertainment, audience participation, interesting speeches and award presentations.

The ninth Asian Achievers Awards began as the toastmaster requested the 800 or more guests and top table invitees to take their seats. After a brief welcome by Mr L George, Business Development Manager of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, the comperes for the evening, Ms Priya Patel and Mr Alpesh Patel from Sterling Markets, started the programme.

By means of a quick break, the dancers from Honey Kalaria Dance Academy presented the guests with a delightful performance.

After this brief entertainment, the comperes introduced and invited Mr C B Patel, Publisher & Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar who welcomed all the guests with his wonderful speech. He made an outstanding speech as he said, “The first generation of the British Asians who arrived the last 40-50 years from the sub continent of India or the former British colonies came with very meagre financial resources. In those days Indians going abroad were given a huge amount of £3 or $5 as the foreign currency allowance. Those were the days my friends! Material resources were very tiny, even for East African migrants. Though some- a very few had reasonable savings abroad but victims of expulsion from Uganda were penniless. But they had

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their dreams, determinations and traditional values and were committed to create a new life for themselves and families. Thanks to the British generosity and warmth and the environment, in no time these migrants became full fledged Asian achievers in all walks of life.

This evening we celebrate their success. Once again am really grateful to the members of the media, whether they are friends or competitors. Rejoice...”

Setting the impressive tone for the evening was Rt Hon Keith Vaz, who was welcomed on stage next. After being garlanded by Mrs Chandra Mamtora, Forum Insurance, followed by his impressive speech, Rt Hon Vaz welcomed Baroness Shriti Vadera, the Chief Guest of the evening.

Baroness Vadera, possibly the most powerful Asian woman in Britain, has been an adviser to Gordon Brown since he was the Chancellor of the Exchequer. She was then elevated to the House of Lords and later appointed as a Minister in the cabinet and currently is the Advisor to the G20 Presidency.

Baroness Shriti Vadera was garlanded by Mrs Geetha Mundra, wife of Mr S S Mundra, Chief Executive UK European Operations, Bank of Baroda.

Perhaps the first time Baroness Vadera was interviewed on stage in front of such a huge and influential audience by Mrs Bina Mistry, the renowned TV personality from SET Asia.

Bina: Is it different being a Baroness now than the Shriti that you were?

Shriti: I don't feel any difference. I am sorry to say that I think the title perhaps does not mean as much as to me as the fact that I have been given the opportunity to do the things are important to me, that I believe in, that I have valued all my life. So I was given this opportunity 10 years ago to work in government and the things that I have achieved during that time working with others I think is much more important than the title. Of course Keith completely overwhelmed me with

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his introduction and that sort of makes me realise that perhaps all other people have expectations from me and I dont think about that, very often!

Bina: All these years in investment banking and into the treasury, when you make decisions, do you ever think of the past or do what you are doing?

Shriti: At times the decisions we having to make are so crucial, so difficult, that actually you will be complet ely overwhelmed and you stop thinking about the history. As Keith refers to the banking crisis, that was the most traumatic period of my life. All over the world people were losing their jobs. At times I was so focussed that all I could think of was what we had to do tomorrow and what we had to do in three months time. I don't think I lost any sleep over it. I was completely focussed and only after the event, looking back now I feel, it was such an amazing time, but during that time I could not even think about it. I just had to carry on.

Bina: How do you deal with a crisis? Do you forward plan or just deal it when it hits you?

Shriti: Well to an extend part of my job was to see risk and crisis and I could say clearly, I failed to see this one coming. 14 years in city and 10 years in government, somehow everything came together that one moment last year when we thought the banking system would collaps. Everything came together because I had somehow the experience in financial side, the economic side as well as the political side, to be able to form a team and as a team across the whole country we could do this.

Bina: You grew up in a tea plantation. Do you have any childhood memories of growing up with your grandparents?

achieve a debt relief for African countries and Uganda and one of the proudest moment in government, was the year soon after I joined the treasury, we went to Washington and it took us one year to negotiate, there was a press conference and a debt relief was declared for Africa and the first country to receive was Uganda and it made me incredibly proud that I came all the way to receive that.

Bina: G20, South Korea, how is the preparation going for you?

Shriti: People feel crisis is over. The trauma is indeed over. We have to get a strong recovery, because people's job really depends on that. Every part of the world just cannot deal with it domestically, as a global economy we have to pull it together.

Bina: As an Asian female do you think it has been difficult to do what you have? Would you have been a male, you would have been better shoes?

Shriti: If I be completely honest, there is a quite a lot of sarcasm in the press, city, in politics, but my way of dealing with it is to focus and its the best way to do it.

Bina: You have been so busy at your jobs, bu t there are lot of domestic women today who are sitting here and thinking can we be achievers like you. What is your message for them?

Shriti: I think the role of a woman is very hard, you are expected to do everything. You are expected to have a family, bring up kids, have a career, look fantastic, I have a lot of respect for women who have managed to do all of that.

Bina: What are your hobbies?

Shriti: I grew up in Jinja. I have lot of memories of my grandparents especially of my grandfather. He is one of those people who were rooted to the community with integrity and he was successful 'cause he never ever compromised. That's how I was brought up. That stayed with me always. Then it seemed different, they were carefree times and now after growing up it seems different!

Bina: What prompted you to join politics?

When you were studying, growing up, did you ever realise you would be in this position?

Shriti: No I never thought of it. It is important you think about what or where you want to be, who you want to be, what you want to do, what you want to achieve as an objective and one of the things I was very interested in was poverty in Africa, partly because I grew up in Uganda and one of my earliest memories, my ayah was worried about mugging and being ployed and that was one of the things that affected me. I wanted to

Shriti: I like to visit my family, my nephews and nieces. I like sailing. That is probably because I need to remain active. If I don't and sit idle, I start thinking of work. That's the only way my mind goes off work. I like art. I used to paint when I was young. When I get a bit older may be I would like to go back to painting again.

Bina: Future for you, G20 and then what? Or do you not plan such things?

Shriti: I do not plan so ahead, but I like to solve problems, so I need to see what the next problem I could solve.

Following the insightful interview of Baroness Shriti Vadera, Rt Hon Virendra Sharma, the chair of the judging panel was invited on stage and was garlanded

by Mrs Hema Rachoya, daughter of Mrs Jyotsna Shah, Managing Editor, Gujarat Samachar. Rt Hon Sharma explained how difficult it was to choose th e winners, Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar Asian Achievers Awards

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since all nominees were extremely competitive. His speech led on to the main award ceremony and sponsors and Baroness Vadera were invited upon the stage to announce and give away the awards.

The AAA Gold Award for Achievement in Media, Art and Culture was given to Mr Chamanlal Chaman.

The next award to be announced following the names of short listed candidates for the category was AAA Gold Award for Uniformed and Civil Services by sponsor Yogesh Mehta, from Team Allied and the award was handed over by Baroness Vadera to Capt.

Sandip Patel.

The third award category on the list was AAA Gold Award for Achievement in Sports Personality of the year. Sponsor Jagadish Chander, Director Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India and Baroness Vadera handed over the award to Rajeev Bagga.

The fourth award on the list was AAA Gold Award for Professional of the Year. Following the speech of Sponsor Dak Patel, London SAM, Baroness Vadera handed over the award to the winner Dr Manjul Vasant.

Compere Alpesh Patel next invited Rt Hon Keith Vaz to give a speech and along with Baroness Shriti Vadera hand over the award for AAA Gold Award for Achievement in Community Services to the winner Mr Vraj Pankhania, which was collected by his son Mr Kamal Pankhania, on his behalf.

A brief welcoming break came and Flex FX was invited on stage to perform on some popular numbers.

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Asian Achievers Awards Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

This was followed by the Special Award for Asian Voice Recognition for Excellence and Innovation in Business which was presented to Mr Frank Khalid, Director Chak 89 by Dr Merul Patel, Director, ABPL Group and Baroness Vadera.

The next much awaited award category was AAA Gold award for Young Entrepreneur of the year.

Sponsor Mr Dolar Popat, Director, TLC Group presented the award to winner Mr Rishi Lakhani along with Baroness Vadera.

AAA Gold Award for Business in Community was the next award category. Sponsor Mr Mukesh Mamtora, Director Forum Insurance and Baroness Vadera proudly presented the award to Mr Narendra Patel from Meera catering.

Sponsor Rohit Shelatkar, Technical Director of Sponsor Vitabiotics and Baroness Vadera presented the next category award - AAA Gold Award for Women of the year to winner Mrs Uma Mehta.

Compere Priya Patel next invited Ms Saroj Patel, Director ABPL and Dr Sarah Patel to announce the winner and Baroness Vadera gave the award to Mr Anil Maneklal Solanki, winner of the AAA Platinum award for Business Person of the year.

CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar and Mrs Urja Patel, Director ABPL were invited on the stage to announce and present the award to the winner Mr Ratheesan Yoganathan, CEO and Founder of Lebara Mobile along with Baroness Vadera.

Following that, Mrs Madhurikaben Patel, Mr Chotalal Limbachia, Chotalal Narottam Chauhan Mr Nainesh Desai and Mr Mohammad Asghar were specially honoured with shawl by the Chief Guest Baroness Shriti Vadera and Mr CB Patel for their contribution in the community. After that Baroness Vadera and CB remained on the stage and presented the award for category Asian Voice Excellence Award for Contribution and Support in the Community to Mr Nitin Ganatra.

After a lavish vegetarian dinner at 9pm, as the lively buzz from the assembled guests heightened, there was yet something else to entertain them. Singer Navin Kundra performed a few melodious numbers followed by a raffel by Bank of Baroda and another fantastic dance performance by Flex FX. Following a whisk of touching performances by Navin and Flex FX, Mr Dolar Popat initiated the charity auction and welcomed Allan Lamb on the stage to start a live charity auction. Allan not only amused the guests with his witty banter and jokes, but raised a considerable amount of money for much well deserved cause. Guests threw caution to the wind as they enthusiastically bid for various items.

Bringing the auction to a close Mr L George, Business Development Manager ABPL was brought back to the stage by the comperes for a vote of thanks, and was joined by the whole team of ABPL. The evening came to an end and announcement of the next Asian Achievers Awards ceremony in September 2010.

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9th Asian Achievers Awards Winners

Top Table: Mr CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, Baroness Shriti Vadera, Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP, Mr Jagadish Chander, Director - Ministry of Tourism and Mr Mukesh Mamtora, Director, Forum Insurance

Baroness Shriti Vadera & Mr.Chamanlal Chaman winner of the Achievement in Media, Art and Culture category

Mr Jagadish Chander, Director - Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India (London), Mr Rajeev Bagga winner of the Sports Personality of the Year category and Baroness Shriti Vadera

Sponsor Mr Yogesh Mehta, Director of The Team Group, Capt Sandip Patel winner of the Achievement in Civil Service and Uniform category and Baroness Shriti Vadera

Sponsor Mr Dak Patel, Director, London School of Accountancy and Management, Dr Manjul Vasant winner of the Professional of the Year category and Baroness Shriti Vadera Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar Asian Achievers Awards

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Asian Achievers Awards Winners 2009

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Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP, Chair, Home Affairs Select Committee, Mr Kamal Pankhania on behalf of winner Mr Vraj Pankhania for Achievement in Community Service category and Baroness Shriti Vadera

Ms Saroj Patel, Director, ABPL Group, Dr Sarah Patel, Mr Anil Maneklal Solanki winner of the Business Person of the Year category and Baroness Shriti Vadera

Sponsor Mr Dolar Popat, Director, TLC Group, Mr Rishi Lakhani, winner for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year category and Baroness Shriti Vadera

Dr Merul Patel, Director, ABPL Group, Mr Frank Khalid, Director Chak 89 Restaurant, winner of the Asian Voice Excellence & Innovation in Business award category and Baroness Shriti Vadera

Sponsor Mr Mukesh Mamtora, Director, Forum Insurance, Mr Narendra Patel winner of the Business in Community category and Baroness Shriti Vadera

Mrs Urja Patel, Director of ABPL, Mr Ratheesan Yoganathan, CEO & Founder of Lebara Mobile- winner of the Editor's Choice Award for Best Overall Enterprise, Baroness Shriti Vadera and Mr CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of Gujarat Samachar & Asian Voice

Rohit Shelatkar, Technical Director of Sponsor Vitabiotics, Mrs Uma A Mehta winner of the Woman of the Year category and Baroness Shriti Vadera

Baroness Shriti Vadera, Mr Nitin Ganatra, winner of the Asian Voice Excellence Award For Contribution & Support in the Community and Mr CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of Gujarat Samachar & Asian Voice

Asian Achievers Awards Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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CONSTRUCTION WORKERS: Your safety at work UK health and safety law protects you even if you are not working here legally All construction workers have a right to work on sites where they do not get hurt or ill through work.

If you are worried about health and safety at your site talk to your employer, the main contractor or a safety representative.

Your employer and the main contractor on site are responsible for health and safety, but you must help by being aware of your employer’s responsibilities.

If you are still worried, you can contact the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Your employer and the main contractor must: ! tell you how risks to your safety and health will be controlled at work; ! give you health and safety training to do your job free of charge;

Call our Helpline to speak to an advisor in English or Gujarati: 0207 556 2181 All calls are confidential and you do not have to give your name if you don’t want to.

! give you any protective equipment and protective clothing you need free of charge; ! provide toilets, washing facilities, drinking water and first-aid facilities; and

Alternatively, you can send us an e-mail with a complaint or enquiry to: desi@hse.gsi.gov.uk

! report all injuries, diseases and dangerous incidents.

www.hse.gov.uk/construction/gujarati

For more information go to:

Helpline: 0207 556 2181 e-mail: desi@hse.gsi.gov.uk Website: www.hse.gov.uk/construction/gujarati

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Achievement in Media, Art and Culture Chamanlal Chaman feel elated and humbled having received the award in the Media, Culture and Arts. The 9th annual Asian Achievers Awards ceremony was a confluence of the best in elegance and culture together with a touch of traditional Asian hospitality. The entire programme was so well choreographed - acoustics and ambience so pleasing.

Media, in particular electronic media has seen a sea of change in recent years. Modern technology has brought about tremendous changes in style and presentation of radio and TV programmes with a vast number of channels made available at a touch of a button.

Digital technology has further enhanced the sound and picture quality. Listeners and viewers have now instant access through phone-ins to a vast number of programmes dished out day and night. But what about the contents ?

Are the programme makers of Asian radio and TV are making any serious effort to serve the cause of culture and language?

One can argue that art,culture and language change with the passage of time. Indeed they do. But I strongly feel that most of the stuff dished out by Asian

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radio and TV is run of the mill - popular, fast moving. It leaves a great deal to be desired to cater for the tastes in classical music, classical dance,features, documentaries etc.

Civil Service and Uniform Capt Sandip Patel would just like to thank all the people that nominated me and especially my father Mr Vikram Patel for his support. It was such a pleasant surprise to have won the AAA for Uniformed and Civil services. The Asian community are at the forefront of this country in the modern era and it is an absolute privilege to receive this award. Although being a front line Officer in the British Army for a Gujarati boy is almost unheard of, I have had the most enjoyable of careers up to date. It has been a challenging 12 months for me personally as a tour to Helmand Province comes with its hazards.

The British Army is in a difficult time presently and it is fantastic that the Asian community has shown their support. I truly believe I am receiving this award on behalf of every soldier who is serving today and I know how much public support means to them. I am extremely proud of serving in the British Army and I must thank all the soldiers i have laughed, fought, led into battle and trained with over the last few years.

I would like to congratulate all the nominees and winners in all the categories because everybody deserves the recognition for their successes in their respective fields. We are proving that we are a strong community and hope that we are all able to be role models for the younger generations.

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Having the experience of military leadership at such a young age will hopefully put me in good stead for the future whether in the army or out. I hope to see more Asians consider a career in the Armed Forces, it is hugely challenging but comes with so many rewards.

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Sports Personality of the Year Rajeev Bagga was totally floored when it was announced that I have won the Asian Achievers Awards as the Sports Personality of the year! Even though I have been a sportsman in the international sports arena since the 1980’s, it is difficult to believe that I have been a British citizen only since 2005, given the attention I have been receiving in Britain during the last couple of years.

I left behind in Mumbai not only my family, social and sports networks but also a deputy-manager position at the Hindustan Petroleum. I had been employed there because of my sports performance since the age of 18. Re-locating has meant that in addition to building a family and new networks, I have had to find new work opportunities. I have studied part-time and have a coaching certification in England plus I have managed to become a member of different communities: users of British Sign Language (I am deaf), the British hearing badminton sports community and the British deaf sports community. However, the reason I feel particularly proud – and of course humbled – by the AAA award is because in a sense I have come home. After

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a few years of moving to England, I have found a place within the Asian-British community. Thank you – I am very honoured.

Professional of the Year Dr Manjul Vasanth eceiving the AAA ward was truly a surprise. I feel that I always get out more of a job that what I have put in! My colleagues and associates who work with me with various ventures I do are the ones in the front line. My current project is in Mwanza and Musoma (my home town) in Tanzania where we are currently involved with assisting with medical/dental work and also with a disability centre. During our last visit there, apart from my medical and dental colleagues, my builder also decided to join in! We are hoping to take a bigger delegation next October.

I was even more surprised when I received Queens honours (MBE) in 2002. I therefore genuinely feel that my friends and family who work with me are the real winners of these awards. I am merely the custodian of these awards Nevertheless, it is certainly an encouragement to do more of the same. Many thanks to each and every one us and especially the organisers who do such a wonderful job. Keep up the good work you do.

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Achievement in Community Service Vraj Pankhania ollecting the award on Vraj's behalf, his son Kamal said, “ I am so very proud of my fathers drive and ambition, but also his readiness to help those that are in need. I am honoured to collect this award on his behalf, he has been such a role model to me, not only as a successful Asian businessman, but also for his philanthropy. I have personally been touched and enormously proud with all of his projects especially him opening orphanages in India, this award is recognition for all of his hard work.”

Serial entrepreneur Vraj (Vaju Bhai) Pankhania told Asian Voice, “Having been in the construction industry for over thirty five years, I have always held an ideal of maintaining culturally important listed buildings in our countries capital, through my Westcombe Group, this has gained me the backing of English Heritage, but my real passion has always been my charity projects. This amazing award is a total surprise, along with my many humanitarian projects this really is the icing on the cake.....so far.”

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Kamal Pankhania

Vraj Pankhania

Young Entrepreneur of the Year Rishi Lakhani am deeply touched by winning this award and very thankful to Asian Voice for recognising my efforts and achievements.

By getting this award it has given me great encouragement and I hope other young Asians will also be encouraged to follow their dreams.

I am also thankful to my parents for all their support and love, without them nothing would have been possible, they have made me believe that even the impossible is possible.

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Business in Community Narendra Patel was very surprised and astounded when my name was called on the stage. It is indeed a great honour and a privilege to have received the award in the most prestigious event of the Asian Community. I sincerely thank all the judges and the people who have made this happen. Foremost, I express extreme gratitude towards my family especially my wife and son who have supported me when I needed them the most.

Meera catering is a symbol of Indian culture, having catered at many prestigious religious and cultural events. Meera Express Retail branches have been there over the course of the past decade and now has embarked in a very ambitious route to open chain of restaurants around the UK. Meera Village in Queensbury parade which serves traditional Indian Thali among other things, is a testament of our commitment to give the best of Indian cuisine to the UK.

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Woman of the Year Uma Mehta ll my staff members and I am myself very happy on me getting the Woman of the Year Award.

More than me, the award has brought joy to my staff members, as through me, their efforts have also earned recognition. Rak Telecommunication Ltd. was established in 2003. We are primarily into the business of money transfer services, from UK to India and worldwide. We also sell cheap calling cards and mobile sim cards. Rak offers cheap parcel services from UK to locations worldwide.

Rak Telecommunication Ltd. has become a very popular name among the Indian and the Asian community in UK, as we offer one of the best exchange rates to our customers. Same day delivery to the recipients at many places in Gujarat, India and other places in the world proves very convenient. Our charges are very nominal. Further, to ensure the best of the services, I have personally trained each and every member of my staff for warm and courteous response to all our customers.

Rak at present operates from two locations in London – Meena Bazaar, Ealing Road, Wembley and Oakdale Road, Green Street, East London. We plan to expand our footprint all over UK with appointment of agents at all important cities in the country.

Rak Telecommunication Ltd. helps students from India to get jobs here. Further, with help and contributions from all our staff members and our patrons, we

A

also provide 400 to 600 lunch packs to such needy students who require support in their early days.

Finding jobs and providing lunch packs is a service that we give without any business considerations.

With the attraction of very cheap service charges, best exchange rates etc., the turnover of Rak has grown by almost 10 times since the inception of the company.

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar Asian Achievers Awards

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Business Person of the Year Anil Maneklal Solanki t was a great surprise to receive the AAA Platinum Award for business man of the year this year and I feel very humbled to be recognised in my respective field in the same high stature shared with many previous winners.

Having been involved in the food trade for the past 30 years, I have tried to maintain a balanced outlook on life, ensuring that my business has always grown steadily but strongly, similar to an oak tree as my farther used to say, withstanding all conditions. Even in the most pressing economic times this country has seen, we have shown that with perseverance and determination, Asian businesses are still able to flourish if they have the right mentality and are able to focus on supporting their customer’s needs. That is why I feel overly grateful to be recognised by the Asian community in receiving this award.

Business is never easy though, and I have been sincerely blessed to have a strong minded wife who has fully supported me through the years, and without whom I would not be in the same position as I am today.

I have also tried to set an example to my children, who have grown up seeing both their parents as very

I

hands on individuals, who despite having professional degrees, have joined our company making it a real “family” business. It is heart warming to see their determination to take the business even further with such strong diversity and new ideas.

On a final note, I have always taken pride in treating my customers as my friends and have always said that in order to be successful in life, one needs to show compassion and uphold ethics to be valued and respected by those around you.

Excellence and Innovation Award - Chak89 Frank Khalid t has been an honour to be recognised by such an elite panel and a group of people who have all been there and done that. Obviously, big thanks to Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar for putting on such a lovely show.

It is a great privilege and honour to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the very best in the Asian community; in fact I would say the very best in Britain.

I am very thankful to my Family and my staff for being supportive and buying into the belief that we can offer the kind of excellence we have been known for in the Cash and Carry business for over 25 Years.

It is therefore very refreshing to be recognised by the community for CHAK89 which in comparison to the cash and carry business is new. But we have gone a long way in creating that difference so we can stand out from the competition. Whether it is our venue or a venue of your choice, we strive to offer the very best in food and service.

I am confident that this award will drive us forward and remind us constantly of people’s expectations from CHAK89. When you are claiming to offer the best service and package in a competitive market, it is

I

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Asian Achievers Awards Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

easy to lose focus but I am confident that CHAK89 will be at the forefront of this business in years to come.

Thanks once again to the whole Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar family and hope this is the beginning of a very fruitful and long relationship.

Sec 1-17_A4 Temp 25/01/2010 14:16 Page 17

Editor’s Award for Best Overall Enterprise Ratheesan Yoganathan was very proud and greatly honored to have been nominated for this award and to win was an unexpected surprise.

Although I have won this award as an individual, I feel it has been awarded to the entire team at Lebara whose efforts and commitment have achieved so much and it is seeing their efforts honored that gives me the greatest pleasure.

Two values very close to me and at the heart of Lebara are to treat others as you would wish to treated and to ensure you serve the communities in which you live.

When I founded Lebara with my close friends Leon Rasiah and Karan Kandiah this was very important to us and it is this that makes winning this award even more special.

I

Excellence Award for Contribution & Support in the Community Nitin Ganatra eing presented an award by Asian voice at the Asian Achiever Awards was a huge honour and great surprise. In recognising any charity work I have taken part in I must first of all acknowledge the unwavering and consistent work of two people in particular. Ravin Ganatra (who has tirelessly worked in the way of charity since I met him at the age of 16) and Kana Butkovic. These two men introduced me to works of food for life. Without their passion and dedication to the children food for life tries to help, I would not know about the charity. I thank them first.

I would also like to thank C B Patel and the Asian Achiever Awards for the presentation.

And finally thank you George for making me rush to get to the awards on time.

B

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar Asian Achievers Awards

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Asian Achievers Awards

SPONSORS

2009

Sponsors FORUM INSURANCE E S TA B L I S H E D S I N C E 1 9 9 0

Supported by Media Partners

Entertaiment Provided by

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Event Managed by

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Items inside Goody Bag

AAA Event Photographers Raj Bakrania Mohini Photos Raj Mamtora R.B Photo Sunny Photos

AV/GS & Souvenir Magazine Westfield pen & card Govt. Equality Brochure St Lukes Brochure Mukti Tea products Jute Bag Unique - Biscuit Elichi Packet Eastern Product Yardly Lavender Soap Shawl - Gujaral Film DVD by BOB Chak 89 Booklet

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Sec 18-32_A4 Temp 25/01/2010 14:48 Page 19

“Our vision: To be a leader in providing low - cost, high quality service”- Lebara CEO and founder of Lebara, Ratheesan Yoganathan was the proud recipient of the 9th AAA Editor's choice award for Best Overall Enterprise category. 34 years old Ratheesan was educated at Kingston University and went on to found Lebara with two of his friends and business partners Leon Rasiah and Karan Kandiah.

Described by those close to him as an inspirational leader with unique drive and ambition, Ratheeshan acknowledges his success is due to the determination and drive of the people at Lebara. Asian Voice had the privilege to interview Ratheesan, following his achievement at the 9th AAA. AV: Please provide a brief description of the business.

Lebara Mobile’s vision is to be the leader in providing low-cost, high quality international mobile services.

Lebara Mobile was founded in 2001 as part of the Lebara Group, and launched into the UK on the 31st October 2007.

Lebara Mobile’s pay-as-you-go SIM proposition delivers on this vision to enable UK customers to make high quality, low cost international calls direct from a mobile phone. The service is underpinned by a unique, innovative international telecommunications system with calls being routed via Vodafone in the UK in conjunction with more than 70 international network carriers.

AV: Describe how the business was started and the key stages of its progress.

In 2001, after a discussion on the way to the airport in Norway about how one could build something as impressive as the Telenor building with some real “hard work”, three friends (now the Lebara cofounders) took a piece of paper and drew up plans for a distribution business to serve the international prepay calling card market.

The new distributor would bring a fresh service ethos to a sector known for its sharp practices, and take its title from the first letters of the three Asian founders’ names – Le(on), Ba(skaran), Ra(theesan). From the day of trading in September 2001, Lebara's founders sought to fix a basic trade problem: that demand outran supply during certain times of the week, when businesses closed and the lines lit up. They immediately put in place 24/7 client services, itself a considerable innovation in

the space.

From its early development as a distributor, through its investment in switching infrastructure to support high-quality low-cost international calling to its emergence as a mobile services provider in 2004 via an MVNO deal in the Netherlands, Lebara has set itself apart from other market providers. “We could Ratheesan Yoganathan see from very early on what the ethnic market got, and what it needed,” says CEO Yoganathan.

Following further MVNO launches in Europe in 2005, Lebara consolidated in 2006 to focus solely on its Lebara Mobile proposition, prioritising the provision of ‘world class’ customer service.

2007 saw Lebara Mobile launch in Spain and Switzerland, and was also the first to launch this type of innovative service into the UK market, on the Vodafone network in October 2007.

In 2008, the global service centre was reorganised as the operation's nerve centre, running as a service hub for satellite units around Europe. The in-market divisions now handle sales, marketing and first line customer enquiries, with the Group providing support across all functions.

Across the Group, Lebara now has more than 2.5 million active mobile customers. The business is in a strong position, with brand awareness and penetration continuing to grow through innovative sales and distribution activity combined with marketing sponsorship activity to bring it closer to its target communities.

AV: Please describe why you feel you or the company was worthy of the Editor's Choice Award for the Best Overall Enterprise at the AAA 2009?

Since Lebara’s UK launch on October 31st 2007, Lebara Mobile has delivered unparalleled growth into an otherwise struggling mobile sector.

Raymond Yu, from the telecommunication analyst house Ovum, commented in his April 2008 report

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar Asian Achievers Awards

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‘MVNO Strategies in Western Europe’: “Lebara builds strong relationships with small stores that are tailored distribution outlets and allow it to tap into specific ethnic groups. We particularly like Lebara’s distribution strategy as it shows that it is keen on building relationships with key people within each ethnic community and allows it to learn more about it target customers.”

In winning Best Newcomer in the June 2008 UK Mobile Industry Awards, the judges described Lebara’s pay-as-you-go SIM as a “fabulous service” with Lebara having “thought about all the detail, such as having multilingual customer services”.

In March 2009, in recognising Lebara as having the UK’s most Innovative Service, the judges reflected on the service as being “first to market with a true price breakthrough for a simple international calling product that has rapidly attracted a diverse, high value prepay market”.

Lebara’s SIM card product delivers on the vision to enable UK customers to make high quality, low cost international calls from a mobile phone. The service is underpinned by a unique, innovative international telecommunications system with calls routed via Vodafone in the UK in conjunction with more than 70 international network carriers.

Since launching only two years ago, the business performance has been nothing short of exceptional, with the numbers speaking for themselves.

After only 24 months, Lebara Mobile has: l Over 120 permanent Lebara employees in the UK l Over 2.5 million active customers across the Group l And revenues for 2009 totaling €371m, an increase of more than 105% compared with the previous year The phenomenal growth experienced by Lebara Mobile is driven by strategic vision laid out by the company’s Chief Executive Officer Ratheesan Yoganathan. Alongside his fellow directors and co-founders, Baskaran Kandiah and Leon Rasiah, Ratheesan had a vision for an innovative new service. In his own words: “We could see from very early on what the ethnic market got and what it needed. The strategy was to be like a mobile network operator that offered an international calling element, rather than like a calling card operator that happens to offer the convenience of mobile. There is a significant difference. Everything – our branding, pricing, service – is presented as and measured against the mobile industry, and not the calling card market. We are providing a mobile service after all.

And why just because these customers are making international calls should they be treated differently?”

Lebara Mobile’s phenomenal success is based on Ratheesan’s philosophy of: l

Targeting diverse global migrant communities, serving Eastern European, South Asian, African and Chinese customers, to name just a few l Exploiting innovative mobile technologies, including intelligent charging, switching, and

20

Asian Achievers Awards Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

international networking Creating market-leading, high quality international mobile services, for example its award-winning Pre- Paid international SIM l Developing the strongest go-to market partnerships including Asda and Tesco in the UK.

l

Ratheesan Yoganathan’s achievements as CEO of Lebara Group over the period 2008-2009 are summarised below: l Driven annual revenues for 2009 to €371m, an increase of more than 105% compared with the previous year. l Built the business to over 2.5 million active customers across the Group l Awarded best UK new comer and most innovative UK service l Boosted Lebara Spain’s revenues via a turn-around strategy l Launched Lebara Mobile into Australia l Created 200 new UK jobs and a new London based, multi-lingual customer services centre, and recently announced the creation of over 400 new jobs throughout the Group in 2010 l Invested in Ericsson intelligent charging technology l Further developed Lebara’s global brand e.g. sponsored coverage of the Indian Premier League and MOBO Awards. l Announced the Lebara Foundation committing to build a residential hospital for disadvantaged children Lebara Mobile is the leader in offering low cost international calling direct from the mobile in the UK, with an estimated 12% share of the potential target market, because: 1) Our core proposition is compelling, offering a unique combination of high quality and low price for international calling, and based on our unparalleled understanding of our customers’ needs.

2) Our distribution strategy ensures the widest availability of SIM cards and top-up vouchers.

3) Our effective marketing strategy raises awareness of Lebara through outdoor and targeted print advertising, presence at key community events, and sponsorship of relevant community activities such as the MOBO Awards and the UK Asian Music Awards. At store level, we convert sales through joint marketing with our channel partners using Point of Sale merchandising, leaflets, posters and other in store display items.

4) We place great emphasis on maintaining a trusted, open and honest brand.

Lebara Mobile’s continued investment in its future success includes the creation of 200 new jobs in May 2009. Lebara is also actively developing a portfolio of value-added services and evaluating other complimenta-

Sec 18-32_A4 Temp 25/01/2010 14:49 Page 21

ry offers.

Outline your company’s corporate social responsibility policy and any charitable activities it undertakes.

Lebara considers its corporate and social responsibilities very seriously, and aims to replicate best of breed approaches demonstrated in other industries.

Lebara administers stringent channel management practices to protect Lebara, the channel partner and the end-consumer. As part of these operations, we operate tight legal agreements and pride ourselves on following through on our philosophy of on-time supplier payment.

We have an articulated and communicated set of values and behaviors (the Lebara Blueprint) that defines how our employees interact with each other and external stakeholders.

Within the organisation, we operate a number of programmes to protect and nurture our employees and the environment including: l

l

l l

Operating a proactive reuse and recycle policy by consuming recyclable materials and making recycling easy for employees Extensive use of audio and video conferencing and incentives programmes for staff to use public transport, reducing our employee’s carbon footprints.

Ensuring all employees have a structured personal development programme Recognising excellence through Employee of the

Editor/Publisher: CB Patel Managing Editor: Jyotsna Shah Executive Editor: Kokila Patel News Editor: Kamal Rao

Editor/Publisher: CB Patel Associate Editor: Anne Hoose Deputy Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Chief Financial Officer: Surendra Patel Accounts Executive: Akshay Desai Advertising Managers: Alka Shah & Kishor Parmar Business Development Managers: Urja Patel & L George Advertising Sales Executives: Rovin John George, Nikhil Gor & Girish Katira Graphic Designer: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Customer Service: Saroj Patel

Asian Business Publications Ltd Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market (off Coronet Street), London N1 6HW. Tel: 020 7749 4080 Fax: 020 7749 4081

Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.com gseditorial@abplgroup.com www.abplgroup.com ©Asian Business Publications Ltd

Year and Employee of the Quarter celebrations.

The Lebara Foundation is a non-profit charity which aims to provide aid to disadvantaged people. The Foundation places particular emphasis on the needs of deprived children supporting the treatment of emotional, psychological or physical illness of all kinds and providing rehabilitation resources. An example of the type of initiative the Foundation supports is in Anbumalar in southern India.

Anbumalar Social Service Vision (ASSV) is a secular social service group started by service minded individuals about 10 years ago to reach out to the marginalised and the under privileged. The aim is to transform them into useful and self-sustaining individuals in society and to teach them to “serve one another in love” in order to live a fulfilled life.

The Special School for the Mentally Challenged has been operational for the past seven years. It is currently catering for about 30 students on a day-care basis. The children are taught by trained teachers. The entire programme is free for the children that attend.

A special feature of the project is the skills-training for mothers and other family members of the wards under care. The aim is to develop all family members to help give the children the life-skills they need to eventually become economically independent when they grow up.

Over time, the Lebara Foundation plans to create a purpose-built state-of-the-art “Foundation Home” in Anbumalar, providing residential care as well as hospital facilities to support disadvantaged children and their families.

Comments from the awards presenters Message from the Chair of the Judging Panel Dear CB, I am writing to thank you for giving me the honour of chairing the Judging Panel for this year’s AA Awards. It was both a challenge and a pleasure.

The evening was a tremendous success and I would like to congratulate everyone who helped make it such an enjoyable evening. I was impressed by the calibre of all the entrants and the final winners were exceptional talents.

I am also delighted to hear that so much money was raised for the charity involved, this is a fantastic achievement.

With best wishes, Yours sincerely, Virendra Sharma MP

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The

Celebrations

Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chair, Home Affairs Select Committee

Baroness Shriti Vadera hugging TV personality Mrs Bina Mistry at the end of the on stage interview

Mr Virendra Sharma MP, Ealing Southall

Navin Kundra, entertaining the guests with few melodies

Comperes for the evening Miss Priya Patel and Mr Alpesh Patel

Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP for Leicester East being garlanded by Mrs Chandra Mamtora, Forum Insurance

22

Asian Achievers Awards Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

Mr L George, Business Development Manger, ABPL

Ex Cricketer Mr Allan Lamb helping raise money for the Charity - St Luke’S Hospice

Baroness Shriti Vadera being garlanded by Mrs Geetha Mundra, wife of Mr SS Mundra, Chief Executive, UK European Operation, Bank of Baroda

Hon Virendra Sharma, MP - Chairman of the Judging Panel being garlanded by Mrs Hema Rachoya, daughter of Mrs Jyotsna Shah, Managing Editor, Gujarat Samachar

Sec 18-32_A4 Temp 25/01/2010 14:24 Page 23

The Celebrations

L-R: Capt. Sandip Patels family. From Left to Right: Seema (Aunt), Vikram Patel (Father), Jyotsna Patel (Mother), Sushmita (Aunt), Pravin (Uncle), Raghuvir (Uncle)

L-R: Meera Catering Group. From Left to Right: Kevalbhai Patel, Raju N Patel, Shantaben Patel, Kantaben Patel, Narendrabhai Patel (Owner of Meera Catering), Dineshbhai Kerai, Amirbhai Ladha

L-R: Team Allied Group. From Left to Right: Tuhina Mehta, P. D. Kukadia, Bina Mehta, Ketan Mehta, Preeti Virani, Yogesh Mehta (Director), Ani Kukadia, Rajesh Virani, Reeta Mehta, Anil Kotecha

L-R: Prafula Patel, Hema Patel, Uma A Mehta, Ruchita Pandya, Vishnu Patel, Niraj Trivedi, Chandrakant B Patel, Pragnesh Patel, Miraj Amarkotia

L-R: Mr. Shamik Patel (Director of Trimiri Investment Ltd.), Mrs. Punita Patel, Mr. Sanju Patel, Mr.Jignesh Patel (Director of Trimiri Investment Ltd.), Mr. Nimesh Patel, Mr. Janak Sampat (Aristel Hotels) and Smt. Jayshree Sampat

L-R: R Shah, M Arshad, Mohammad Asghar, Member of the National Assembley of Wales, Firdus Asghar, F Hussain, Sara Hussain, Natasha Asghar and Amana Arshad

L-R: Pankaj Popat and Nisha Popat of Chancelor Independent Financial sevices

L-R: Directors of Hari Aum Holidays Mr Mahendrabhai Gohill and Harishbhai Gohil with Jyotsnaben Shah (ABPL)

L-R: Mr Mo Enus from Essential Phones, Mr Dinesh Chauhan, Mr Chhotalal Narottambhai Chauhan Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar Asian Achievers Awards

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The Celebrations

L-R: Mr. C.B.Patel (Editor), Mr. Charles Patel and Mrs. Pratima Patel (Capital News Group), Mr. Ramanbhai Savani, Mr. Dev Savani and Mrs. Sobhaben Savani

L-R: Mrs.Shivani Pankhania, Mr. Kamal Pankhania, Mr. Sunil Pankhania and Mrs. Hetal Pankhania

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Capt. Sandip Patel from L-R with Avni (sister), Priya (sister), Jyotsna (mother), Vikram (father), Meera (sister), Sushmita and Pravin

L-R Miss. Zeenal Patel, Mr. Rishi Lakhani (Award winner of the young Entrepreneur of the year category), Mrs. Panna Lakhani, Mr. Vasant Lakhani Mr Shyam Lakhani from Millennium Group

L-R: Mrs. Jyotsna Shah (Managing Editor), Mrs. Kokila Patel (Executive Editor), Mr. C.B.Patel (Editor/Publisher) and Mr. Bhimji Vekaria Metropoliton Police (Harrow), Will Goddard, Sonoo Malkani.

L-R: Mr. Nikhil Gor (Advertising Executive ABPL Group), Mr Surendra Patel (Chief Financial Officer ABPL Group), Mr Steve Scott (Mortons Print Ltd.), Mr Robert Savage (Mortons Print Ltd.), Mr Harish Dahya (Senior Graphic Designer ABPL Group)

L-R: Prakash Bakrania (Reliance Big Pictures), Mr Jatin talwar (Head, Utv), Shak Yousaf, Kamlesh Savaliya, Mr C B Patel (Publisher/Editor, ABPL), Baljinder Singh Rathore (Tv Presenter, MATv), Mr Kuldeep Singh Shekhawat (President , MATv), Mrs Alka Shah (Advertising Manager, ABPL)

L-R: Mr. Natwarlal Patel, Mrs.Vanita Patel, Mr.Nitin Ganatra, Mrs. Ramila Kataria, Miss. Honey Kalaria (Founder of Honey Dance Academy)

Asian Achievers Awards Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

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The Celebrations

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L-R: Guests of Dr Manjul Vasant. From Left to Right: Dr Kishor Vasant, Mr Niranjan Vasant, Kumud Sodha (Sister), Darsha Scott (Niece)

L-R: Jyotsna M Patel, Mitesh Patel of Levenes Solicitors, Purshottambhai Majithia of Devon Charitable Trust, Mr Robert Savage of Morton prints, Mr Steve Scott of Morton Prints, Mr K G. Arora, Mrs Arora

Forum Insurance. L-R: Vishal Popat, Mr Tushar karia, Mr. Neel Lakhani, Mr Amish Mamtora (from Forum Insurance), Mrs Nimisha Mamtora (W/o Mr Amish Mamtora) Mrs Chandra Mamtora (From Forum insurance), Mrs Julie Branton, Mr Jay Sony, Mr Vasantha Krishna, Mr. Ramakant Agarwal

L-R: Ajita Hindocha, Nisha Pankaj Popat, Rana Mehta, Sandhya Dolar Popat, Jyoti Kirit Thakrar

L-R: Amir, Manish Dhamecha - Dhamecha Cash and Carry, Mukund Hathi - Malibu Club, Umesh Hindocha Contact 4 You recruitment, Kirit Thakrar

L-R: Sudesh, Kumbharkar, Nicholas, Avierinos, Rohit, Shelatkar, Farrah, Malik, Sheena, Patel, Diviya, Relwani

L-R: Monika Kusiak, Alice Evans, Amit Patel, Darpan Shah, Hiren Baxi and Dushant Pandit

L-R: Rekha Popat, Mrs Nagendra Bilon, Alpa Thakrar, Bharti Shah, Ash Shah, Mr Nagendra Bilon, Sanjay Thakrar, Ken Popat

Asian Achievers Awards Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

Sec 18-32_A4 Temp 25/01/2010 14:35 Page 27

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The Celebrations

L-R: Karthikeyan Bose, Head of Events CHAK89, C.B.Patel, Fukhera Khalid, Director, Elbrook Cash & Carry and CHAK89, Councillor P.S.Chaudhry, Leader of Opposition, Slough Council

L-R: Mrs Manjula Patel, Mr Harshad Patel, Mr Girish Katira (ABPL), Mr Vivekanand Jaganathan, Miss Rupanjana Dutta (ABPL), Mrs Dipika Dahya, Miss Sonam Dahya, Mr Harish Dahya (ABPL) Mr Kamal Rao (ABPL) Standing L-R: Mr. Nikhil Gor (ABPL) & Mr Rovin John George (ABPL)

L-R: Amanda Ziegler (Trusts and Legacies Fundraiser), Mike Coward (CEO), Mita Vaghji (Community Fundraiser), Chhaya Parmar (PR and, Direct Marketing Manager), Karisha Vaghji (Volunteer), Bhavisha Vaghji (Volunteer), Pam Russell (Director of Fundraising)

Honeys Dance Acadamy perfoming a Bollywood dance

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Asian Achievers Awards Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

L-R: Ketan Karia (Moor Park Lions), Mike Coward (CEO, St Luke's Hospice), Jayant Raghwani (SKSS Temple, Kenton), Pam Russell (Director of Fundraising, St Luke's Hospice), Bharat Mistri Jyoti Mehta and Hena Bhuva (Anokhi Ladies Group)

L-R: Taj Foods. From Left to Right: Pinakin Patel, Mrs Chandrana, Mr Kamlesh Chandrana, Devik Solanki , Jimal Solanki (Director), Nayna Patel, Nishal Solanki (Director), Harish Solanki

Middle - Mr Manish Tiwari from Here and Now 365 Ltd and Mr Yoganathan Ratheesan (Chief executive officer of Lebara and his team)

Shareen Peninton, Leena Patel, Ocean David,Naz Choudhury, Amanda Rosario, Freya Mehta, Anisha Waghela, Adnan Choudhury, Nikki Patel, Ketul Patel, Jay Kabir, Priyesh Kavia, Lee Butler (Performers of Flexfx Production)

Sec 18-32_A4 Temp 25/01/2010 14:36 Page 29

Mrs. UMA A MEHTA Winner of Woman of the Year Award

Congratulations from Thousand of satisfied customers, our well wishers, friends & all the suppliers of RAK TELECOMMUNICATIONS LTD

Head Office:

East London Branch:

Meena Bazar, 105 Ealing Road, Next to Krishna Sarees, Opp: Popat Store, Wembley, HA0 4BP Tel: 020 8903 2849 / 020 8795 3131 open 7 days : Mon - Sat 8.30 to 7.30 & Sun 8.30 to 3.00

25A, Oakdale Road, Off. Green Street, Forest Gate, London E7 8JU Tel: 020 8552 0075, 020 8470 6462 Open: Mon - Sat 10.00 to 7.00 Sunday : closed

KINDLY HELP THOUSANDS OF INDIAN STUDENTS WHO CAME TO STUDY IN THE UK. Many unfortunate students do not have money for food, accommodation and travel.

We are providing over 400 FREE pre pack lunch boxes everyday to the needy students. We have started free employment service to find jobs for them.

We request all wealthy NRIs, Community, Religious & Charity Organisations to help those unfortunate students who needs your help.

GIVE THEM JOB, FOOD & Shelter

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The Celebrations

L-R: Jimal Solanki, Devik Solanki, Anil Solanki, Gitaben Anil Solanki, Nishal Solanki (from TAJ Foods)

Bank of Baroda's senior officers with their wives: L -R: Mr & Mrs Abhinav Iyer, Mr & Mrs Kaul, Mr & Mrs Khurana, Mr & Mrs Topiwala, Mr & Mrs Mundra.

Mr Chotalal Narottam Chauhan being honoured with a shawl for his contribution in community service by Mr CB Patel and Baroness Shriti Vadera

Mr Naynesh Desai, Partner/Solicitor, Arlingtons Sharmas Solicitors, being honoured with a shawl by Mr CB Patel & Baroness Shriti Vadera

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Asian Achievers Awards Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar

Mr Harshad Kothari (standing at the centre) with Mr Dak Patel (From London SAM) and his team

L-R: Miss Kavita Shah (Daughter of Mr Koolesh Shah, Director of LTH Group), Mrs Kalpana Shah (Wife of Mr Koolesh Shah, Director of LTH Group), Mrs Bhadra Shah, Mrs Meena Gandhi, Mrs Hema Kothari, Mr Jayesh Kothari, Mr Bhupendra Shah, Mr Koolesh Shah (Director of LTH Group) & Mr Paresh Gandhi.

Mr Mohammad Asghar, Member of the National Assembly of Wales being honoured with a shawl by Mr CB Patel and Baroness Shriti Vadera

Mr. SS Mundra Chief Executive Bank of Baroda UK European Operations handing over a Sony ebook, raffle prize, to Mr. Kalpen Patel one of the Directors of Japanese Car Parts Distributors

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