RSVP Office Volunteer - MOHAN RATWANI (Text by Pete Porter, Photos by Margaret Porter)

With close to a thousand volunteers giving their time at around eighty different volunteer stations it would be easy for things to become somewhat unmanageable at RSVP. However, in this day and age, this task has been made bearable by the application of modern computer technology. This said, it still requires someone to use this technology and the RSVP office is helped in this endeavor by an able volunteer with the name of Mohan Ratwani.

Having a doctorate degree in physics and with many years previously working in software design at Raytheon, Mohan has turned out to be the ideal person for the job at hand. Mohan joined the office personel in August of this year, after retiring from Raytheon in May. As a member of AARP, he was looking for something to do in this field during his retirement. As a consequence, AARP directed him to look into volunteering at RSVP. Mohan initially went to the Santa Monica office, as he was unaware of the existance of our own location. Santa Monica had him taking care of the phone traffic in the office, but Mohan wasn't particularly happy about this contribution. He then found out that there was also a Torrance office and realized that this was much more convenient to his home base. It turned out that our South Bay office was only a mile from his house and Mohan told me that he even manages to walk there from time to time. He started working with Ges Davies by helping her organize the many computer programs that were in use.

Nowadays Mohan is primarily involved in some of the Data Base work that is required, as well as helping our director, Donna Duperon, with the various reports etc. However, the current DB program in use by the office was set up a few years ago and Mohan says that he now has to become familiar once more with the older generation software programs that were in use back then.

Although obtaining a doctorate in the field of Physics, Mohan found it difficult to apply his skills within the structure of the prevailing market. Recognizing this, he changed gears and became an expert in computer software design. He then managed to obtain employment in this sphere at Raytheon. He originally came to the States from India to attend university and has now been living here for the past forty-three years.

We were fortunate in being able to interview Mohan the day before he left for a four week vacation in his country of birth. He told me that he manages to spend a couple of hours in the office three or four days a week, usually arriving around 10:00 in the morning and says that he is always kept busy there during the short time he is there.