Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Latest NGO's News Dated on May 30th,2012

NGOs welcome Senate leadership in international humanitarian funding

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leading NGO alliance InterAction is heartened by the international affairs spending bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee today and urges the House to follow the Senate's lead when the two bills are reconciled. The Senate committee approved the bill with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 29-1.

"This bill shows the wisdom and courage to invest in international development and humanitarian assistance programs.  InterAction urges the House to adopt the Senate's funding levels when the final bill is negotiated," said Samuel A. Worthington, president and CEO of InterAction.

The committee released a summary of the bill on Wednesday, and the full text of the bill is expected to be released in the coming days.

"InterAction applauds the extraordinary leadership and vision of Senators Leahy, Graham, Inouye and Cochran, which was reflected in the bill approved today.  When U.S. support helps a child get vaccinated or go to school; helps a community construct a well or be better prepared for a disaster, this fulfills our moral imperative to offer a hand up to those less fortunate than us around the world.  This support helps create more self-sufficient communities in the future," added Worthington, "when young democracies are nourished and citizens are empowered to hold their leaders to account, America and the world benefit."

The Senate FY2013 State, Foreign Operations appropriations bill provides for $52.1 billion in discretionary spending for the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other international development and humanitarian assistance programs, $1.2 billion less than was provided for the current fiscal year and $2.6 billion less than the administration request. The House version of the bill provides $48.4 billion, about $5 billion less than the current year, $6.3 billion less than the request and $3.8 billion less than the Senate bill.

Key accounts in the Senate bill include:

$2.9 billion for USAID's global health programs (House level: $2.5 billion) $3.1 billion for Development Assistance (House level: $2.5 billion) $1.3 billion for International Disaster Assistance (House level: $923 million) $2.3 billion for Migration and Refugee Assistance (House level: $1.7 billion)

Source:
InterAction
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Seminar focuses on modern media’s influence on politics – Intellectual dialogue with NGOs

KUWAIT: Laying an emphasis on modern media and its role in political work, the Institut Francais du Koweit (IFK) held a three-day symposium titled ‘Modern Media Tools and Democracy.’ It was held at all of the Graduates Society, the Bar Society, and the Kuwait Journalist Association (KJA). The last of these was held at KJA on Wednesday evening entitled ‘Modern Media and Arab Spring.’

“The subject of this symposium is very interesting and important. We, at the French Embassy and the French Institute (IFK) encourage engaging in intellectual dialogue with local NGOs and academics in Kuwait. This is a great opportunity to exchange opinions and experiences on modern media and its role in political work. The modern media and social media tools have influenced politics in strengthening democracy and freedom of expression,” said Nada Yafi, French Ambassador to Kuwait.
Dr Yves Gonzales-Quijano, Professor at the University of Lumiere, Lyon and Researcher at the French Institute at the Near-East, Beirut highlighted the importance of evaluating the role of modern media in the Arab Spring. “The Arab Spring movement has become very popular in Arab and western media. I think that this expression is not positive, and not 100 percent precise. I think it was developed by the American Mcling in his analysis of the modern media,” he noted.
He opined that Kuwait’s political situation is unstable because of conflicts between political powers. “Also, there are some reports about religious issues like blasphemy, leading to political discussion about the criminal law related to what comprises insults to God and ridiculing religion,” he added.
He also spoke about the negative impact that the Arab Spring has on Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Bahrain. “Social media like Facebook, Twitter did not result in massive changes, and Syria is an example. Social media is used differently in different countries. Then there are optimists and pessimists. We should study the social media deeply to understand its impact on the Arab Spring,” concluded Quijano.

Dr Fatiha Dazi-Heni, political expert in the Arab region and a teacher at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris thinks that the positive aspect of social media in inspiring the Arab Spring revolution should be preserved, even if a negative situation prevails in Yemen and Syria.

“We should adopt a pragmatic political opinion regarding the Arab Spring, which is not the case in some Arab countries like Syria and Bahrain. It is important to see how the youth use social media to consolidate power in attempting to bring in change, which is incomplete due Islamists being criticized in Egypt, and the Nahdha party in Tunisia. The social media did precipitate the revolutions. It only had a positive effect on it. They pose a danger to some totalitarian governments,” she explained.

Dr. Nada Al-Mutawa, an expert in Strategic Affairs at Kuwait University stressed that the Arab Spring resulted owing slow economic growth, absence of economic equity and poor administration, connecting the economic and administrative reforms with the political ones. “In Egypt, social media played the role of a coordinator, and was a good tool of communication between young people. However, it failed in the executive phase. This is the situation of the modern media, which needs effective and continues administration,” she pointed out.

She also spoke about the role played social media in the recent Kuwait elections. “These media were called the ‘electronic diwaniya.’ The main users were female candidates. Election news was announced on Facebook and this site was used as a way to stay in touch with voters and post news at election headquarters,” she explained.

Source: www.news.kuwaittimes.net
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Fixmo and Mobileyes Solutions Bring Defense-Grade Mobile Application and Data Security to Canadian Government

Fixmo, the mobile risk management company, today announced that Mobileyes Solutions Inc. , the mobile solutions experts serving federal and provincial government departments and non-government organizations (NGOs) across Canada, has become the first Canadian partner to join the Fixmo SafeZone™ Certified Partner Program. The partnership enables Mobileyes Solutions to build custom enterprise applications for iOS and Android devices that leverage Fixmo’s defense-grade mobile security architecture and the Fixmo SafeZone secure workspace.

Mobileyes currently resells and implements the Fixmo Sentinel solution for mobile device security, integrity assurance and risk management. Under the expanded partnership, Mobileyes will now act as an authorized reseller of Fixmo SafeZone as well as a Certified Development Partner for securing mobile applications with the Fixmo SafeGuard SDK and deploying them into the Fixmo SafeZone secure workspace for government agencies and enterprise customers.

Fixmo SafeZone is the Secure Messaging and Data Container solution for iOS and Android that keeps corporate data encrypted, contained and under IT control. Developed as part of Fixmo’s Co-operative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), Fixmo SafeZone enables government agencies and enterprise customers to embrace iPads, iPhones and Android-based devices while protecting corporate data and mitigating the risk of data loss and compliance breaches. In addition to offering secure corporate email, browsing and documents, Fixmo SafeZone enables custom enterprise applications to be deployed to smartphones and tablets while ensuring they can be secured, contained, and managed by IT.

“The rapid proliferation of mobile devices throughout the Canadian public sector has created strong demand for mobile security solutions among government and enterprise employees,” said John MacBeth, President and CEO of Mobileyes. “Partnering with Fixmo gives us a unique opportunity to address our customers’ need to ensure iPad, iPhone and Android devices are used in a safe and secure manner by providing them with a best-in-class mobile security solution.”

“As a leader in mobile solutions delivery and secure application development, Mobileyes offers a unique value proposition to the Canadian Public Sector,” said Bruce Gilley, President of Fixmo. “Through the expanded partnership, Mobileyes and Fixmo can help government agencies and crown corporations across Canada deliver defense-grade wireless email, browsing and custom applications to their employees on their device of choice whether it be the iPad, iPhone or the latest Android device.”

About Mobileyes Solutions Inc.

Mobileyes is a dynamic and innovative digital communications solutions provider. An Ottawa-based, 100% Canadian owned private corporation, Mobileyes has been providing expert mobile solutions and creating and distributing digital content for over 14 years. Largely a public sector enterprise, Mobileyes proudly serves federal and provincial government departments, crown corporations and non-government organizations (NGOs). For more information, please visit www.mobileyes.ca.

About Fixmo

Fixmo Inc. is the mobile risk management (MRM) company that helps organizations identify, mitigate and manage the risks associated with mobile devices in the workplace. The company’s MRM solutions enable protected and compliant mobile computing, helping organizations embrace a wide range of mobile devices and applications while maintaining system integrity, protecting confidential data and proving regulatory compliance. Fixmo’s MRM technology has been developed as part of a Co-operative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). Fixmo is headquartered in Sterling, Virginia and Toronto, Canada. Additional information on Fixmo can be found at www.fixmo.com.

Source: www.sys-con.com
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Cost of living citizens’ biggest worry

Pakistanis are most concerned about the cost of living, followed by unemployment and then load-shedding, according to a survey of more than 10,000 households that was part of a United Nations Development Programme national report for 2012 presented here on Tuesday in collaboration with the Aurat Foundation.

The ‘Social audit of local governance and delivery of public services’ report – the third released by the UNDP after similar reports in 2004-05 and 2009-10 – states that while “some kind” of local government system was in place, it was not fully functional to ensure effective public service delivery.

It also states that elected local government systems, irrespective of their design, gave people “a sense of belonging” and “a sense of being served – not ruled”. The local government system in place in all four provinces is unelected.

The report focuses on ten service delivery areas: education, health, roads, water services, sewerage and sanitation, garbage disposal, public transport, agriculture, electricity and gas. More than 10,000 households in 179 union councils and 79 districts across Pakistan were questioned about these areas.

The report says very few respondents reported any improvement in any of the public services, while reporting deteriorations in electricity, sewerage and quality of roads. Union council secretaries questioned, on the other hand, thought that education, roads and water supply had improved. The report suggests that local government should be the “primary tier of government” and calls for the capacity building of staff.

UNDP programme officer Saima Alvi told The Express Tribune that the top most concerns of the people of Pakistan were the cost of living followed by unemployment. She said load shedding ranked third in the concerns of the people.

Alvi said the programme was initiated back in 2001, when a baseline audit was conducted under the Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment programme of the UNDP. A large number of “community organisations” working in the development sector also participated, she said. She hoped that the social audit would offer policy makers and the social development sector a qualitative and quantitative analysis of local governance and service delivery.

“The aim of the report is to highlight the importance of local governance,” said Aurat Foundation executive council member Umme Laila. She said social audits were a tool to determine the effectiveness of the development sector.

She said civil society had been demanding the effective local governance for the past four years. “Decentralisation of power does not mean merely the transfer of power from the federal to the provincial level. It means devolution of power to the district level too,” she said.

Having been launched in Karachi and Lahore, Laila said there were plans to launch it in both Quetta and Peshawar. “The impact of such social audits will be evident in the long run,” she said.

Governor Sardar Latif Khosa, speaking at the launch, said the report exposed the “non-democratic attitude” of the Punjab government. “If all funds are to be allocated to Lahore then all protests will head towards Raiwind,” he said.

He said that the government had failed to deliver services to rural areas of the province as well and criticised NGOs for concentrating only on urban areas. “Most NGO workers refuse to work in the rural areas, which is where the people need the greatest assistance,” he said.

The current economic and social deprivation could lead to “a bloody revolution” or “a war of the haves and the have-nots,” he said. The provinces should devolve power, he added.

Electricity and gas supply

The good news is that 97 per cent of households reported that they received electricity. However, satisfaction with the level of supply has been on the wane. In the first half of the decade, a majority of respondents said they were satisfied with the power supply, but this trend has reversed in the second half of the decade.

Similarly, there has been a significant increase in the percentage of households reporting access to gas. However, many households reported that they faced severe breakdowns in supply.

Researchers from eight universities helped gather the data for the UNDP report. These were the University of Karachi, University of Sindh, University of Sargodha, Islamia University Bhawalpur, Institute of Management Sciences Peshawar, University of Balochistan, International Islamic University Islamabad and Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30th, 2012.

Source: www.bernama.com
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Ukhrul pushes for steady climate change action plans

Several NGOs, churches and social activists put their heads together to deliberate on many core issues of climate change with discussion on "deforestation" taking the centrestage during the day-long workshop organised at Tangkhul Theological Association (TTA) hall at Hamleikhong in Ukhrul on Tuesday.

In the one-day district level workshop on climate change, which was organised by Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong (TKS) in collaboration with Directorate of Environment and Ecological Wing, Manipur, the current status and implementation of the "action plans" on climate change in Ukhrul were put to debate and discussion by participating NGO activists, church workers, village headmen and environmental activists.

Dr.Brajakumar Singh, Research Officer in the Directorate of Environment and Ecological Wing, Manipur, delivered the key note address, while journalist Irengbam Arun made a brief exhortation during the workshop.

The day-long deliberation, though it was basically a follow-up of the "action plans" that was adopted based on recommendations of the workshop held in Ukhrul in July 13 last year, witnessed the participants sharing deep concerns over wanton deforestation in Ukhrul district.

Several questions were raised over depleting forest cover in Ukhrul-that has now a green cover of about 288330.98 (HA) only and measures taken to tackle the agricultural practice, particularly jhum cultivation, which is the main factor causing large scale deforestation apart from timber felling in the hill districts of Manipur.

In the "action plans" incorporated basically for Ukhrul district, the 2011's July workshop recommended "special horticulture scheme" for abandoned jhum fields, organic farming, Orange production at Kamjong and Kasom Khullen areas among others.

Today's key debate also focussed on other "action plans" including eco-system and livelihood sustainability, water resources, health, forest and biodiversity conservation, enhance energy efficiency and conservation and urban planning.

Participants also raised issue of increasing "water scarcity" during the dry season in Ukhrul town, and put forward suggestions to tackle the crisis.

Unlike previous years, the town has been hit hard this time by acute shortage of water.

This phenomenon, however, has become ubiquitous in the entire district this year with several villages reporting that the water holes are getting dry.

Tuesday's deliberation was significant with the participating NGOs, churches and other bodies pushing for early and steady implementation of the "action plans" in the district.

The state officials also admitted "implementation delay" citing various technical difficulties.

In today's meet, however, the debate did not throw much light on the relevance of "indigenous knowledge," a key element in handling climate change particularly in tribal-dominated region.

The application of "indigenous knowledge" is an indispensable component in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.

It also forms as important guidelines in areas where "tribal customary practices" still has a strong hold.

Many recommendations were also put up in the meeting and to which the attending officials assured of forwarding the same to the government for necessary actions.

There was also a unanimous understanding among the participants on the need to take awareness campaign on climate change at grassroots level to materialise the 'action plans" .

Source:
www.e-pao.net
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Happy (belated) 4th birthday, PetFinder.my
Another year has breezed past within the blink of an eye and it has been a very eventful and exciting year for PetFinder.my.

The folks at PetFinder.my are extremely thankful to the animal lovers for their unwavering support in providing an effective technology platform for promoting the welfare of homeless animals, spreading awareness and public education.

Below are some of PetFinder.my’s key achievements over the past year:

Almost 4,000 pets have found cozy, loving homes through PetFinder.my portal in the last year, bringing it to a total of 10,000. Of course, most of the credit goes to the dedicated rescuers that have spent so much of their time, effort and money on saving the strays, nurturing them back to health, assessing adopters and ensuring that they go to good homes.

PetFinder.my Charity Fair at Sunway Pyramid raised over RM40,000 for seven participating NGOs. It was a fun-filled event with lots of activities, exciting performances, attractive merchandise and of course, adorable animal mascots. This event was successful because of the generous help and contributions of sponsors, performers, volunteers and merchants.

Launching of the Medical Fund, which allows the public to conveniently and transparently donate online towards the rescue of injured stray animals. It is hoped that this fund can better encourage people to save more animal lives, knowing that the public is ready to lend them a helping hand in footing the expensive medical bills.

The setting up of a Central News Portal, which brings the latest animal welfare updates from over two dozen leading NGOs, consolidated via their blogs, Facebook fan pages and websites. The aim is to generate better exposure of NGO efforts, and to provide animal lovers a convenient means of staying updated with all the NGOs via our website and mobile channels.

Release of Smartphone Apps for Android and BlackBerry, as well as an updated iPhone app version. Users can easily browse pets for adoption, reunite lost animals, read latest news and more. With the Mobile Website, PetFinder.my can now reach out to 100% of mobile Internet users regardless of their phones or platforms. Now everyone can save lives anywhere, anytime!

Creation of StopAnimalAbuse.my petition, initiated by SPCA Selangor and supported by NGOs nationwide. The viral petition obtained 10,000 signatures in 10 days, and was presented to the government together with follow-up animal welfare proposals.

PetFinder.my was also the winner of DiGi’s WWWOW Award in the Best Internet For Good category.

These achievements would not be possible without the great support from animal shelters, rescuers, fosterers, adopters and animal lovers. PetFinder.my would also like to express its deepest gratitude to all the media channels – newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations, websites and blogs that have played a critical role in helping us spread awareness on animal welfare.

Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com

Latest NGO's Events & Happenings Part-2 Dated on May 30th,2012

State level chess competition for Handicap in Pune

Dear All,

Greetings of the day!!!!!

Subject: “State Level Chess Competition for Handicap”: Come for Cause, Chess for Champions.

We take this opportunity to introduce Handicap Welfare Association ( Regn. No. Maharashtra/1438/2000/Pune dt 21/12/2000) and Youth Club (A youth driven social organization); an Handicapped welfare School (PremBhav Pradnya Chakshu Vidhyalaya) is established on 15 June 2008 Located in Pune.

From a humble beginning, a charitable voluntary organization working for the welfare, development and empowerment of the disabled in Pune, Handicap Welfare Association has grown considerably and has become a nodal agency for all welfare and development program.

It is a pleasure to invite you for Season 2 of 3 days Event “State Level Chess Championship” being organized in third week of May’12. The event is conducted with an objective to provide a humungous opportunity and platform for Handicap to express their feelings and vitality through activities.

Chess for Champions’12 will witness representation of across Maharashtra, with representation of 100+ Blind school & institutes represented by 200+ Participants and more than thousands Spectators across Maharashtra.

We are Looking for a sponsor or individual donor, who can come forward and support this Event .

Waiting for your reply,


Thanking you in anticipation.

Regards,

Apurv Gourav

Mobile no. +919970506893

Email:- youthclubngo@gmail.com
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International Workshop on Resource Mobilisation (IWRM) Asia 2012

The IWRM Asia 2012 is a 3-4 day conference focused on providing comprehensive training in all aspects of resource mobilisation and sustainable fundraising techniques. Through a vibrant mixture of hands-on ‘how to’ Workshops and high-energy Plenaries, our aim is to equip participants with a thorough grounding in resource mobilisation theory, as well as a set of practical techniques with which to build their fundraising capacity.

The IWRM Asia 2012 promises to offer an even greater selection of topics and speakers to set you on the way towards fundraising success. From sessions on getting started and raising your first funds to advanced classes on drafting strategic fundraising and marketing plans, our programme has something for everyone, both beginner and experienced practitioner alike. We also know how important networking is at the IWRM and this Workshop offers a unique environment for skill-sharing and peer-to-peer knowledge exchange.

Here's a few of the fantastic speakers we'll have at IWRM Asia 2012

David Zerman (Possibility Australia)
Arundhati Ghosh (India Arts Foundation)
Peter Muffett (DTV UK)
Frederic Fournier (Optimus France)
Surat Sandhu (India)
Usha Menon (Management Centre Singapore)
Sarah Barzel (Possibility Australia)
Vishal Talreja (Dream a Dream India)

IWRM Asia 2012 Masterclasses
To really make the most out of attending the IWRM Asia, participate in our superb optional Masterclass programme. Your Masterclass with allow you to either take an in-depth look at current best practice in a key area of fundraising or present new perspectives on a key area of work, either by bringing in different speakers or by treating the subject in new and different ways.

Save the Dates!

IWRM Asia
   

3-6 July 2012
   

Kuala Lumpur

For more information, visit now www.resource-alliance.org/iwrm/asia

If you have any queries, do not hesitate to contact us at
sheeja@resource-alliance.org ;
priyanka@resource-alliance.org              
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Be In Humanity Foundation
                                               Vision

                         Humanity as a Religion, as a Vision, as a way of Life

Be In Humanity vision is transparent towards Humanity, Needy and Poor People. We committed to best work for all rights belongs to Humanity and we wish to touch and will win hearts of every human being on earth. We have seen enough misfortune at child to younger age and finally reach here with wide, large and dedicated youth team to work for Needy and Poor people till ours life. That is Humanity for us.

Think of those known and unknown who sacrificed for you. Think of those who inspire you. Use the powerful images that work for you. That's power in fact that's humanity's most powerful force for positive change and you can do it with a wink, as quick as the beat of a butterfly's wing. Who knows what transpires from those moments; but it does indeed change the world. It also changes us, for it is an inward flow, not just outward. The more positive energy you give, the more you get; it's the same need, the same compliment, as breathing in and breathing out. So breathe this earth, soar its surface Know its people, Engage this planet, your fragile home, and all its sentient beings in the essential connection are made with the heart, not the tongue.


When no one is there for you, and you think no one cares. When the whole world walks out on you, and you think you are alone. We will be there.

When the one you care about the most, Could care less about you. When the one you gave your heart to, Throws it in your face. We will be there

When the person you trusted, Betrays you. When the person you share all your memories with, Hurts you. We will be there.

When all you need is a friend, to listen to you. When all you need is someone, to catch your tears. We will be there.

When your heart beats some bad, you can’t even breathe. When you just want to curl up and die. We will be there.

When you start to cry after hear sad incidence. When the tears just won’t stop falling down We will be there.

So you see we will be there until the end, this is a promise we can make. If you ever need us just give us a call and we will be there.

Email: info@beinhumanityfoundation.org

bihngoforhumanity@gmail.com

Website: www.beinhumanityfoundation.org

Mobile:+91- 9990967813     
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Free Four-Day Workshop in Delhi on Social Media

Must Bol Social Media Workshop

The workshop will focus on Strategies for mobilisation of new audiences.

Creating deeper and sustained engagement with online audiences. Effective use of Social Media platforms for campaigning and creating on ground action.

Date: 23rd to 26th April 2012
Time: 10 AM to 5 PM

Venue: Commutiny - The Youth Collective,
11/8, Nehru Enclave East, 1st Floor, Kalkaji, New Delhi 19.


The workshop will be designed by the Must Bol team and facilitated by Kuber Sharma, a digital & media enthusiast and "Social Media Evangelist" with support from Dhruv Arora, A Software Engineer turned Gender Activist and "Social Media Scientist"!

~We can take a maximum of 15 participants so please confirm your participation at the earliest by emailing the filled in form to mustbol@commutiny.in ~There is no registration charge for the workshop.
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Essay Competition on the Theme of Youth and Civil Society

Theme: U.S. and India: The Role of Youth in Strengthening Civil Society

Submit your e-mail entries to AmCenterND@State.gov latest by April 27, 2012.

Prizes

• First prize winner: $1000

• Second prize winner: $700

• Third prize winner: $500

• Winners’ essays will be published in the SPAN e-zine

Rules

• Essays should be about 650 words in English.

• Each essay should start with a 2-3 line synopsis of
its central idea/focus (this is in addition to the 650 words).

• The contest is open to Indian citizens residing in India aged 16-30.

• Only entries submitted to the above e-mail address will be accepted. Please do not send entries by post.

• The essay must have an American and Indian component.
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Charities For Children

Charities for children are best and very kindly activities for social welfare like education, food and home. These kinds of contribution make real many children’s dreams. So everyone can help to children with Diya Foundation.

Charities for children can be any type help with any kind of resources according your support. With these kinds of help of children provide many hope of life and make real dream.
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Volunteer for Summer Camp 2012

Hi All,

CHIP Mumbai is conducting its annual summer camp this year from 16th April, 2012 to 30th April 2012.
We have planned a plethora of activities like Judo, Dance, Yoga, Basketball , Football and Art workshops so that the children get to learn a variety of skills which will add to the development of their personalities. The summer camp is a very popular event and eagerly anticipated by the children every year. We expect to reach out to about 150 children this year through this camp.

Despite their immense unexplored talents and enthusiasm our students hardly have any exposure to a learning atmosphere of this kind, which supports, enhances their skills and provides an opportunity to come face to face with the experts from the respective fields.

This year, the camp will be held in Pratiksha Nagar BMC School in Jogeshwari (West) from 3pm to 6pm on the above mentioned days. The children will be taught various skills by experts from their respective fields.  We plan to conclude this two-week fun-filled extravaganza with an exciting picnic for the children.

We are looking for young, enthusiastic volunteers who can help us conduct this camp efficiently by assisting us with the on- ground operations. The activities the volunteers could help out with will include manning the registration desk, helping the various coaches conduct the different workshops, maintaining discipline and managing the children, distribution of snacks and assisting the guests or participants. This will be a wonderful opportunity for anyone who would like to interact with children as well as be part of a noble initiative. Anyone interested in event management will also find this a great opportunity.

Those interested in volunteering can send in a mail to chip.mumbai@gmail.com

CHIP Website | Forward to a friend
Copyright © CHIP since 2008.

365/2928/1 Motilal Nagar No. 2,
off M.G Road, Near Badi Masjid,
Goregaon (w) Mumbai - 4000062.
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Required volunteers in Bangalore
Need volunteers from bangalore to work for our group .. Looking for innovative ideas for various matters nd v stress on fund raising
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Free Social Media Webinar for Nonprofits on April 24 & 26 :: Register Now! Hosted by Microsoft

Join us on Tuesday, April 24th or Thursday, April 26th at 9:30 am (Indian standard time) for a free 90-minute webinar.

This social media how-to webinar is ideal for nonprofit communications and fundraising staff. Sponsored by Microsoft Corporate Citizenship and presented by Heather Mansfield of Nonprofit Tech 2.0,attendees will gain practical knowledge about how to successfully integrate your nonprofit’s Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 campaigns in order to maximize ROI (Return on Investment).

Presenter - Heather Mansfield

Heather Mansfield is the owner of DIOSA Communications and principal blogger at Nonprofit Tech 2.0, a social media guide for nonprofits. She created and maintains the “Nonprofit Organizations” profiles on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn,YouTube, Pinterest, and Foursquare, which cumulatively have more than 550,000 friends, followers, and fans.
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Free Spoken English Classes in South Bombay

English classes in Colaba starting soon. If you know anybody from south
mumbai who has passed the tenth standard (and is between 15 to 32 years) but is not fluent in English
they can come for this FREE 3 month course in spoken English. Volunteers are trained by British Council. The participants should have learnt English as a second or third language in school. The emphasis will be on Speaking and not on writing.

Timing: 7 pm to 9 pm from Mon to Sat. Probable starting dates would be 18th or 19th April - provided we get enough students. maximum would be 20 students though we can start when we get 10 students.

Please spread the word.

regards,
Patricia

---
Creative Writing and Thinking Coach
patshekhar-writtenstuff.blogspot.com
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NGO in Delhi India

SAAKA foundation is an initiative of a common man to help building infrastructure by inducing more positive ideas on the basis of experiences of individuals from all domains of life . Infrastructure for every society is designed on the basis social science of the culture of that society . Social science is a theory, which grows with the experience of every citizen from their lives and adds up with every incident of individuals.Here at SAAKA foundation our main motive is to highlight the same, which requires the support as well as involvement of every common man, so we invite every citizen to join us to redefine our complete social infrastructure and balance our lives to match the phenomena of the nature. Saaka will work for the education of kids as well as minimum education for elders.Will work to adopt sick educational units for the specific time period and mould them into functional educational units. Saaka will try and create benchmarks for others with such efforts.As of now if we talk about the front line worker jobs, there is no govt. department to provide basic technical education training for the workers like electricians, plumbers, carpenters, car mechanics, maids or other mechanics for different domains, only untrained workers start working and then learn by working as a random trials and face so many accidental situations so many times. Saaka will run the job oriented institutes in remote areas as well as basic skill institutes for the urban areas and setting up the ideal level of minimum skills.Saaka will  setup such institution in remote and rural areas for vocational education.
Address:-
C-448, SECTOR – 10,NOIDA -201301
Phone:-0120-4275550
Website:-http://www.saakaindia.org/
E-Mail:-saaka.delhi@gmail.com

Latest NGO's Events & Happenings Part-1 Dated on May 30th,2012

Work meets Fun at our Annual Review
Our Annual Review for the financial year 2011-12 was held in mid-April. The entire GiveIndia family headed out to Khandala, a picturesque hill station nestled in the Sahayadri mountain range, located approximately 110 kilometres from Mumbai. We were hosted by the Duke’s retreat, which offered us a panoramic view of Khandala and the Bhor Ghat.

The review was a two day event comprising of various interactive sessions and multiple team building games. It started off with the CEO, Mr. Dhaval Udani’s, summarization of the year gone by, followed by presentations from the various SBUs. The SBU heads discussed their performance in the last financial year in terms of learnings, challenges faced, achievements and most importantly the steps taken by them to overcome problems and meet objectives.

This two day event was a perfect blend of work and fun. Work in terms of presentations by the SBUs followed by Q & A and brainstorming sessions and fun in terms of the exciting team building games. These games were a judicious mix of indoor and outdoor activities with a moral implication. Every game taught us something new, which, if implemented in our day to day life could lead to higher efficiency and greater output thus helping the organization achieve its goal. It taught us the power of thinking together and working as a team as opposed to thinking and working in isolation.

This review provided outstation employees with an excellent opportunity to mix around with other teams and build good relations with them. We also had a reward and recognition ceremony where the employees who successfully completed 3 years in GiveIndia were recognised by the management and awarded a certificate by our CEO. Also, the Employee of the Year award was given to Mr.Vivek Raghavapudi [Popular choice] from Online and Retail Giving team and to Mr.Sambhaji Kesarker [Management choice] from Back office team.

Finally this exciting and memorable event concluded with the CEO’s summarization and discussion on future plans for the new financial year. The highly enthusiastic and motivated GiveIndia family then drove back to Mumbai with unforgettable memories and the determination to do much better this year by creating a greater impact on society and making India a better place to live in.
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'Bijli Bachao' is seeking electricity bills from 13 states.

Hey,

Is it possible for you to pass this email to your contacts?

Thanks,

Kiran

From: Abhishek Jain <abhishek.jain203@gmail.com>

Date: Thu, May 3, 2012
Subject: Bijli Bachao - needs electricity bills from various states.

Hi Kiran,
           I am writing this to tell you that I have started an initiative called Bijli Bachao (www.bijlibachao.in). The objective behind the initiative is to make people aware about the looming energy crisis, tell them that electricity is going to become expensive and saving the same will help them reduce their electricity bills and will also help our country grow in a sustainable way. As you know coal resources are declining and oil prices are rising, so energy efficiency will be very important for sustainable human and national development. Although lot of work is going on for renewable resources and that will surely help a lot, but that cannot supply endless pool of energy source for meeting the human demands. We have to make sure that we save energy/electricity to make sure that our future generations are secure and we also live in a comfortable environment. A lot of studies have also attributed excess of CO2 in environment for climate change (caused due to burning coal to generate energy) and the easiest way to reduce the same by making sure we are making optimal use of the energy resources (coal and electricity) that we have.

         Currently I am trying to create a calculator which will help people buying products (electrical products like ACs, Fridges, etc) to make smart choices so that they can save electricity and can also save on their electricity bills. For this I need electricity bills from various states in India to make sure that the monetary impact of buying an efficient product versus buying an in efficient product is clearly shown as per the rate of electricity applicable on the bills. I have collected bills from various states but following are still remaining:

Arunachal
Pradesh,
Goa,
Jammu and Kashmir,
Jharkhand,
Manipur,
Meghalaya,
Mizoram,
Nagaland,
Orissa,
Sikkim,
Tripura,
Uttarakhand,
West Bengal


As per our last discussion, if you could talk to your friends and arrange for some sample electricity bills from various states, it will be great.

Thanks a lot for your help

Regards,
Abhishek
----------------------------------------------------
Future and Light for Young: Fund Raising - 2012-13

Dear All,

FLY (www.flyngo.org) is working in the field of education for poor and needy children. Please check the website for more details.

We follow some basic steps, which are:

1. We identify meritorious students in different schools through our trusted network.
2. Whoever donates full year fee (INR 8000), is assigned a student to him. We share the complete profile of the student(s).
3. We provide result of student after terminal exams to the sponsor.
4. Based on the result sponsor can give his/her valuable feedback in writing or over the phone to the student.
5. We monitor the students performance, and assist him in improving it, if needed.

We are in the process of fund raising activity.
The kids need your help. Please be generous and donate.  Kindly spread the word.

Donations can be made through our website or NEFT to our different Bank accounts:

SBI Bank Details:
A/c name: “Future and Light for Young”
Bank Name: State Bank of India
A/C No: 30678379662 (Current A/C)
RTGS/NEFT/IFS Code: SBIN0007466
Branch: ONGC Palavasana, Mahesana (or Mehsana)

HDFC Bank Details:

A/C Name: “Future and Light for Young”
Bank Name: HDFC Bank Ltd
A/C No: 02381450000147
RTGS/NEFT/IFS Code: HDFC0000238
Branch: Prabhu Complex, Mehsana Highway

Feel free to contact me for any further details.

PS: Through website minimum contribution is INR 1000/-. Through NEFT any amount can be donated.
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Hospital Expenses of a Newborn Infant and the Mother

Sumeet Gade     May 4

We at Pragati has received a case of mother and a child from wadia hospital.The patient name is Kavita Thakare,Who is been admitted in NICU since birth ( 06/04/2012).Baby was delivered at 32 weeks back of pregnancy by cesarean section.In view of worsening maternal condition ( uncontrolled blood pressure with renal effects). Because of premature and very low birth weight ( 1.230 Kg ), baby has been put on the ventilator support.Baby at presently is stable on ventilator and will require around one more month of NICU care.The daily expenses of ventilator and medications of the baby are around Rs 2000 and that of the mother are around 1000 rs.That parents of the above mentioned baby are very poor and have sold their life's earning in theses 25 days.Therefore we request you to donate generously for the child and mother for we might give a new life to someone.Thanking you in-anticipation.Please do help us to save the life.


For more details - Connect with with Sumeet Gade - 8080920058 / Kamlesh Bokadia - 9820302423/ Ayushi Jain - 9833707660
email - sumeetgade@gmail.com
or do come and see the patient at the hospital.
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A 'B-school' in India Reaches out to Rural, Illiterate Women

Life has changed dramatically for Malan Mane in the past two years. The 50-year-old wicker basket weaver was once considered unintelligent and was often disregarded by her fellow villagers. Today, Mane manages her cash flow efficiently, has a grip on market dynamics and trades with panache. Her income has increased from US$30 a month in 2010 to US$100 at present.

Mane still makes baskets out of bamboo -- the woody grass that grows in the tropics -- but now saves on raw material cost by buying directly from the farmers instead of through a middleman. Encouraged by her success and her growing respect in the community, Mane's husband, who earlier used to stealthily sell her baskets to buy liquor, now helps her in the business. This has enabled Mane, who lives in Vaduj village in Satara district, 270 miles from Mumbai, to supply her goods to a larger customer base of vegetable vendors and store keepers. She can now also reach out to neighboring villages.

With the increase in sales, Mane is able to save US$10 every month. She has taken two microloans totaling US$150 from the local Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank, a co-operative bank run by women for women. Mane used the first loan to attach a tin roof to the family hut. She also bought a television. With the second loan, she wants to build a shed to stock her baskets and raw materials. "People who used to call me names, now respect me," she says.

Mane didn't become business savvy overnight. She's a product of the Mann Deshi Business School (MDBS), a unique business school for unlettered women. Set up in 2006, MDBS, which has its main center in Mhaswad in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, is a symbol of empowerment for rural women. Over the past six years, it has set up four branches in Maharashtra and one in the southern state of Karnataka and has transformed over 40,000 women into successful entrepreneurs.

Like Mane, the other women who have been educated at MDBS have little in common with the well-heeled students in MBA programs around the world. They are an eclectic mix of ages ranging from 19 to 50. They include a potter, a spice and noodle maker, a seamstress, a goat and sheep herder, a farmer, a homemaker and a bangle vendor. Most of the women come from families that earn less than a dollar a day. And in most cases, the women are the sole breadwinners trying to make ends meet.

"Most women came to us for loans to either start a new business or scale up their existing ones. That's when we decided to start the b-school," according to 53-year-old Chetna Gala Sinha, founder of the Mann Deshi Bank and MDBS. "We didn't want to provide [the women] just business capital. We wanted to also offer skills, knowledge and motivation to run their enterprises." Sinha, who is married to a farmer in Mhaswad, adds that MDBS is probably the world's first -- and so far only -- business management school of its kind.

All the MDBS branches are co-located with the Mann Deshi Bank, except in the district of Satara where the classes are conducted in any available space, be it a field, ground, temple or a student's house. In Mhaswad, MDBS has acquired an 18,000 square-foot plot and is currently constructing a three-story building, which will house the Mann Deshi Bank, four classrooms -- with a total seating capacity of 200 for MDBS, and also a small guest house. By 2015, Sinha aims to have nine branches of MDBS, four mobile B-schools and reach 100,000 women.

Ajit Rangnekar, dean of the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business, points out that India's education needs are huge and extremely diverse, from global top leadership to dairy farmers, and one will have to try out many different models to meet those needs. "Some of these ideas will succeed, some may evolve, while others may fail," he says. "The real challenge in India is not about doing these experiments, but about codifying the learning from such initiatives, and scaling the successful ones rapidly so that the growth can be shared across the society."

It was in 1997 that Sinha, an economist, first set up the Mann Deshi Bank to provide microloans to day laborers working on farms so that they could purchase and sell fruits and vegetables. The objective was to draw the women out of a day-to-day existence and nudge them to consider other enterprises. The business school was a logical extension of the bank. "The capital provided by the bank goes hand-in-hand with the women's business goals," Sinha notes. "The bank is a patient investor and the b-school provides mentorship and grooms women to become entrepreneurs."

Vishal Kapoor, portfolio associate at Dasra, a Mumbai-based nonprofit organization, says the microloan and business school enterprises are a good fit. "Most microfinance institutions focus on providing loans without the backend education piece, which is important to ensure that the loans are used [effectively] for business purposes," he notes. Dasra came on board in 2009 to enhance MDBS's product delivery and help it scale up, build systems and processes, and manage growth.

MDBS is funded primarily by grants from various partners including HSBC Bank, Godfrey Phillips, the Gibraltar-based Bonita Trust, Accenture and the British Asian Trust. The grants have grown from Rs. 7 lakhs (around US$13,500 at the current exchange rate of US$1 = Rs. 51) in 2006 and are expected to touch Rs. 2 crore (US$ 387,000) this year. "For the past several years, Mann Deshi has proven that poor women are bankable," according to Naina Lal Kidwai, country head for HSBC India and director of HSBC Asia-Pacific. "The B-school has helped the women to be creative, resourceful and business savvy, enabling the mainstreaming of a significant number of women into India's economy."

HSBC became a sponsor of MDBS in 2006. At that time, the company had offered the Mann Deshi Bank a microfinance-loan at 9% interest as part of its mandatory priority sector lending obligation laid down by the Reserve Bank of India. When Sinha requested HSBC to step in as the founding sponsor of the business school, the firm obliged. After an initial seed funding in 2006, HSBC now gives an annual grant of around US$100,000 to MDBS.

A Five-Day MBA

At present, MDBS offers a menu of 25 courses, largely developed in-house. These include classes in financial and marketing management, and also vocational skills like computer training, dress designing and English language instruction. Typically, the women start by learning a skill at MDBS and then go on to take a management course before embarking on an entrepreneurial enterprise. A five-day homegrown MBA program introduced in 2010 and branded Deshi MBA educates entrepreneurs on branding, advertising, packaging and marketing their products. It also provides market access and visits to big and small business entities. "The women are exposed to concepts like sourcing and the benefits of purchasing raw material in advance so as not to go through price volatility," says Dasra's Kapoor. A Deshi MBA student is also provided with a mentor for a year.

Last year staff at Accion, an American nonprofit organization, developed teaching modules on cash management and self-management for the Deshi MBA program.Accion trained 19 MDBS coordinators in these new modules and also helped then to become more interactive in their teaching. "Earlier, they did not have a professional approach to training methodology. For instance, financial literacy was taught with savings as a means to an end," notes Usha Gopinath, director for client education at Accion.

The women who come to MDBS undergo a free counseling session to gauge their skillsets and interests to help them choose courses. For a nominal fee ranging from less than US three cents to US$6, a woman can enroll in MDBS at any time, irrespective of her age or educational background. The duration of the different courses vary from a day to around three months. Vanita Shinde, chief administrative officer at MDBS, says that since most of the women are farm laborers or housewives, classes are scheduled to suit them -- between 11a.m. and 3 p.m. The trainers are handpicked by Sinha and her team. They earn a nominal salary of US$60 a month, plus 50% of the fees paid by each of their students. The rest of the fee amount goes to MDBS. "This structure motivates trainers to bring more students to the school," says Rekha Kulkarni, CEO of the bank.

In order to expand MDBS' reach, in 2007, Sinha got Sycamore Networks' Gururaj 'Desh' Deshpande to sponsor a mobile school in his hometown of Hubli in Karnataka. The interiors of the bus are designed like classrooms to offer courses including computer training, fashion design and tailoring. Electricity is provided by an eight-hour battery back-up. The MDBS mobile school also offers financial products like savings accounts, loans, pensions and insurance backed by financial literacy training. "The women cannot afford to come to us, so we go to the people," Sinha notes. Another mobile school caters to women in the villages surrounding Mhaswad.

Attracting more students is important not just for MDBS, but for the country as a whole. In the drought-prone Mhaswad village alone, nearly three-quarters of the population live below the poverty line. Around 65% of the women are illiterate and lack access to education and job opportunities. This is a longstanding issue across India. According to UNICEF India, 90 million women in the country are illiterate and 20% of children between the ages of 6 and 14 are not in school. The government's inability to solve this problem has spurred social entrepreneurs like Sinha take on the responsibility to educate women at the bottom of the pyramid. Abha Thorat-Shah, director at the British Asian Trust, the London-based social fund that supports high impact charities in education, enterprise and health in South Asia, says her organization doesn't typically fund hybrid businesses, "but Mann Deshi is an exception. I love the fact that it's rural, training and skilling people in the state, and not promoting migration."

The gradual rise of the semi-literate housewife Vanita Pise, who has become the public face of Mann Deshi, is an interesting example of the impact that MDBS can have. In 2006, when avian flu destroyed her family's poultry business, Pise, who reared buffaloes and also ran a small tailoring class in her house, became the main earner. She wanted to boost her income and approached the Mann Deshi Bank. When Sinha suggested she take up the manufacturing of disposable paper cups, Pise defied her family and approached the bank for a loan to buy a machine to kick off the new business. Though she mastered the art of manufacturing cups, Pise had no clue about marketing. So she joined the business school. Armed with her new knowledge, she expanded into disposable plates, and saw an exponential growth in business. Pise now owns 12 machines to make cups and plates, and earns US$300 a month. She is also looking at further expanding into making cardboard folders and spice powder.

Pise's grit and entrepreneurial skills secured her a seat on the Mann Deshi Bank Board in 2011. "The eighth grade-educated Vanita now handles demand drafts and check clearances. She is definitely a role model for our women," Kulkarni notes.

Challenges Ahead

But the road ahead for MDBS is not without roadblocks. Pointing out that the school aims to serve 100,000 women by 2015, HSBC's Kidwai says: "The biggest challenge for the organization is to be able to extend its reach to remote geographical areas and reach out to a greater number of underserved women without compromising on the quality of services currently offered. As the organization expands its base and scales up its operations, it will also need to ensure that it has a viable model in place for the school to be financially sustainable in the long run." ISB's Rangnekar notes that there is an important role in India for micro and small firms. "Such initiatives [like MDBS] will hopefully further foster and boost the development of small entrepreneurs. [The organization's] challenge will be geographic growth, and evolving the program over time," he states.

Rangnekar makes another point. "The students of Mann Deshi b-school may initially require more support than their urban counterparts, and the institution is right in recognizing this and providing the support, but it must be careful not to directly or indirectly subsidize these ventures." According to Rangnekar, business schools have to recognize that students must take responsibility for their actions. "A school can guide and support students in their initiatives, but cannot take over the primary responsibility for their success," he adds.

There is also another issue. Some observers note that the entire organization is centered on the founder, Sinha. She does not agree though. She points out that efforts are already underway to gradually project Pise as the face of Mann Deshi. Other women are also being mentored to take over key operations. "People knew only Chetna [Sinha] earlier, now they know the Mann Deshi brand," Sinha says. "As a big organization evolves, you develop a brand."
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A Series of Films on Bombay, May 8, TISS
Dear friends,

You are cordially invited for the release and screening of From the Margins: A Series of Films on M (East) Ward

Date: May 8, 2012
Time: 5 pm, preceded by tea at 4.30 pm
Venue: Library Conference Hall, TISS Main Campus, Opp Deonar Bus Depot, Mumbai 400088

This series was made by the students and staff of the Centre (now School of Media and Cultural Studies) as a part of the on-going M Ward initiative of the TISS.

This programme is organised jointly by the School of Media and Cultural Studies and the M Ward project of TISS. Prof. S. Parasuraman, Director, TISS will release the film series.

The details of the films follow. We look forward to your presence. Please RSVP if you are planning to attend.

Warmly,
Anjali and Jayasankar

From the Margins: A Series of Films on M (East) Ward TISS, English and Hindi, 2012
Produced by the School of Media and Cultural Studies

Series Commissioning Editors: Prof. K.P. Jayasankar and Prof. Anjali Monteiro
Packaging Team: Avadhoot Khanolkar, Prakash Sao and Gin Khan Siam

From the Margins 8 mins, Directed by Nikhil Titus Thomas, Camera by Mangesh Gudekar

An introductory film which explores the present conditions in M (East) Ward and outlines the M ward project of TISS.

Do Andolan 17 mins, by Avadhoot Khanolkar, Kaikho Paphro Chachei, Sumit Singh, Shazia Nigar and Raju Hittalmani

Slums such as Jai Ambe Nagar and Sathe Nagar in M (East) Ward have been repeatedly demolished by the  BMC demolitions as they are dubbed encroachments. Both Rabia, from Sathe Nagar and Manisha, from Jai Ambe Nagar are involved in the Ghar Bachao, Ghar Banao Andolan (GBGBA) a movement engaged with housing struggles in the slums of Mumbai. The film explores the negotiations they and other women make in their daily lives, as they manage their homes and participate in the movement to save their homes.

City’s Edge 19 mins,  by Sandeep Kumar Singh, Shweta Radhakrishnan, Sharib Ali and Abhishekh Yadav

The Deonar Dumping Ground is the largest dumping ground in Asia. Everyday, on the back of thousands of trucks, the dump receives half of all that the city exudes. And everyday most of it finds its way back- picked and processed. The dump is a powerful symbol of most of the city’s people who are constantly dumped, recycled, and dumped again, while perpetually remaining out of sight. The film explores this space through its protagonist - Mohammad Hussain aka Babu.

Cornered City 12 mins, by Aakriti Kohli, Vikram Buragohain, Manoj Bhandare and Daisy Leivon

Ravi, a college-going youth and his grandmother, Hirabai Thorat, live in Lallubhai Compound, Mankhurd, which is considered as one of the most ‘successful’ slum rehabilitation projects in Mumbai. Originally from the pavements of P D’Mello road, they faced constant demolition and eviction due to the state’s ‘clean-up’ and ‘beautification’ drive. Narrating their personal stories they make us question the idea of an ‘ideal’ habitat and slum rehabilitation in the city of Mumbai. Through their accounts the film explores the implications of ‘rehabilitation’ for the people who are ‘rehabilitated’.

Fish Tales 12 mins, by Shweta Ghosh, Anurag Mazumdar, Amol Ranjan and Joyasree Sarma

Fish Tales is the journey of four student filmmakers through their attempt to understand the Trombay Koliwada within the framework of the ‘modern’ city. In the process, they explore and reflect upon the present lives of the fisherfolk along with their historical relation to fish, festival and sea through narratives of members from the community. This film traces the location of Trombay within the M-ward and the subsequent challenges posed to the Koli community in times that put into question their traditional occupation and customs, including the very borders of the fast-changing village.

Kahani Pani Ki 12 mins, by Devendra Ghorpade, Prakash Sao, Ufaque Paikar and Arpita Chakraborthy

The film portrays the struggle of the residents of Sathe Nagar, a slum in Mumbai’s M (East) Ward, for drinking water. Through the stories of Sushila Patel, a balwadi teacher and Santosh Thorat, an activist, the film highlights issues such as the threat of demolition and the lack of access to basic amenities as well as the resistance of the community to this systemic marginalisation.
_________________________________
Anjali Monteiro, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
K.P. Jayasankar, Ph.D., Professor
School of Media and Cultural Studies
Tata Institute of Social Sciences,  Deonar, Mumbai 400 088, India

Phone:+91 22 2552 5661 and +91 22 2552 5660 (Work)
Fax:      +91 22 25525050    e-mail: contact[AT]monteiro-jayasankar[DOT]com
URLs: www.cmcs.tiss.edu
http://likeherelikethere.wordpress.com/
http://atwodayfair.wordpress.com/
http://ourfamily2007.wordpress.com/
http://naata.wordpress.com/
----------------------------------------------------------
Scholarships for Workshops in Bombay and Udaipur

Scholarships are available for a workshop on non-violent communication
organised by Comet Media Foundation and Shammi Nanda in Bombay: http://bit.ly/Iz40wk

Scholarships are also available for a six-day workshop on 'Jeevan Vidya' that will be held in Udaipur. For details, visit http://www.jeevanshala.org/events
------------------------------------------------------------
Free Work Space in Bombay for Social Entrepreneurs

Social entrepreneurs can avail of work space for free in Bandra, Bombay. You can read about the facilities at https://www.facebook.com/BombayConnect/info and visit http://bit.ly/IXrz5x for information on how to apply.
-------------------------------------------------------------
UNNATI's Delhi Centre opening on 7th May 2012
Dear
Friend,
Unnati is starting its Delhi Centre at UNNATI Center, 36/3, IInd Floor, Badarpur, Main Mathura Road, New Delhi-44 (Opp.Badarpur Flyover Pillar No. 25, Near Tughalkabad Metro Station)
Contact numbers: 011-30425694, 9971074567 on the 7th of May. The entire infrastructure has been made available to us by Kishwarna Charitable
Trust.
The team is in place and the Centre Manager is Ms. Prerna Malik. Please do visit us.Unnati has been successful because of the volunteering efforts of many well wishers and
donors. We require the help of Delhites in particular to make this program a success. Some of the things required is listed below: Unnati, Delhi  requires 3 nos TV (or large display units) 
3 computers (desktops or laptops) for the classrooms Some of the specific activities where anyone could volunteer and add value are: Referring youth – Unnati program is for youth above the age of 18 belonging to underprivileged
background. Please let youth know about this guaranteed employment program which
is now in Delhi Volunteer your Time -  teaching, interview process, co ordinate with employers, communication, fundraising, counseling of youth ( by professionals only )
We seek your wholehearted participation. This will be our first Centre outside Bangalore which is being monitored by us directly.

Team
Unnati

Watch Unnati videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/UnnatiNGO

Unnati program updates on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Unnati-Bangalore/177993546984

Utsav program updates on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Utsav/227792530594737
____________________________________________________________________

Please visit: www.unnatiblr.org
SGBS TRUST, Unnati Centre, Temple Road, Sadanandanagar, NGEF East, Bangalore – 560038.
Telephones: 080-25384642, 080-25384443
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Designing your social venture

Read the complete story at: http://www.iihs.co.in/programmes/pwp/social-venture-design-acara/

Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS) in partnership with Acara Institute, is pleased to announce “ Social Venture Design - Short Course on Social Entrepreneurship”

The course is an intensive program to help social change makers with an opportunity to refine their plans and prepare to turn them into reality. It is a practical hands-on opportunity to take your great idea to fruition, to create a high impact venture.

The course will help participants to develop an understanding of core aspects of entrepreneurship and leadership, and how these principles can be applied to solving a social or environmental problem. It will enable them to identify the core problem and to develop and refine business model components of a proposed solution to an environmental issue with an ability to communicate effectively.

At the end of the course, each student should have:

A deeper understanding of social entrepreneurship and how to apply it
A clear and executable plan for going forward, matched to resources available
A solid and compelling presentation
An introduction to tools and techniques for program management, design thinking, communication and business models
Connections to Mentors, Funders and Other entrepreneurs
Joint certificate from University of Minnesota - IIHS

Details of the program are mentioned below:

Please use the online link against the course for details and to send your nominations.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Opportunity for an enthusiastic and energetic youth - fight corruption

Please forward widely in your respective networks.

thank you!

./dwiji

======
The Coalition Against Corruption is looking for a Programme Associate.

If you are interested in  Mobilizing volunteers for organizing the campaigns against corruption Coordinating & conducting workshops, information / awareness sessions in colleges, Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and interested companies

Following up with authorities on corruption related issues Planning and executing of the coalition's programmes
Coming up with ideas to publicize the work of the Coalition Preparing periodic reports and sharing updates with Coalition partners Analyzing, compiling and prepare reports on feedback received through exit interviews, complaints, suggestion letters / emails / telephone calls, newspaper etc.
Interacting with higher officials regarding deficiencies in their establishment and try to resolve problems / grievances  Providing assistance to the public on RTI and other related issues.and you have Excellent communication skills Confidence to converse fluently in both English and Kannada
Experience in preparing documents, presentations and posters both by hand and using computers and A post graduate degree in any subject or a graduate degree with work experience

Please send us your latest CV and a recent photograph to cacblr@pacindia.org.

If you have any questions or would like to know more about the position, feel free to email us at cacblr@pacindia.org or call us at 6573-4444.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview and the selected candidate will be expected to join immediately.

About CAC

The Coalition Against Corruption works for

Improving accountability of the government
Combating corruption in government departments and agencies
Imparting information about and assisting with the exercise of Right to Information Act.
Facilitating cooperation among governmental institutions, NGOs and individuals
Helping and advising individuals and organizations in their fight against corruption

CAC addresses specific instances of corruption in any government dept or agency on a case-by-case basis. In addition, a systematic approach towards good governance & accountability has been taken up in nine government departments and agencies in Bangalore: BBMP, BDA, BWSSB, Bangalore City Police, BESCOM, Transport dept., Revenue dept., Stamps & Registration dept. and the Health dept. (Hospitals). A helpline (6573-4444) has been set up to advise and assist callers in seeking grievance redressal and exercising their rights under RTI. 

Coalition Against Corruption is an initiative of Public Affairs Centre, along with Swabhimana, Towards Rural Urban Training and Housing (TRUTH), Consumer Rights Education and Awareness Trust (CREAT), Consumer Care Society (CCS) and Karuna Trust.
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Grants for NGOs using Mobile Phone-Based Solutions

In continuation of the efforts in promoting mobile innovations for social impact since last year, Vodafone India Foundation in association with Digital Empowerment Foundation launches 2nd ‘Vodafone Mobiles for Good’ Programme for 2012.
This seeks to identify the mobile phone based solutions provided to cater diverse needs of people in India, in four categories.

Education
Health
Governance
Business, Enterprise & Financial Inclusion

If you are a registered NGO or Not-for-Profit organisation, working with the best idea integrated in mobile telephony platform and actively delivering services to the community in India, we certainly seek for
your participation.The four winning solutions will qualify for a funding support as grant of INR 40,00,000 to further scale up and develop their solution to serve and benefit large user community within India.
Closing date for accepting applications extended to April 30th, 2012. For further information and to access our on line available application form, please go to:
http://mobilesforgood.mbillionth.in/

Monday, May 28, 2012

Latest NGO's News Dated on May 29th,2012

NRI kids' custody row a closed chapter: Norway

Amidst the renewed fight over the custody of two children of an Indian NRI couple in Norway even after their return to India, the country's embassy in Delhi has said they consider the issue closed.

In reply to a e-mail by city-based NGO India's Smile, counsellor of the Royal Norwegian embassy in Delhi Laila Tronsdal Moen said, "The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Delhi considers the issue as closed from our side."

"The embassy is confident that the Indian authorities will resolve the issue in the best interest of all concerned," the counsellor said in the communique to Rajeev Sarkar, secretary Trustee of the NGO, which claimed to have first brought to light the issue.

Abhigyan and Aishwarya, who were brought to Kulti in West Bengal's Burdwan district from Norway recently after a protracted legal battle and diplomatic pressure by India, were again in the midst of a row with their mother and paternal grandfather lodging complaints against each other with the police.

Demanding security, Ajay Bhattacharya, the paternal grandfather of the children, has lodged an FIR with the Kulti police station alleging that the kids' mother Sagarika Bhattacharya barged into their house with outsiders and demanded handing over of the children to her.

Sagarika had earlier lodged an FIR against Ajay at the same police station alleging he was preventing her from meeting the children.

Sagarika said she last met her children on April 25 at a relative's house at Sinthe in the suburbs of Kolkata. Assistant Commissioner of Durgapur-Asansol Police Commissionerate Anjali Ahuja said, "We have received complaints from both sides. As it is a family matter we are trying to talk to both and asking them to solve the matter amicably."

The children were taken away from their parents, Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya, by Norway's Child Welfare Service in May last year on grounds of "emotional disconnect".

Following a nearly six-month-old legal battle, a negotiation was reached between the Indian and the Norwegian authorities to keep the two children in foster care before being flown to India.

The two children arrived in Delhi on April 24 after a Norwegian court gave their custody to their uncle Arunabhas Bhattacharya, a resident of Kulti in Burdwan district.

Source: www.ibnlive.in.com
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Naroda Patiya case: SIT opposes NGO application on riot papers
Ahmedabad: The Supreme Court-mandated Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Friday opposed an application filed by NGO 'Jan Sangharsh Manch' urging a local court to restrict the SIT from handing over the documents, submitted by them in 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case, to Zakia Jafri and others.

SIT lawyer R S Jamuar opposed the application, saying since the apex court had directed it to provide all relevant documents concerning the probe to Zakia, the SIT was bound by the order of the apex court.

Metropolitan Magistrate V J Ganatra has posted the matter for May 28.

Ninety-seven people from minority community were killed in Naroda Patiya area during 2002 post-Godhra riots.

The application maintained the documents submitted by the NGO in Naroda Patiya case riot should not be handed over to Zakia whose husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was among 68 others killed during the 2002 Gulburg society massacre.

The documents comprise CDs containing analysis of call records of mobile numbers of top leaders of BJP and VHP, and of the police officers during the riot period.

The Jan Sangharsh Manch contended as the SIT had already informed a designated court that it was still investigating the case, the riot-related documents must not be given to Zakia and others, until a final report is submitted by the agency, as doing so will hamper the investigations.

Zakia and another NGO, 'Citizen for Justice and Peace', represented by activist Teesta Setalvad had recently filed an application in the court seeking more documents from the SIT, which has already given its closure report on the complaint against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others.

Source: www.ibnlive.in.com
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Lawyers’ panel, NGO to defend Dr Shakil Afridi

PESHAWAR: A panel of lawyers from the tribal areas and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) have decided to defend Dr Shakil Afridi in the court of commissioner, Frontier Crimes Regulation in his appeal against his 33 years imprisonment.

Khyber Agency’s political administration on May 23 convicted Dr Afridi under the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) for running a fake vaccination campaign to help the Central Investigation Agency (CIA) track down Osama bin Laden in his Abbottabad compound and subsequently sentenced him to 33 years imprisonment on charges of conspiracy against the state.

Dr Afridi was accused of running a fake vaccination campaign, through which he reportedly collected the DNA samples from the family members of bin Laden that may have helped the CIA confirm the al-Qaeda founder’s presence in Abbottabad.

A panel of lawyers from the tribal areas including Samiullah Afridi, Qamar Nadeem, Raza Khan and Taj Mahal Afridi submitted their joint power of attorney in the Peshawar Central Prison for the approval of Dr Afridi on Saturday. “We have submitted power of attorney to defend Dr Shakil Afridi in his appeal against conviction,” Samiullah Afridi, a senior lawyer from Fata, told The News on Sunday.

He said Dr Afridi’s brother Jamil had contacted the Fata lawyers for assistance and filing of appeal against the conviction. “We have also applied for detailed order of the assistant political agent about the conviction of Dr Shakil Afridi,” he said, adding that first the political authorities were unwilling to provide the duly attested copy of the order, but later they promised to provide it today (May 28).

The Legal Aid Welfare Organisation (LAWO), a non-governmental organisation, has also decided to provide legal assistance to Dr Afridi in his appeal against conviction.Sartaj Ahmed, vice chairman of the LAWO, told The News that the organisation would provide free legal aid to Dr Afridi in his appeal to the Commissioner FCR.

He said the LAWO panel of lawyers, including Fazal Shah, Ahmad Yar and Shaukat Ghulam, would defend Dr Afridi in the case. “We will submit joint power of attorney of the lawyers after a meeting today,” he added.He said the organisation had been providing free legal aid to prisoners since 2006 and now it had decided to assist Dr Afridi.

About the conviction, Samiullah Afridi said first the political administration did not give Dr Afridi the right of defence, which was his fundamental right. Second, he added, the cause of action had taken place in the settled district of Abbottabad and he should not have been tried under the FCR. “The government should try him under the laws of the settled areas, not the FCR, if he is an accused,” he argued.

However, Fata Lawyers Forum (FLF) president Muhammad Ijaz Mohmand said the tribal lawyers were not contesting the case of Dr Afridi from the FLF platform. Dr Afridi can file an appeal against his conviction in the court of the FCR commissioner, and in case it was dismissed he can approach the Fata Tribunal, an appellate forum for hearing appeals against the decisions of political agents, assistant political agents and the FCR commissioner.

Source: www.thenews.com.pk
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90 killed, including 25 children, in Syria's Houla: NGO

BEIRUT — A team of UN observers deployed in Syria to monitor a shaky truce arrived on Saturday in the town of Houla, site of a "massacre" by regime forces in which at least 90 people died, monitors said.

"A team of UN observers arrived in the village of Taldau (on the outskirts of) Houla, to document the crimes committed in the past 24 hours, in violation of the ceasefire," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Syrian regime forces have "massacred" more than 90 people, including 25 children, in Houla, in the central province of Homs, the Britain-based watchdog said.

The violence caused residents to flee for safety, the monitoring group noted. "Many people are fleeing Taldau village in Houla," the Observatory said, adding that residents feared new attacks on the town, in the central province of Homs.

Amateur videos posted on YouTube showed horrifying images of children lying dead on the floor, with some of their corpses badly mangled. At least one child had had part of his head blown off.

The Britain-based watchdog condemned the Arab and international communities, describing them as "complicit with the Syrian regime in the Houla massacre."

The international community was "silent in the face of the massacres committed by the Syrian regime," it said.

The Observatory reported that "blasts" were heard in Taldahab, very near Taldau, while the monitors were on the outskirts of Houla.

State news agency SANA reported the UN monitors' arrival in Houla, adding that they had also visited the Sultaniya and Jobar districts of Homs city and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent offices there.

SANA blamed "armed terrorist groups" for the killings in Houla, adding that "clashes led to the killing of several terrorists and the martyrdom of several members of the special forces."

The opposition Syrian National Council urged the UN Security Council to act after regime forces "massacred" what it said was more than 110 people in Houla.

The latest flare-up of violence came as Kofi Annan, the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria who brokered a repeatedly violated ceasefire last month, finalised plans to return to Damascus.

On Saturday morning, demonstrations were staged across Syria to protest the killings in Houla, anti-regime activists said.

In Kfarnabel, in the northwestern province of Idlib, scores of men and women took to the streets to honour the dead, chanting: "We sacrifice our soul and life for you, O people of Houla," according to an amateur video posted on YouTube.

Protesters were also angry with the international community.

One demonstrator held up a sign reading: "Annan is singlehandedly responsible for the Houla massacre," blaming the special UN-Arab League envoy for continued violence.

More than 12,600 people have been killed in Syria since a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's rule broke out in March 2011, including nearly 1,500 since a UN-backed truce took effect on April 12, according to the Observatory.

Source: www.google.com
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Assam: Kaziranga National Park uses technology to save its tigers

Kaziranga National Park: The Kaziranga National Park in Assam has come up with some fresh ideas to save its tigers. There are about 81 to 131 of them there. CNN-IBN's Arijit Sen travelled inside the park to learn about the technology that has been put to use to spot the big cats.

Kaziranga National Park Director SK Bora said, "The habitat we are trying to protect appears to be quite healthy for the tiger population in Kaziranga."

The pugmarks help figure that the majestic animal has crossed a particular stretch. Forest Guard Robin Nath says, "I saw a tiger from 50 metres distance."

Wildlife Research Officer Robin Sharma's team sets up a camera trap. It's a user friendly technology where images are recorded on a data card, pulled out and the camera is put back.

There is another type of camera, which has a censor and a white flash, which gets activated.

In the past three years, with help from a wildlife NGO, Aranyak, camera traps have successfully recorded images of not one or two, but 118 tigers.

"We have divided the Kaziranga reserve into 252 grids. Accordingly we have selected 125 grids on the basis of science surveys. We put 125 pairs of cameras, one pair for every grid," Robin Sharma said.

Cameras are more scientific than pugmarks as all the tigers have unique stripes.

Divisional Forest Officer of the Kaziranga National Park D Gogoi said, "It gives more accuracy, can collect data, process and study them at ease. An extensive area can be covered."

But the camera traps have also recorded the images of poachers, increasing the responsibility of the foot soldiers who keep a watch on the 430 square kilometre park. For now, this remains one of the most densely populated reserves in the country for tigers.

Source: www.ibnlive.in.com
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Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Nikolas Barry-Shaw, Alexandra Morton, Janine Bandcroft May 28, 2012

Nikolas Barry-Shaw is a Montreal-based independent researcher affiliated with the Canada-Haiti Action Network, who has spent more than three and a half years digging into the actions of Canadian NGO's operating in Haiti and elsewhere. The fruit of that research is the newly released book, 'Paved with Good Intentions: Canada's development NGO's from idealism to imperialism.'

Testing just how "non-governmental" these NGO's are, 'Paved with Good Intentions' also begs the question: "Just who benefits most Canadian NGO ministrations?" Nik is also finishing his post-graduate studies at McGill and finds himself in the middle of Quebec's student uprising, or the "Maple Spring."

Nikolas Barry-Shaw in the first half.

And; two weeks ago, Mainstream, one of the largest fish farm operators in B.C. waters, reported a mass outbreak of infectious haematopoietic necrosis, or (IHN) at one of their operations in Clayoquot Sound. It is a disaster necessitating the destruction of thousands upon thousands of infected, and possibly infected, fish and another in a growing list of disasters for the fish farming industry as a whole.

Listen. Hear.

Alexandra Morton is founder of the Raincoast Research Society, Director of the Salmon Coast Field Station, and co-founder of the activist organization, Salmon are Sacred. She is famously based in the Broughton archipelago, where her studies of Orca, Salmon and other fish have advanced human knowledge of the iconic West Coast species for decades. Among her many awards, she was named Conservationist of the Year by the BC Wildlife Federation.

Alexandra Morton and British Columbia waking to the fish farm nightmare in the second half.

And; Victoria Street Newz publisher and CFUV broadcaster, Janine Bandcroft will join us at the bottom of the hour to bring us newz from our city's streets and beyond. But first, Printemps in Montreal with Nikolas Barry-Shaw, and; following the NGO road, paved with good intentions.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Monday, 5-6pm Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, 104.3 cable, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca.  He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://GorillaRadioBlog.blogspot.com

Canadians are as a rule good people, who hope the best for their neighbours down the block and around the world. They don't mind paying a little extra tax, in the knowledge their small individual monetary sacrifices are collectively magnified and devoted, through the agency of the federal government, into projects and organizations doing good for the less fortunate here and abroad. We Canadians are too, generally speaking, a trusting people who believe our government and the Non-Governmental Organizations we support to represent us in world mean well. But, do they?

Nikolas Barry-Shaw is a Montreal-based independent researcher affiliated with the Canada-Haiti Action Network, who has spent more than three and a half years digging into the actions of Canadian NGO's operating in Haiti and elsewhere. The fruit of that research is the newly released book, 'Paved with Good Intentions: Canada's development NGO's from idealism to imperialism.'

Co-authored with Dru Oja Jay, 'Paved with Good Intentions' examines the dissonance between the perception of Canada's aid community at home, and the real world effects of their involvement from Africa and the Middle East, to Afghanistan and Haiti. Testing just how "non-governmental" these NGO's are, 'Paved with Good Intentions' also begs the question: "Just who benefits most Canadian NGO ministrations?" Nik is also finishing his post-graduate studies at McGill and finds himself in the middle of Quebec's student uprising, or the "Maple Spring."

Nikolas Barry-Shaw in the first half.

And; two weeks ago, Mainstream, one of the largest fish farm operators in B.C. waters, reported a mass outbreak of infectious haematopoietic necrosis, or (IHN) at one of their operations in Clayoquot Sound. It is a disaster necessitating the destruction of thousands upon thousands of infected, and possibly infected, fish and another in a growing list of disasters for the fish farming industry as a whole. And, not two weeks after the Mainstream release, Grieg Seafood, another large fish farm operator, announced a possible IHN outbreak at their Ahlstrom pens north of Sechelt.

Critics have long claimed these operations are analogous to concentrated cattle feed lots, where the massive amounts of chemical inputs and antibiotics necessary to stave of illness and disease outbreaks are losing their effectiveness. They also maintain; the unnatural presence of Atlantic salmon, confined in huge numbers in open net cages within the Pacific coastal eco-system, threatens the well-being of migrating wild salmon and other species.

Alexandra Morton is founder of the Raincoast Research Society, Director of the Salmon Coast Field Station, and co-founder of the activist organization, Salmon are Sacred. She is famously based in the Broughton archipelago, where her studies of Orca, Salmon and other fish have advanced human knowledge of the iconic West Coast species for decades. Among her many awards, she was named Conservationist of the Year by the BC Wildlife Federation.

Alexandra Morton is also the author of numerous books on the whales, dolphins, and fish of the pacific northwest, including: 'Heart of the Raincoast' co-authored with Billy Proctor, 'Listening to Whales: What the Orcas have Taught Us,' 'Beyond the Whales: The Photographs and Passions of Alexandra Morton,' and her latest is the retrospective, 'Heart of the Raincoast: A Life Story.' Alex is also the author of the children's books, 'Siwiti - A Whale's Story,' and 'In the Company of Whales, from the Diary of a Whale Watcher.'

Alexandra Morton and British Columbia waking to the fish farm nightmare in the second half.

And; Victoria Street Newz publisher and CFUV broadcaster, Janine Bandcroft will join us at the bottom of the hour to bring us newz from our city's streets and beyond.

But first, Printemps in Montreal with Nikolas Barry-Shaw, and; following the NGO road, paved with good intentions.

"G-Radio is dedicated to social justice, the environment, community, and providing a forum for people and issues not covered in the corporate media."

Some past guests include: M. Junaid Alam, M. Shahid Alam, Gilad Atzmon, Joel Bakan, Maude Barlow, David Barsamian, Mark and Rhoda Berenson, Diana Beresford-Kroeger, William Blum, Luciana Bohne, William Bowles, Mordecai Briemberg, James J. Brittain, Helen Caldicott, Noam Chomsky, Michel Chossudovsky, Diane Christian, Paul Cienfuegos, David Cromwell, Ezili Danto, Jon Elmer, Yves Engler, Anthony Fenton, Jim Fetzer, Laura Flanders, Chris Floyd, Connie Fogal, Susan George, Stan Goff, Amy Goodman, Denis Halliday, Chris Hedges, Sander Hicks, Julia Butterfly Hill, Scott Horton, Robert Jensen, Dahr Jamail, Chalmers Johnson, Diana Johnstone, Malalai Joya, Kathy Kelly, Naomi Klein, Brewster Kneen, Betty Krawczyk, Anthony Lappe, Frances Moore Lappe, Jeff Leys, Dave Lindorff, Jim Lobe, Jennifer Loewenstein, Stephen Marshall, Robert Massoud, Loretta Napoleoni, John Nichols, Ken O'Keefe, David Orchard, Riki Ott, Greg Palast, Mike Palecek, Michael Parenti, Robert Parry, Justin Piche, John Pilger, Kevin Pina, William Rivers Pitt, Justin Podur, Lila Rajiva, Jack Random, Sheldon Rampton, Paul Craig Roberts, David Robb, Paul de Rooij, John Ross, David Rovics, Danny Schechter, David Schindler, Vandana Shiva, Tim Shorrock, Norman Solomon, Jean Saint-Vil, Starhawk, Grant Wakefield, Harvey Wasserman, Paul Watson, Bernard Weiner, Andy Worthington, Mickey Z., Howard Zinn and many others.

Source: www.pacificfreepress.com
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Rajasthan Police and child rights activists rescue over half-a-dozen children from Jaipur Dairy

A team of Rajasthan Police and child rights activists rescued over half-a-dozen children on Thursday from a government-run dairy factory in Jaipur where they were working crushing 12-hour shifts for just Rs.100 per day or even less.

Following information from an NGO, the team raided Jaipur Dairy that produces the popular milk brand, Saras, around 7 pm.

Officials of the government's integrated child rights scheme accompanied the raiding party. What they found there was nerve-wrecking as children below 15 years of age were assigned tasks such as changing equipment in hazardous machinery used in milk packaging and transporting heavy loads with no safety measure.

As the team approached the premises, most of the child labourers managed to escape but seven of them - aged between 11 and 14 years - were rescued. There were 27 of them working on Thursday night, one of the children said.

Narrating the inhumane conditions and total violation of labour laws, the children said they were not allowed meal breaks during their 12-hour shifts - from 5 am to 5 pm and from 5 pm to 5 am. They were paid Rs.80 to Rs.100 a day per shift. About 90 child labourers worked in the plant at any given shift, Vijay Goyal, general secretary of the Rajasthan Baal Adhikar Sanjha Abhiyan, alleged.

The police said two contractors, Kalu Ram Gurjar and Shivji Ram Gurjar, allegedly "supplied" these children to the factory. Station house officer of Bajaj Nagar police station, Shiv Ratan Godara, said an FIR against the contractors was registered and the rescued children were sent to a shelter home.

Govind Beniwal, a member of the Rajasthan state commission for protection of child rights, said these children were kept in a house in Jaipur's Jagatpura colony. They were transported daily to Jaipur Dairy in vans having blinded windows and a rear door to hide the trafficking.

When asked why the contractors or any official from the dairy were not arrested, the police said they were looking into details such how the day to day activities of the dairy, its system of supervision, the nature of the job contracts and labour records.

The dairy management on Friday suspended the plant's deputy manager K. C. Kabra for "dereliction of duty". The dairy's public relations officer Anil Gaur said an inquiry was initiated because several operations of the plant have been outsourced to contractors. However, he couldn't answer how the presence of child labour escaped the eyes of dairy supervisors.

Source: www.indiatoday.com
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Entries invited for Laadli media awards for gender sensitivity
Population First, an NGO working on health, population and women's issues, with support of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has invited entries for the fourth Laadli media awards for gender sensitivity 2011-12 for northern region.
The northern region awards are open to
advertising and media professionals/freelancers from Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh.
The last date for receiving entries is July 15, a statement said.

The awards would be held in all the four regions culminating in the national awards in Mumbai in November 2012. The northern region awards ceremony would take place in late October.

The Laadli Media Awards were instituted in March 2007 to acknowledge, highlight and celebrate the commendable efforts by print and electronic media to support gender-just perspectives.

Source: www.hindustantimes.com
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"Serbia could now recognize Abkhazia and S. Ossetia"

TBILISI -- The Serbian parliament may consider recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia after Tomislav Nikolić's presidential election victory, a Georgia-based website says.

The site - "Democracy and Freedom Watch (DFWatch) - published by an NGO, claims that Georgia for this reason "responded to the election of a nationalist as Serbia's president with a call for cooperation".

Belgrade-based Beta news agency is quoting the article, which states that Georgian Deputy FM Nino Kalandadze expressed her hope that the issue would be solved "through bilateral talks".

According to this, Nikolić's position on "the rebel Georgian republics" is different that that held by his predecessor, Boris Tadić:

"While pro-European Boris Tadić warned against the precedent which was set when Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in February 2008, Nikolić in an interview with Voice of Russia on Saturday dismissed any similarities between Kosovo’s claim for independence and that of Abkhazia and South Ossetia."

The article further states that Nikolić said that "Kosovo should be under the control of Belgrade, while the two separatist states deserve independence".

The website claims that his statement "coincided with an announcement by Vladimir Putin that Russia will grant Serbia a loan of USD 800 million for infrastructure projects".

"During his visit to Moscow and a meeting with the president of Russia he also expressed that uncompromising position on Kosovo will not be changed even if it hinders EU integration," said the Georgian website.

It then noted that "Nikolić was vice-premier in the government of Slobodan Miloševicć and has been one of the leaders of a radical nationalist party head of the which Vojislav Šešelj, who was put on trial in the Hague (Tribunal)", but that now, "he is the leader of his own party and support a more moderate nationalist stance".

The Georgian Deputy FM Kalandadze, meanwhile, is reported to have appealed to the Georgian and Serbian people’s "close relations", citing their "Orthodox (Christian) religion, similar history and cultural relations".

"Georgia like Serbians have chosen a European way, both seeking EU membership. It’s clear to everyone that the EU clearly recognizes Georgia’s territorial integrity and Georgia’s borders within international law frames. Accordingly, it is in Serbia’s national interest to follow international standards".

Source: www.b92.net
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Vakola’s Chillar Party saves abandoned dog

Group of nine children from Kumar Society rescue pomeranian, build shelter for him and help find him a new home

It’s the kind of story that will warm your hearts. In cynical Mumbai, where human life is often disregarded, a group of children in an Santacruz (E) housing society have got together to rescue a dog.

The children, of varied ages ranging from 8 to 15, also went to great lengths to find an NGO that would help find the Pomeranian a home. Until then, they will guard his makeshift kennel, built in a corner of their Kumar Society In in Vakola.

Rocky, 9, came into the life of Aaron D’silva (who is just a year older) two weeks ago. The boy found the dog being attacked by people outside his colony. The watchman was about to shoo away the yelping dog when Aaron stepped.

Soon enough other children from the society - Janele D’Silva 12, Parth Murkute, 15, Anushka Verma, 11, Mihir Sawantage, 12, Mitali Khandekar, 8, Atharva Pandit, 13, Nikhil Dabale, 14, and Sanya Pandit, 11 - joined in to help Aaron and Rocky. Together the nine built a brick shelter for their newfound friend. “We fetched him some milk and together decided on the name Rocky,” said one child.

The children said they drew inspiration from the 2011 film Chillar Party (directed by Nitesh Tiwari and Vikas Bahl) in which a group of children get together to similarly save a stray dog.

The Andheri kids were pragmatic. They got in touch with an adult from their colony to seek permission to keep Rocky - society rules leave no space for strays - until they found him a home.

Shilpa Mishra said that the day they found Rocky, the children had waited till 9 pm for her to return from work. “As soon as they saw me, they came running to me and told me their story,” said Mishra. She and Aaron’s mother Juliet then helped the children fix a meal for Rocky and asked the society secretary to allow the children to keep Rocky for a few days as none of their parents would allow them to keep him.

The children visited Dr Umesh Karkare in Bandra who treated Rocky’s injuries for free. The visit revealed that the dog had a cataract in one eye, which will be operated upon later.

But, a special friend should get special treatment.

Rocky recently visited a spa which, after much pampering, fitted a clip on his fur. “He looked gorgeous and it is hard to tell that he is an abandoned dog,” said Mishra.

The children got down to hunting for a permanent home for their four-legged friend, starting with collecting money. Neighbours pooled in a total of Rs 5,000.

They now have help from the founders of the NGO, World for All - Taronish Bulsara and Ruchi Nadkarni - who are locating a home for Rocky. Bulsara said, “It is also sad that Rocky was abandoned by his family. We are proud of these kids. They have done what sometimes as elders we fail to do.”

A family has now agreed to provide a foster home for Rocky. And the kids, while sad to see him go, are grateful for the happy turn of events.

Source: www.mumbaimirror.com
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6 civilians killed, demos in Damascus and Aleppo: NGO
AFP - Syrian regime forces killed six civilians on Friday, as democracy activists took to the streets of Damascus and Aleppo, Syria's two largest cities, a monitoring group reported.

In the central province of Hama, four people were killed early Friday by regime forces, including three teenagers, as they guarded their farm in the village of Chizar, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, citing activists.

A fifth person reportedly died in the Sabounie district of the provincial capital.

An unspecified number of army soldiers were also wounded in clashes with deserters that erupted in Sahl al-Ghab, in the same region, the Observatory said.

In the southern province of Daraa, the birthplace of the Syrian uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, a civilian was reportedly killed in an ambush on the road to Saida.

Democracy activists meanwhile called for demonstrations on Friday under the slogan: "Our next rendezvous, Damascus," reflecting their desire to intensify their activities in the Syrian capital, despite the heavy presence there of security agents.

Protests were reported at dawn in at least five residential neighbourhoods in Damascus in support of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), made up largely of dissidents from the regular army, and calling for Assad's downfall.

"Al-Tadamon neighbourhood will not bend," read one placard, while in Tabbale, the protesters called on "the Sheikhs of Damascus to distance themselves from the regime," according to videos posted by activists on the Internet.

"The Free Syrian Army, make the shabiha cowards flee," read another placard in the pro-rebel neighbourhood of Al-Assali, referring to the paramilitary supporters of the Syrian regime.

On Thursday, violence across Syria left 34 people dead, including 24 civilians, one deserter and nine soldiers, according to the Observatory.

Source: www.france24.com
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Never wrote to Hazare doubting Kejriwal’s integrity, claims Bedi

Team Anna member and former police officer Kiran Bedi has denied ever having written an e-mail to Hazare, complaining against her colleague Arvind Kejriwal. Bedi had reportedly alleged that funds collected for the anti-graft stir were mishandled by Kejriwal’s NGO.

Anna raises sights, slaps graft charges on PM, Pranab

Hazare reportedly told the newspaper that he had received such a mail from Bedi, she said, “I have never written any mail doubting the integrity of Arvind.

In fact, the Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF) is one of the most closely audited body.”

The Congress party, however, referred to the report and wondered whether team Anna’s so-called charge-sheet against 15 union ministers was a ploy to divert attention from their internal dispute.

Source: www.hindustantimes.com