Latest NGO News

Latest NGO Jobs in India Part-3 on May 30,2011 : Read in Detail

'No barriers when it comes to music'

Saathi NGO, formed by the students of Carmel Convent announced the results of the rock concert that was held at Rock Garden on Saturday. Around 1500 rock lovers had enjoyed performances by city based amateur rock bands at this concert.


Saathi has been organizing such charity rock concerts to help the under privileged children. Over 55 slum children were also a part of the event and were seen rocking to the tunes of the rock band 'I Quit' and showing that there is no barrier when it comes to music. Rock band 'I Quit' bagged the first tag of the concert.


The event is a yearly competition, where all the upcoming rock bands from the city compete after preliminary rounds. The bands which made it to the final rounds were I Quit, Fused, Ecstasy, Nostalgia, Cursed, Redless Blood. While the performers of rock band 'I Quit' bagged the first position, the second prize was awarded to 'Fused.' Another rock band 'Ecstasy' was the winner of the third prize.


Underprivileged students were very happy and enjoyed performing with these budding stars. ''It was an experience worth remmembering for life. The live performances keep me dancing away on my toes all along,'' said Roopkumari, an underprivileged student.


Sushant Chowdhary, the member of band 'Fused' said, ''Performing for a noble cause gave us satisfaction and also provided us a huge platform to showcase our talent.''


Punita Singh, creator of Saathi said, ''Saathi is committed to encourage the rock bands of the city and work for underprivileged children. We are going to organize more such events so that city youth can showcase their talent and alongside help the needy.''


Creator of Rock Garden Nek Chand, DPI (S) Sandeep Hans, and director of Raffles Millennium International Chandigarh campus K L Simwere the special guests at the concert.
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NGO accused of indulging in corruption

Former president United Media Centre (UMC), DI Khan, Rizwan Ullah Khan said Sunday that he had concerns over the alleged corruption on the part of management of Khwendo Kor, a NGO working in DI Khan and Tank districts, in the recently completed project of ‘Child Protection.’ According to details, the former president UMC and a senior local journalist Rizwan Ullah Khan while vehemently condemning the alleged misappropriation of funds on a large scale by the staff of the local NGO informed that the management of a Khwendo Kor allegedly embezzled huge amount in its recently completed project - Child Protection - which was funded by UNICEF, in two districts DI Khan and Tank.
He informed that local coordinator Zahid Usman reportedly in collusion with the regional administration and finance officer Fazal Din misappropriated funds in the budget of fuel of vehicles and showed fake visits during the projects in these districts.
He said the salary of three child protection centres each Rs 40,000, was embezzled by showing these centres in documents only, while physically none of it existed in the area.
He alleged that it was very strange to note that even an office boy ‘misused’ Rs 90,000 budgets, which was meant for repairing of official vehicles. He accused the management of the organisation of selling over 50 per cent of non-food items including torch lights, battery cells, kitchen items, slippers and lantern, in the market on throw-away prices instead of distributing these items in the poor flood effected. He said that low quality fans were purchased while receipts of Pak Fans Company were made adding this way huge funds were embezzled.
He said that non-food items worth millions of rupees were distributed among blue-eyed and the flood-affected people were deprived of them.
Rizwan Ullah Khan informed that on the public complaints inquiry was also held, but the inquiry officer Hidayat Ullah failed to pay attention to the genuine grievances of the public.
He said he submitted an application to the District Coordination Officer, DI Khan, in this regard. He demanded of the Governor KP, the CM and high-ups of the UNICEF to immediately hold probe into the matter and take strict action against the allegedly corrupt management of the Khwendo Kor of DI Khan, so that the poor victims of the floods could have a sigh of relief.
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Strange NGO language shuts out listeners

It never ceases to amuse me that Dr Bitange Ndemo is better known among wananchi than the Nairobi Provincial Commissioner and some Cabinet ministers.


Yet when you meet the man, he is so self-effacing you would mistake him for a headmaster in a village and not the farsighted expert he is. What’s more, when he speaks, you get the feeling he can comfortably discuss ministerial policy with your illiterate uncle beneath the shade of a tree in the village.


Frankly, I can’t quite make out the man. Didn’t they teach him about the professorial beard at graduate school? Didn’t they instruct him to speak in the quiet measured tones of an intellectual, with bombastic English terms for special effects?


That has been the name of the game since time immemorial anyway. Haven’t you noticed that when village elders want to dazzle you with their intellect, or when they want to muzzle dissidence from ‘ignorant’ youth, they resort to speaking in a strange tongue, complete with a phony accent?


What we call ipachama in my language (we sleep in underwear hence the reference to pajamas) becomes itamang’eyo. And when you look dazed as you must, they chuckle and say, "These things that we speak, they are not for you. You were born the other day."


It’s the same way Nairobi youth dazzle the village with their sheng. It’s a firm way of putting them down. But what they don’t know is that village boys too have their own version of sheng and if they were to unleash it on city boys whose mother tongue is pesa nane, they would feel completely illiterate.


Sample this. While what we used to call ‘dame’ in my time is these days called manzi, you would be dazed to learn what village boys who are with it call that shy damsel who doodles on the village path with her big toe. They have inyanya for a red-hot tomato. They have shombo for the vessel that holds their smitten hearts. And they have eshisasi for the bullet that blows their brains out!


But so too is the strange language that NGO people speak. You could read a paragraph written by an ‘activist’ over and over without getting the foggiest idea what they are talking about.


Sample this: "The convening brought together seasoned actors who held conversations about praxis and the means by which they could attempt to seek to work towards discovering their synergies and buttressing renewed efforts with knowledge based advocacy."


And yet the irony is that NGOs speak for the common man, Wanjiku, who speak bluntly because she has a hungry cow to get back to. How can advocacy and public awareness have any meaning when NGO people choose to speak in a language only they understand?

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Young boy survives boating accident near Sunshine Skyway, but father perishes

It was dark by the time Phong Quoc Ngo, his 6-year-old son Anthony and two friends made their way back to the boat ramp.


After fishing for hours in Ngo's 18-foot skiff, they were ready to head home.


But as they passed beneath the Sunshine Skyway about 9:30 p.m. Friday, something went wrong.


The boat was going fast, Anthony Ngo said. The driver made a sharp turn and the boat lurched, throwing everyone into the water.


Anthony, the only one wearing a life jacket, went under for a moment. His dad pulled him up.


"He saved my life," Anthony said.


Someone else hit their head on the boat, he said.


Gripping his dad's arm, Anthony called for help. He noticed that a lot of water went into his dad's mouth. Anthony paddled his legs to help them both stay afloat.


With the engine running, the boat circled in front of them, making it impossible to get back in.


A passing boater saw the unmanned skiff first, then Anthony and Ngo. The unidentified good Samaritan pulled them out of the water together, with Anthony still holding on to his dad's body.


Ngo, 44, of Tampa, was later pronounced dead. Anthony was taken to a hospital and released uninjured.


The Coast Guard immediately began searching for the other two, said Petty Officer 1st Class Mariana O'Leary.


A small boat from the nearby Coast Guard cutter Crocodile found Hoa Van, 34, of Pinellas Park. Van was taken to a hospital, his condition unknown.


Authorities did not find the fourth boater, Quang Minh Tran, 34, of Pinellas Park. The Coast Guard spent 23 hours searching a 8 square miles and stopped at 8:42 p.m., saying they had "exhausted all reasonable expectations of survivability'' for Tran.


Air Station Clearwater launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter for the search. Rescuers from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Eckerd College Search and Rescue Team joined in, aided by two Coast Guard vessels.


Investigators were unsure what caused the accident, said wildlife commission spokesman Gary Morse.


"We don't know what caused the boat to make a sharp turn, but all four individuals were ejected," he said.


A woman at the address listed on Tran's fishing license declined to comment. Van's family could not be located.


Ngo's wife, Hien Pang, said she last spoke with her husband at 8:30 p.m. Friday. She asked if they were heading home, and he said not yet.


Pang took a nap and was awakened at 1 a.m., when officers knocked on her door with the news.


With Anthony and three other children, ages 2, 13 and 15, Pang said Saturday she was trying to remain strong.


She worries most about Anthony, who often went fishing with his dad. He cried at first, she said, but on Saturday he remained calm. She isn't sure he understands the finality of what happened.


Ngo, who loved fishing, picked Anthony up Friday afternoon at school and headed straight to the boat ramp. He bought the skiff last year so the family could spend more time together, said his stepdaughter, Carolyn Nguyen, 15.


"His family was his biggest priority and he liked to involve us," she said.


Ngo, who moved to the United States from Vietnam when he was a teenager, owned CA Nail Supply in St. Petersburg and was well known in the Vietnamese community, Nguyen said.


The news hit hard for Ngo's friends. Some of them, including Ngo, play tennis together three times a week.


Just Thursday, Ngo discussed plans for a Memorial Day cookout with them, said Thanh Dan, one of the tennis group.


Ngo was to join them again Saturday morning for doubles.


Then someone in the group heard the news of his death.


"Everyone is very, very sad," said Dan, 65. "We were very surprised to hear (what happened)."


Dan said it is common for Vietnamese people to rally around families that have lost loved ones, often contributing money for funeral expenses.


"We will do something for the family, I think," he said.


As Ngo's family gathered at home Saturday, Anthony recounted the story again, without tears. He said he wasn't scared.


"I was just sad," he said, "because my dad died."
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Journalists organizations are friends after one man NGO

The Fourth General Assembly of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) was officially opened today in Mogadishu. More than 70 delegates from the union?s regional branches are attending the General Assembly at Ambassador Hotel on 28-29 May, 2011.

The Interim Supreme Council president Burhaan Ahmed Daahir, in his welcome remarks thanked to the Ministry of Information, Posts and Telecommunication and Ministry of labor, Social Affairs, Youth and Sports for their acceptance and backing to the Assembly of the Journalists. He also thanked to the delegates for their time and long travels both by air and land and other dignitaries of the media association, civil society organizations,human rights defenders, youth organizations.

Deputy minister of information Posts and Telecommunication

I am glad today that the responsibility leadership successfully completed its assigned tasks, which was the preparation of the General Assembly. Mr. Burhan said, Today, you decide your leaders.

Director of Labor Affairs of the Ministry of labor, Social Affairs, Youth and Sports, Abdirisak Moalim Elmiaddressed in his opening remarks that the ministry has appointed a three member committee to carry out an investigation regarding the NUSOJ case, the investigation that was conducted fairly concluded that the ministry to support the outcome of this General Assembly.

The chairman of Somali Civil Society in Action, Abdulkadir Ibrahim Gacal Abkow praised the efforts made in the Assembly of Somali journalists and urged them unity among all fellow journalists.

Mr. Abkow chairman of Somali Civil Society in Action

Mr. Abkow said that they fully back and endorse the outcome of the fair elections of the union of the union leaders.

Law Maker Abdi Hashi Abdullahi said in his opening remarks that he was delighted with the union assembly with journalists from different regions of the country and urged the journalists role in the development of the society.

Deputy minister of labor, Social Affairs, Youth and Sports Ali Sheik Abdullahi Afgooye, praised the role in the media in serving the public and as well supported the importance in the General Assembly among the Somali journalists and expressed the ministry’s commitment in defending the labor rights of the Somali workers

Deputy Minister of Labor Social Affairs Youth and Sports addressing the congress

I am very happy to see different faces of journalists from different regions of the country, while I was informed that some of them had never come to Mogadishu before. Ali Sheik Abdullahi Afgooye, the deputy minister at the Ministry of labor, Social Affairs, Youth and Sports ?We fully endorse the General Assembly and the outcome of the Elections and I hope you success.

The Interim secretary General, Mohammed Ibrahim thanked to all ?our colleagues and friends who supported and made this Congress possible. He underlined that the Somali journalists are more organized and united and thanked the Somali journalists for their united vision.

The General Assembly is strapping signal to the assurance of the solidarity of the Somali journalists who are serving the public in a very hostile environment Mr. Ibrahim added.

Law Maker Abdi Hashi Abdullahi

The deputy minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunication Mohamed Abdulle Geesey who officially opened the General Assembly, thanked for the assembly of the journalists in his opening remarks and highlighted the need the journalists to be given upgrading courses in the journalism skills and observed the crucial role the Somali journalists play in the fight for for peace, justice and prosperity in the country.

I am pleased that you (NUSOJ) came to your General Assembly and hold your democratic elections inline with your internal union structure, I hope you success and fair elections.? Mohamed Abdulle Geesey, The deputy minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunication, The Ministry will fully support the outcome of your assembly and I authorize you to open your meeting.

The Fourth General Assembly of the union is held every three years and during the GA the respective delegates will decide NUSOJ strategy and policy for the next three years. They will also elect the leadership of the supreme council and the executive committee such as the chairperson and deputy chairpersons, Secretary General and members of the executive committee, along with heads of the regional branches.

from Left Director General at the MIP Deputy minister of the MIPT Deputy Minister of Labor and Director of Labor Affairs

civil society representatives

Government officials and civil society representatives at NUSOJ GA

delegates

delegates

–For further information, contact:
National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ)
Human Rights House, Taleex Street, KM4 Area, Hodan District,
Mogadishu, Somalia, Tel: +252 1 859 944,
e-mail: nusoj@nusoj.org.so / newsletter@nusoj.org.so
Internet: http://www.nusoj.org.so

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Rafah reopening won’t change Turkish NGO's plans for Gaza flotilla

The Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or İHH, has announced that the reopening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt will not change its plans to send a second flotilla to Gaza.

“In the past, we went there for Gaza, but now we are going for humanity and the law,” Bülent Yıldırım, head of the İHH, told daily Hürriyet in an interview published Sunday.

Though admitting that Israel had loosened its embargo over Gaza since last year and had lifted its embargo on many items of humanitarian aid, Yıldırım said: “If they had told us before our departure last year that they would [loosen the embargo], we wouldn’t have gone. But now we have lost nine of our friends as martyrs.”

Egypt reopened its Rafah border crossing with Palestine on Saturday, four months after it announced that it planned to reopen the border and after Hamas signed a deal with rival Palestinian movement Fatah.

Israeli ministers on Sunday slammed Egypt's decision to reopen Rafah, warning that terror groups would be able to move weapons and people freely through the crossing.

The sense of relief was palpable as buses piled high with luggage crossed the Rafah border terminal and hundreds of people traveled abroad for overdue medical appointments, business dealings and family affairs.

But in Israel, fears were heightened that militants and weapons will soon pour into the territory.

Israel has warned that reopening the crossing, which Egypt closed to almost all traffic in 2007, would boost Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the Gaza Strip and is designated a terror group by Israel, the United States and Europe.

"The free movement of people and cargo that will take place is simply going to be used in a more intensive manner to bring in ammunition and military equipment and, moreover, the free movement of terrorists," Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau told reporters.

The closure came despite a 2005 agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority that saw the European Union agree to place monitors at the border crossing. Although Cairo was not a signatory to the accord, Israeli ministers on Sunday accused Egypt of violating the deal by reopening the border.

Saturday's expansion of the Rafah crossing was a tangible benefit of the popular unrest sweeping through the Arab world.

The blockade, which has fueled an economic crisis in Gaza, is deeply unpopular among Arabs, and Egypt's caretaker leaders had promised to end it after the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak in February.

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International NGO Demands Syria Cease Firing into Lebanese Territory

As the Syrian regime’s crackdown on its civilian population continues, the Syrian army has now reportedly fired across the border into Lebanon deliberately targeting Syrian refugees. And a leading international non-governmental organization (NGO) is demanding the shooting stop.

The International Lebanese Committee for the Implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 (ILC–UNSCR 1559) has appealed to Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to both issue a formal “complaint” to the U.N. Security Council and request the Lebanese army’s immediate deployment to “the Wadi Khaled border [with Syria] with clear directives to protect the Lebanese population and the Lebanese territory.”

The appeal (a letter by the committee’s Sec. Gen. Tom Harb to Hariri, Thursday, May 26) addresses concerns of “several, repeated breaches” of UNSCR 1559 by the Syrian army. “We condemn this,” writes Harb. “And condemn further the silence of the Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali Shami.”

A portion of Harb’s letter reads: “Last week, the Syrian army fired inside Lebanese territory at the border with ‘Wadi Khaled’ resulting in the wounding of one Lebanese soldier and the wounding of three Lebanese citizens, one old man and two ladies. Since then, one lady has died as a result of the severe injuries.”

Harb adds, “Three days ago, on May 23rd, one Syrian army tank drove into the river at the ‘Wadi Khaled’ border at 10 p.m. staying a few centimeters out of Lebanese territory. The tank fired several rounds into ‘Wadi Khaled’ terrorizing the population and the numerous Syrian refugees present. It is important to note that the Lebanese Army had withdrawn from the border with Syria at the ‘Wadi Khaled’ border three hours before that incident and have not returned since.”

UNSCR 1559 calls on “foreign forces” to be removed from Lebanon, and not to interfere in Lebanon’s internal politics. The resolution also calls on the disbanding of armed militias in Lebanon such as Hizballah, but the Shia terrorist group – supported by both Iran and Syria – continues to exist and operate with impunity.

There is talk in some circles that the Security Council “will try to introduce a new resolution against Syria which would be tied to UNSCR 1559.”

Syria has no qualms about firing into neighboring countries. Fact is, this writer actually witnessed Syrian troops firing across the Syrian border into Iraq (in the direction of U.S. forces) in 2007. Though the world turned a blind eye.

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing W. Thomas Smith Jr. is a former U.S. Marine rifle-squad leader and counterterrorism instructor, who writes about military/defense issues and has covered conflict in the Balkans, on the West Bank, in Iraq and Lebanon. Visit his website at uswriter.com.Editor

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SC cancels allotment of prime plot to Sourav Ganguly

After his IPL comeback failed to create waves, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was dealt another blow on Thursday when the Supreme Court scrapped Left Front government's decision to allot him a big tract of land in Kolkata's posh Salt Lake City area, dashing his dream project of an international school with special focus on sports.

A bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly allowed a petition filed by an NGO alleging that the tract of land worth Rs 44.9 crore was allotted to the cricketer for Rs 63 lakh, that too in extraordinary haste and in breach of rules and regulations.

Though the judges said they drew a lot of joy from Sourav's batting and captaincy guiles, they clarified that these personal impressions counted for little when the case in hand projected a wrong act.

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Violations go full throttle

Having highly educated population is not proving of much help in maintaining traffic discipline in the city.

The financial year 2010-11 saw many more traffic violations compared to 2009-10 even as police force faced shortage of manpower. UT traffic police stated in a reply to an RTI Act query filed by an NGO that violations like jumping red lights, not wearing seat belts and drunken driving among others were on the rise.

Recently, Punjab and Haryana high court had to intervene regarding zebra crossing violations in UT and observe that it would treat them under contempt of court laws.

Kamal Anand of Sangrur who had filed the query, said the number of drunken driving challans had shot up during the year. ''The concept of a designated driver is not popular here. Similarly, minors driving vehicles should also be stopped from doing so."

Federation of Sector Welfare Associations of Chandigarh (FOSWAC) chairman P C Sanghi said, ''There is an urgent need to educate people about traffic rules.''

Expressing concern over increasing violations of red-light jumping, driving without helmets and minors handling vehicles, senior traffic marshal Gurnam Singh said, ''Traffic officials must set up nakas regularly near the city schools to discourage minors.''

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NGO stresses on increased spending on environment

Paryavaran Mitra held its 47th lecture on 'Environment, Forest and Budget' on Saturday at Yuvak Vikas Trust. The lecture is part of its initiative, Climate Change Lecture Series. Mahender Jethmalani, programme director of NGO Patheya, was the speaker at the meet.

According to Jethmalani, out of Gujarat's total state budget of Rs81,279.98 cr, only 0.62% is allocated to the forest and environment department. He highlighted the budgeting aspects under various departments dealing with environmental issues in Gujarat.Jethmalani added, "We have 26 departments which function for environment conservation. The climate change department is a member of this group for merely two years and the budget allotted to these departments is dismal."

Jethmalani called for an increase in the budget allotment for environmental activities. "The government spends a minimal sum of Rs505.26 cr on ecological conservation which is not sufficient for Gujarat which has 10.40% wasteland and 26 sanctuaries. If one needs to maintain these efficiently, the budget needs to be increased," he said.