DesiPundit » Support Causes

Bangalore: Street Harassment

Nikhil — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:00:10 +0000

As I approached, he came towards me slowly in the scooter. My defences were fully up, of course. Any woman’s would have been. He stopped in front of me and asked, “Can you tell me where Fifth cross is?” And here, stupidly, SO stupidly I’m cursing myself for it over and over again, I let my guard down. Poor lost guy, I thought. And here I was suspecting him of stalking me. But fifth cross? This colony doesn’t have a fifth cross, does it?

Jade says all is not well in Bengaluru.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Remembering Bhopal

Lekhni — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:16:18 +0000

Twenty five years is a long time to wait for justice; and the wait isn’t even over yet. For survivors of the world’s worst industrial accident, justice has been long elusive.

But others haven’t forgotten – Students for Bhopal is organizing a 25th Anniversary Day of Action. One of the ways you can participate is by spreading the word through Facebook or Twitter. If you’d like to participate in a protest or “direct action”, here is a map of the cities worldwide where there are protests organized.

Many people have been working for years to help the affected people. The Chingari Trust has been working to provide medical care for the children of Bhopal – including those who were unborn at the time of the tragedy and suffered congenital defects.

The Sambhavna Clinic, run by a group of doctors, scientists, writers and social workers, uses Ayurveda and Yoga in addition to Allopathy to treat people affected by the disaster.

Stephanie Bouillet has a photo gallery on the 25th anniversary of the disaster.

Finally, Peter Griffin talks about how, in a sense, we are all Bhopalis. That is true. But Bhopal is even more personal to me – I was living in Bhopal on Dec 2, 1984, and the day brings back memories.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Notable Causes Worth Supporting – Prajnya 16 Days

Patrix — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:48:16 +0000

Chandni Parekh points us to Prajnya, a non-profit working against gender violence:

Prajnya is a Chennai-based non-profit, working on areas related to peace, justice and security.
Between 25 November and 10 December every year, Prajnya organises the 16 Days Campaign against Gender Violence. Through this campaign, Prajnya looks to raise awareness of the different ways in which women in particular are vulnerable to violence, at home, at their place of work, on campuses and in public spaces.Over 16 days, Prajnya will conceptualise and organise 16 different programmes, at different locations across the city, with different partners and for different audiences.

Prajnya does this through a broad, inclusive, structural and human rights approach to gender‐based violence; by forging partnerships to create a network for action; by involving diverse audiences including educational institutions, corporate groups and civil society organisations; and by working with innovative media and programme formats.

Violence against women isn’t a private concern. It affects every single one of us at every stage of life. For this reason, the 16 Days Campaign is a collective exercise that Prajnya undertakes with their partners, their volunteers and their friends.

Please support the campaign with a donation. If you would like to volunteer or make a donation, please write to Prajnya at prajnya.16days [at] gmail [dot] com. You can also read about the planning process and give Prajnya your ideas at Prajnya 16 Days.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Uproar In Response To Callous Behaviour At Wall Project

IdeaSmith — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:25:40 +0000

Things at The Wall Project, a citizen initiative organized by BMC to beautify Mumbai took a strange turn when less than 24 hours later, Bollywood movie posters were pasted over completed paintings.

I’ve called for a boycott of the movies Aladin, Canvas, Gair and London Dreams whose posters caused the uproar. Asfaq writes an open letter to the producers of the same movies asking them to educate the distributors in question. Twitter is also abuzz with outrage and various suggestions to respond.

In each of these ways, the social media community is asking for a response from the citizens in order to prevent such apathy and insensitivity in the future.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Diwali: Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

IdeaSmith — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:10:38 +0000

Anaggh Desai has a unique way of celebrating Diwali, by doing something tangible and relevant. It is called ‘Putting your money where your mouth is’ and supports the cause of education for the girl child, via Diwali greeting exchanges.

With the support of my wife & daughter I have decided to contribute the following amounts to my wife’s favorite charity “Educating the Girl Child”:

Gift received Rs. 100/- per gift

Blog Comments Rs. 5/- per comment

SMS Wishes 0.50/- per text

Wishes on FB/Twitter/Email 0.25/- for every wish (Not Spammers:))

This is for the dates between 15 – 19th October 2009.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Notable Causes Worth Supporting – InDiya Shine Awards 2009

Patrix — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:01:00 +0000

Indira Raman at GreatNonProfits.org points us to the InDiya Shine Awards. The deadline is October 20th:

The 2009 InDiya Shine Awards is a campaign GreatNonProfits is running this Diwali season to identify the top-rated nonprofits serving India or Indian communities abroad. The nonprofits that get the most positive reviews before the October 20th deadline will win the contest.

Go visit their site to rate and review your favorite nonprofits serving causes and communities in India. All you have to do is to review your favorite nonprofit to qualify for great prizes. If you are a nonprofit, send them your details and be listed for reviews.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Notable Causes Worth Supporting – Pratham Books

Patrix — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:01:00 +0000

Maya Hemant at Pratham Books informs us of the amazing work her organization is doing in terms of bridging the gap between children and books. Pratham Books is a non-profit publishing house based in India that publishes books in 11 languages. The vision is to make books affordable for every child in India and none of their books cost more than Rs.25 ($0.50)

Their books are available online under a Creative Commons license and was even mentioned in that directory of wonderful things. I’m sure Pratham Books would love any help you can offer.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Notable Causes Worth Supporting – Youth Venture India

Patrix — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:01:25 +0000

Chandni Parekh recommends Youth Venture India, an organization dedicated to inspire, invest and support young people between 15-24 to launch and lead community benefiting ventures. Youth Venture India’s mission is to empower young people from all backgrounds through the transformational changemaking experience.

We do this through a one year fellowship, where we inspire, invest and support them to create entrepreneurial ventures around a social change issue they feel passionate about. In creating and launching their “Ventures,” as they form teams and work together, young people learn the important skills of leadership, teamwork, entrepreneurship and empathy. In the last 18 months, we have supported 79 young changemakers, in Mumbai and Songadh (a village, 60km away from Surat).

Support Youth Venture to invest and support young people to launch a one year entrepreneurial projects around social issues they feel passionate about. The cost of supporting one team is Rs.45,000. We want to support 20 team in Mumbai in our 3rd cycle.

The list of ChangeMakers that Youth Venture India has supported is inspiring in their passion and dedication toward their causes.Contact Vipin Thekkakalathil if you are interested in helping out.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Homophobia

IdeaSmith — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:29:07 +0000

Section 377 may have been overthrown but Sam says that homophobia is still thriving. Coming out of the closet still isn’t as feasible when you consider the stigma that people still carry in their minds and the very real attacks on the gay community.

Last week in Delhi, an openly homosexual man was slashed by a guy representing a religious group, in front of everyone at a gay party. (You can read the write up of the victim’s partner here.) Even though homophobia was rampant in Indian society, the recent advancements in the gay rights movement has angered many and in turn raised this hatred to an entirely new level.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Notable Causes Worth Supporting – Himalayan Education Foundation and SmileTrain

Patrix — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:10:28 +0000

Krishna Moorthy points us to an excellent venture in primary education and economic development in the foothills of the Himalayas in north India:

“The Himalayan Education Foundation aims to provide a good education and targeted professional incentives, along with developing strong ties to community that would encourage the children to pursue higher education in areas most needed by the community; and later, provide much-needed professional services to their own local communities.”

The Himalayan Education Foundation (HEF) objectives are definitely worth your time, effort, and money. Feel free to contact the people behind the project with questions and offers to help out.

Aditya, the co-founder of IndiCast is raising money for the Smile Train India Organization to celebrate the upcoming 100th episode of their podcast:

The Smile Train Charity works in the area of cleft surgery providing free cleft clearance surgeries to the poor kids. Cleft disorder is a seperation in the upper lip and the top of the mouth which can be corrected through a simple 45 minute surgery for Rs. 8000/-. The benefits of rectifying cleft disorder is obvious but let me make it explicit and its simple. The surgery makes the kid more socially acceptable in society and schools. It’ll help them lead a normal life. There have been cases in rural India where the kid has grown up with this deformity for lack of money to carry out the simple operation. So YOUR contribution will help someone lead a normal life. Nothing would make you feel cooler than giving someone a shot to lead a normal life.

This is a great cause worth your support and was recently recognized by the Academy and won an Oscar for the Best Documentary Short. Although it takes $200 for a single operation, they will accept any amount however little to pool in for an operation. All donors will be listed on their website regardless of the money you choose to donate. Payment is accepted via PayPal. Full disclosure – Aditya is a part of the DesiPundit contributor board but this effort is independently managed by the IndiCast team.

We hope to showcase notable causes worth supporting on DesiPundit. We started off with the Blog Quake Day in 2005 and wish to leverage our readership to help non-profit organizations gain more exposure. If you are involved or participate in any volunteer or non-profit organization and need to spread the word, please contact us with details of the organization and how our readers could help. We do not promise to feature everyone but personal recommendations from loyal readers and contributors will definitely help. If we get enough suggestions, we’ll make it a monthly or even a weekly feature. Feel free to spread the word via your blogs, email or Twitter.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

E-wasteland-The growing problem of e-waste in India

Nikhil — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:51:34 +0000

India has become one of the world’s largest dumping grounds for e–waste. E-waste is highly toxic. It contains lead, cadmium, mercury, tin, gold, copper, PVC and brominated, chlorinated and phosphorus based flame retardants. Many of these heavy metals and contaminants are extremely harmful to humans as well as to animals and plants.

Maya Puri,Delhi

Sophie Gerrard presents a photo essay on the growing e-waste problem in India

PS: This essay does not have a time stamp.I assume it is recent. Via [@dina]

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Days of darkness

Nikhil — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:41:14 +0000

Dreamer writes about the time he spent at Sri Ramana Maharishi Academy of Blind.

And as our classes got over I walked out fresh… The three hours of non-stop noise by JAWS software seemed to be music now. And as I started walking out, Chetan ran out through the zigzag corridor dodging the walls, straight into the playground. I stopped… this couldnot have been for real. I closed my eyes and started walking only to crashed over a stone. I had hurt myself. The shock was still on. As I walked outside the school premises, I took deep breath.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Help Babita: An Appeal

Nikhil — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:21:16 +0000

On April 18, Babita Balan (24) a media professional while waiting for a train at Santacruz station was allegedly pushed by a co-passenger. Babita fell directly on to the tracks losing both her legs. Babita was brought in a very critical condition to BSES MG hospital at Andheri. Now although Babita’s condition is stable, she is unfortunately handicapped for ever. While her one leg is severed above knee another had to be amputed above the ankle

John Cheeran appeals to all of us to help Babita, a journalist with soon to be launched ET NOW channel.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Wounded Woman

IdeaSmith — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:14:29 +0000

Annie Zaidi writes about her early perceptions of rape, as influenced by movies and how Zakhmi Aurat brought in a new way of thinking.

For the first time in my life, I was being offered the idea that rape was brutal but it need not lead to death. For either victim or culprit.

It showed that rapists might well have non-aggressive sex lives, that their relationships with their wives might be very different, that their wives might actually be happy, and completely clueless about their husbands’ brutalisation of other women.

It taught me that just as victims can be stereotyped, rapists and their families can be stereotyped as well.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Raising Social Awareness

Patrix — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:18:57 +0000

Social campaigns with ideas worth spreading around:

Grassroutes is a Fellowship Program which funds youth to go on road-trips across India, discover and work with changemakers, do their bit to change the world and inspire more youth into social action.

Grassroots takes young people on a 10-day road trip preceded by a month-long mentoring process by social entrepreneurs and leaders from diverse sectors [hat tip: Swaroop CH].

Learn Without Fear blog captures the voices of children across India as they recall their experiences of going through various forms of violence in schools. The blog illustrates these voices in the form of videos, cartoon strips, animations, and radio jingles created by the children themselves.

Plan India, an NGO working for child centered development, has rolled out an online campaign, for its Learn Without Fear initiative, which seeks to prevent violence against children in schools. Featured previously on DesiPundit.

“Bell Bajao” (Ring the Bell) urges men to take a stand against domestic violence. Ring the bell and intervene in situations of abuse. A simple act from your side is all it takes to bring it to a halt.

The Bell Bajao campaign seeks to spread awareness about domestic violence most of which goes unreported in India by being more proactive and involved in your community.

Each of these campaigns have a significant presences in the social networking community so feel free to join and help out.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Fearless Karnataka

Nikhil — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:34:43 +0000

Anita at Bangalore Metblogs writes about the Fearless Karnataka campaign.

Seven attacks in ten days. In response to the recent attacks against women in the city of Bangalore, many individuals and organsiations have come together to form FEARLESS KARNATAKA or Nirbhaya Karnataka to reclaim public spaces and promote safety for all.

Karnataka is safe? DP had earlier featured a post on some of the recent attacks.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Indicorps Fellowships 2009

Patrix — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:49:31 +0000

Indicorps, an international non-profit, offers competitive fellowships for people of Indian origin willing to challenge themselves for one to two years on unique grassroots development projects in India. Fellowships are designed as one-of-a-kind transformational experiences, emphasizing both public service and personal growth, building upon leadership skills and the capacity to make a difference.

Interested in giving back? Indicorps offers you the opportunity to tackle real issues in education, microenterprise, social entrepreneurship, environmental conservation, public health, urban infrastructure, and much more. Learn more about the application.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Paresh Palicha-Beating all odds

Nikhil — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:45:48 +0000

Tata Tetely would never have seen any of their job aspirants being carried by the persons father physically ,it did happen when Paresh Palicha an young man afflicted with cerebral palsy with physical disablitiy but excellent mental faculties came for the interview like that and he went on to get that job too on his merits

Dr. Hari Mohan writes about Paresh Palicha, a differently-abled youth who suffers from cerebral palsy.A voracious reader,writer,poet … just some of the terms you could associate him with. God Bless.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Gaysi: The Gay Desi

IdeaSmith — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:16:11 +0000

Gaysi is a platform that addresses the issue of homosexuality in India and among Indians. A group of bloggers provide different perspectives ranging from heartfelt coming out stories, the apprehensions of a straight person towards gays to funny (and bizzarre) anecdotes about what the media and public feel about homosexuality. A few exerpts:

..the term “sakhi” or women’s intimate women friend, in spite of having long history in Indian literature (she is found in Sanskrit epic, drama, love lyric, etc.) has barely been considered of great importance or of relevance with respect to human relationships.

What does it mean to be heterosexual? What constitutes the state of being utterly and completely ‘straight’? Having plenty of ‘vanilla’ sex?

Personally, I have no problem with good old Dumbledore being gay, because to me he wasn’t a person with much of a sexuality anyway lol.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.

Fight to Save Yamuna

Nikhil — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:57:40 +0000

In a capital city, where we always face a power and water crisis, building new luxurious villages is nothing out of norm. The thing that Government got wrong this time is that it plans to build its Commonwealth Games village on Yamuna floodplains. If Yamuna floodplains are stifled with permament structures, Delhi will be prone to floods in the monsoon. Because Yamuna will not be able to manage excess water without the spacious floodplains. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) report clearly states this fact. Yamuna has always been flood-prone. Just this year in September, low-lying areas of Yamuna have been evacuated.

Poonam is unhappy with the construction of Commonwealth village on Yamuna floodplains.

Would you rather get updates on Twitter? Follow @desipundit.