The NGO Diary: All for love! (part two)

The process of investigating about a trafficked victim's location in a red light area becomes a smooth task if you're well connected with the local police and have some other handy contacts who work in the brothel area. The procedure became much easier since we had a well known lady police officer to help us raid into the correct brothel.

All this while, the mother of the missing young girl was crying continuously. It was really moving for me to understand that simple gestures such as holding a mothers' hand, wiping off their tears and assuring them that their daughter will be found would strengthen the bond between us and make her feel somewhat relieved.

In the next one hour we managed our way inside a brothel in the local red light area. It was difficult to recognise the girl amongst the many heavily painted young faces all set for the evening. After some heated and aggressive conversations bent down upon the brothel madams, ofcourse with the support of the police led to the release of the girl.

Finally, she came out with one of the madams who was time and again whispering something into her ears. Probably something nasty! which she ignored in the happiness to feel the freedom outside the four dark walls. Her family and the young man were happy too to see her.

Picture Courtesy:"She's Standing All Alone"by ElifKarakoc (Deviantart)

I promised her that we will come back to meet her soon and this time at her native place. Exactly, after one month, I was back in West Bengal to do a follow up of this case and went to meet Chandni and her family. A surprise was in store for me...when I saw the same young man standing close to here a Chadini too was wearing the 'mangal sutra'(A mangalsutra is a piece of jewelry worn by women that symbolizes hindu marriage.) and sporting the bright streak of 'sindoor' (sindoor (vermilion) is traditionally applied at the beginning or completely along the parting-line of a woman’s forehead.) There was sudden rush down my spine to see the young couple together. With a slight suprised expression on face and heart filled with happiness I hugged Chandni. This was the best case follow up I had during my experience......

I am writing this to reaffirm your belief in the fact of life that there is no language, no bondage of time or any other barrier in your act to help someone. All you need to do is to cross those limits you've created in life and go a step ahead to help someone in need. All you need is to have some love for change!

The NGO Diary: All for love! (part one)

Picture Courtesy: "Painted Bindi" by Gaby Barnuevo

Some time back I met a family from West Bengal, they were visiting my organisations' office to seek help in finding their daughter who was trafficked to the red light area in Delhi. The parents were really heart-broken and could barely comprehend a word in hindi just as little I could understand Bengali. Along with this family came two men both hailing from West Bengal, one of whom was a young man willing to help us with the exact address of the brothel and verify the recent picture of the missing girl.

As I investigated into the connection this young man had with the girl, it seemed like a Bollywood movie in front of my eyes. The young man had been visiting this girl in the brothel for sometime and took a picture of her on his mobile one day. Later, he went back to Bengal to the girl's village to meet her parents and initiated to find there daughter. It was definitely love an endless love between the two that made him come back to help her.

The NGO Diary -Memories of Nagaland!

Picture Courtesy: Karuna

I was in Nagaland in 2010 with my colleagues Keya and Sanjai ji from HRLN. It was one of the best trips I've made through my work travels towards the North East of India. Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Myanmar to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur.




After successfully conducting our training on the first day we headed off to see the local market in Dimapur. To my surprise it had everything on sale on this earth. :)

Right from a baby owl to silk worms, dog puppies, fish, prawns, pork, beef, exotic birds to being more vegan - exotic vegetables to the world famous 'raja' chillies!



Picture Courtesy: Karuna
In the picture: Sanjai Sharma and Keya Advani

My best trip ever and more to come.....

The NGO Diary - "Freedom is not free"

"Freedom is not free"....living in an independent land costs a lot more than this whole life ahead of us. The other day I was reading about a recent murder of a 21 year old Radhika Talwar, The attacker managed to escape in the crowd, police said.

The motive behind the killing is yet to be ascertained, though police suspect it to be a case of a love-affair gone wrong.

Freedom is definitely not free with the recent spate of rape cases, murders, assaults, stalking, harassing and you name it all that is cornering women and girls in Delhi and across India. A 9 year old girl was raped this week by a daily wage earner. In another incident a five-year-old girl was raped, beaten up and dumped in a shrubby area in southwest Delhi.

The rapists usually go scot free. Some men are definitely not to be left open on Delhi streets it seems! Be it a illiterate labourer, a goverment 'officer' (sarkari babu) travelling in your bus/metro/train (who is always found staring at young women and girls and starts to scratch his groin incidently!!!), your bus driver, bus conductor etc.... The crime capital is raising its voices BUT with no supportive rape law no other supportive tools of law! So when will we get the freedom from this injustice.

Picture Courtesy:deviantart

Where is the freedom?? Could you tell??

The NGO Diary - "A place of sacrifice"

My first NGO official visit took me to the second oldest city of India - 'Allahabad'. As per the wikipedia Allahabad is one of the fastest growing cities of India. It is located in North of India in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the four sites of the mass Hindu pilgrimage Kumbh Mela, the others being Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik. It has a position of importance in Hindu scriptures for it is situated at Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges and Yamuna, and the ancient Sarasvati River.


Picture Courtesy: deviantart: Supergrass1975

There is more to be shared with you beyond the historical importance of this city. When I was being interviewed for my current NGO job, one of the questions I was asked was 'if I could travel alone in the trains (whichever class, whatever time etc. etc.)'? The very question as a budding social development 'adventurist' gave me a high. I had recently renounced my fresh corporate experience to do what I really liked! and my third day at the NGO took me to Allahabad to organise a workshop on Human Trafficking. To fill you up with the connection between Uttar Pradesh -> Allahabad -> Human Trafficking -> History?

Uttar Pradesh in North India shares the longest international boundary with Nepal, the porous border along this stretch, which has 14 legal entry points and numerous un-manned routes, is an open field for human traffickers. Traffickers often hide victims in the stream of legal migration, following the same roads and travelling on the same trains and buses as legal migrants. Their victims are innocent women and girls who are lured in the name of love and/or opportunities.

Here comes the holy land of 'Varanasi' - you might be wondering why am I freakingly connecting all the anciently beautiful places together. Well, most holy places here hold within dark stories of servitude and exploitation of women.

Varanasi is called 'Benaras' in hindi. It is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, dating back thousands of years and contemporaneous with the Sumer civilisation. The city is also called Kasi, "the luminous" in the Rigveda.It is often also referred to as "city of temples and learning."

In the picture: Gita Devi, a 77-year-old widow from Kathmandu, was wed in an arranged marriage at age 5; her husband died one month later.

Like most traditional Hindus of her generation, she never remarried.

Young widows are still being brought in by sex traffickers and sold into prostitution. The "sevadasi" system, in which the 'service' done to rich and powerful pilgrims is seen as an act of piety, is still prevalent. Sexual exploitation still exists at the bhajanashrams.

In September 2001, a high-level meeting of the National Human Rights Commission, representatives of the Department of Women and Child Development, Human Resource Development Ministry, and Governments of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal was held. At this meeting, Justice JS Verma said:

It is unfortunate that nothing substantial seems to have happened to elevate the status of women who hence come to Vrindavan despite the philanthropic attitude of the people in the country to help others. The need of the hour is to take concrete steps to stop the flow of women to Vrindavan and simultaneously carry out rehabilitation programmes whereby the overall plight of these women can be improved.

The NHRC, it was decided, would be the facilitating agency that would take these concrete steps, coordinating efforts of the government and NGOs. Justice Sujata V Manohar, NHRC member who visited Vrindavan to study the plight of widows, stated that facilities such as free and clean accommodation, financial assistance and proper healthcare should be provided to these destitute women. She suggested that a fund be set up for their dignified cremation, distribution of pension, establishment of self-help groups for income-generation, provision of LPG connections for group cooking, ration cards, group housing scheme and suitable security measures.

Whether these "concrete steps" will make any difference at all to the widows of Vrindavan remains to be seen.

An earlier study, commissioned in 1992 by the National Commission for Women and conducted by Deepali Bhanot, corroborates that "the flesh trade flourishes in Vrindavan and Mathura in the full knowledge of the police, administration, holy men and politicians." Amongst the several widows interviewed, Chapla Desi, 27, is quoted as saying,"All men lust after our bodies". [Quoted from http://forums.ratedesi.com/showthread.php?t=232920]

I wish to share more of my experiences in the upcoming posts of 'The NGO Diary'. See you soon :)

The NGO Diary - An Introduction

I've always wanted to write about my experiences till now. I plan to sub head my upcoming posts as 'The NGO Diary'.

To introduce, I work with one of the premier Socio-Legal Organisations in India, having 28 offices across India. We boast to have filed the best Public Interest Litigation on Human Rights across the country's State High Courts and the Supreme Court of India. I am proud to be one of the daring and upfront personnel's from our team.

I joined them 2 and a half years ago and to my mind not a single day has been wasted to ignore and learn from the best of the experiences or on the hand the perspicacity of the NGO world/sector. It has made me even more humble, observant and stronger. There have been various strange, funny, happy, sluggish, 'hard-working', smart, mesmerising group of people. From the first day of my joining the organisation I stepped into knowing a whole new world of a stimulated and empowered team of super courageous individuals. At the same time, my first introduction to a colleague who told me "how political this place was..." left me wonder the next few day to come.

I do understand now, what it takes to work in the Social development sector. Life is not so easy for many as it is for some. The gap between the two and their dedication is truly inspiring!!

The Indian Railway ride!

Picture Courtesy: Thomas Becker

Railways were introduced to India in 1853, and by the time of India's independence in 1947 they had grown to forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit—Indian Railways—to form one of the largest networks in the world. Accommodation classes range from general through first class AC. Trains have been classified according to speed and area of operation. All trains are officially identified by a five-digit code.

But today, I want to share with you my memorable experiences while working on various assignments through HRLN. I prefer travelling by train mostly for some work assignments. My travels across different states of India have been the most adventurous, amazingly colorful and completely unforgettable. I have captured many moments in my varied mobile camera's (good, bad and ugly ;)) when travelling by the train. Along with all the crucial timelines and duties I've had the best time to see the countryside of India via the Indian Railways!

What made my travels by rail so outstanding are that I never missed the opportunities to interact with people who came from various Indian States, who spoke different languages and filled me up with all the historical/cultural knowledge bank I always wanted know. The journeys all together have given me the time observe children on the railway platforms.

What you saw in the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire', comes quite fleetingly in front of your eyes while waiting to catch a train at the railway platform.


Picture Courtesy: Karuna Dayal. (Taken from a Sony Ericsson Cybershot phone)

The Indian Railways experience has given much more to me and that is the ability to grasp as much as I can in this small life and leaving a million of smiles behind.....

No ice breaker....this one!

Delhi rains are great when it comes to beating the heat after some various sunny, scorching, sweaty, shaggy afternoons. Yesterday was no different, it brought heavy showers all around washing away the layers of dry, rough and dusty sheets of adulterated air.

Just one thing that kept at it was the water logging that might not sway all the hopes that the best and the worst builders and contractors are still planning for the re-arrangements of Delhi roads and pavements for Commonwealth games coming up so sooner! To add to it is the already dug up pathways with piles of mud and soil from the deep down earth clogging all the ways from where the rain water could find their way.

Nevertheless, our dear managers for the games keep at it. Putting patches of soil, charcoal and the like to keep it momentarily away from some surprises shoving their way up again!

Till then....

The NGO Diary: Activism Vs. Food

Picture Courtesy: deviant art

When you are working with an NGO, everything seems to either be perfectly correct or going completely wrong.While we mostly work for a living there are many who who work to enjoy food at the expense of  "Global Food Losses and Food Waste", a study released by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)Food waste is "more a problem in industrialised countries, most often caused by both retailers and consumers throwing perfectly edible foodstuffs into the trash" ..... At (one of my previous organisations) the 'Titanic' every morning I saw some of my colleagues starting their day with street food and slurping it away happily. In Delhi, 'street food', the best of its kind is 'katchori', 'jalebi', 'chaat', 'pakore', 'gol guppas' and people usually don't get bored with this uber category of foods available.

It has also brought to light a very significant importance and direct co-existence of food as the biggest motivational factor.

I have noticed my good observation skills have kept me interested in knowing more about a lot things including people.This month, while there have been humongous task lists to finish by the deadline, all I see around me is food piling up! Social workers eating food and doing nothing and the others fighting for the right to food for poor and getting nothing. While working for human rights causes is a serious affair, I have been shocked enough to overcome the vaporous feeling with which some people work in this industry. Eating food is what keeps them going!

“It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it and the hunger for it… and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied…and it is all one.” 

— M.F.K. Fisher, The Art of Eating

An Icebreaker .....Part II

It all started when I was in college and through a dear friend got familiar with Yahoo Chat, MSN Chat and the like. There had been several other social networking sites which I got hooked onto during those tender years. The websites ranged from Orkut to Hi5 to Friendster to Wayn (Where are you?) to MySpace and then came Facebook.

It isn't easy to digest it when you have reached a certain level of seniority in your profession and have had different priorities but many people like to live two or more than two lives on the internet everyday! Especially, when it is counted under the aegis of social networking (an internet identity).

There are many more aspects and facets of how many of us do not recognize the harmful punchbags that hit back many on this 'web of net'.

Are there any experiences that you might want to share here, keeping the story behind alive......

An Ice-breaker....

Picture Courtesy: www.deviantart.com

-"Hey but tell me something before you log out...do you have a camera on your system??"

"Ummmm.....Yes, I do :-)..." Why do you ask?

-Well...its better to know each other personally!! You can put it on the next time we chat...

Hmmm...i'll see if no one's around :@

-Ah!...now don't be a piggy boy...its normal.

Oh..k !! whatever suits you..we can chat with the camera on, when no one's around!

I'll try...

-Oh...c'mon!!

See you..:-)

An ice breaking conversation between a cyber criminal and the victim is what I am focusing on today. It just came as a thought on which I want to build up here. Talking specifically about millions of children(who are a social networking site addict or a chat addict) who fall prey to Pedophiles on the internet.

There are numerous ways in which a cyber criminal would lure his/her victims. It is often seen that they are usually people who know you through your parents or have hit a conversation with you in a chat room. Tampering with a teenager's tender world of curiosity is simple child's play!

To be continued...

DOG RESCUE APPEAL

The Rescue Mission Secretariat at +6012 378 3730 (Janet) or +6012 320 8090 (Zalina)
The Sec's E-mail is dogrescue.pk@gmail.com (see updates page for info)

Fellow bloggers, you can also help by embedding this appeal poster on your blog and linking to http://www.mycen.com.my/rescue

You can follow the progress of the rescue via the updates here.

We are aware it is a monumental task and appreciate all forms of support, assistance, suggestions, encouragement and your prayers.

Thank you.

Remember......

"The winner takes it all, the loser standing small"

MOST URGENT HELP NEEDED!

Does anyone know NGOs helping Indian Navy officers kept hostages by Somalian Sea Pirates??


My dear friends family have lost their son - Please Help!

Children for MONEY!

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.
-- Mother Teresa

Children are for sale all around the world majorily from Asia! Would this get goose bumps on your impenetrable skin?

Money for Kids! or Kids for Money!

By kids, I mean children who are under the age of 18 trully speaking. Here is success story of a 16 yr old girl - "Cam Girl". I just read about her on the internet and could believe the story with my eyes wide shut.

Like most 16-year-olds, Renee's world is in her bedroom. She hangs out here with her friends, and spends hours on her computer.

But Renee isn't just sending e-mails or surfing the web aimlessly. She's running a highly profitable Internet business from here, one she says has earned her as much as $2,000 a month.
But what's she's doing in her bedroom would make a lot of mothers blush. Renee is a “Cam Girl”-- just one of hundreds of young girls who compete for attention on the Web by putting webcam photos and videos of themselves online.

Her site gets thousands of visitors every day. But it isn't free: For four days it's $5.95; for a month it's $15.95; for six months it's $59.95.

What do you get for your money?

There’s chat, information about how she does her hair and where she shops, and Renee’s daily journal. Renee has also posted more than 500 photos on the site. Some of them are sweet, some are strange, many are provocative. There is no nudity, however. Renee's mother Barbara claims she is mystified by Renee's virtual success, saying she has “no idea” why the site is so popular. “I hope it's her writing skills,” she says.

Like Renee, we have many teens working their way out to earn money like this with consent! I will talk later in my posts about the CHILDREN ON SALE WITHOUT CONSENT!

Its not just about 'Sushi' and 'High Heels'.....

There's more beyond, what looks so bright and happy around me. I recently went for an official assignment. We went to an upper class residential area in Delhi. Right behind the upper class private residences was an extremely harrowing experience we were about to go through.

On the other side of the road was the bling and all that attached with it that you can think of and on our side was darkness of a huge amalgamation of poor masses from uncountable regions across India and its borders most expected! In a week of rainy depressing weather and the rising inflation nothing was more worse than this sight we saw. A mob of poor workers and inhabitants across the street with fear in their eyes, standing around a dead man's body lying inside the police van...

Somehow, that day I was prepared to take, whatever came my way. This was a conclusion to a sudden outrage among two drunken men..."that's what a man told us". "What are are you doing here?"..."These accidents keep happening here..day and night"... was the look and conversation among the policemen I overheard and sensed.

I still want to go back to that place and know more about the people who live among us in our civil society !

VANDE MATARAM !!

In Devanagari script
वन्दे मातरम्
सुजलां सुफलां मलयजशीतलाम्
शस्यश्यामलां मातरम् |
शुभ्र ज्योत्स्ना पुलकित यामिनीम्
फुल्ल कुसुमित द्रुमदलशोभिनीम्,
सुहासिनीं सुमधुर भाषिणीम्
सुखदां वरदां मातरम् ||


Devanagari transliteration
vande mātaram
sujalāṃ suphalāṃ malayajaśītalām
śasya śyāmalāṃ mātaram
śubhra jyotsnā pulakita yāminīm
phulla kusumita drumadalaśobhinīm
suhāsinīṃ sumadhura bhāṣiṇīm
sukhadāṃ varadāṃ mātaram

Translation

My obeisance to Mother India!
With flowing beneficial waters
Filled with choicest fruits
With Sandal scented winds
Green with the harvest
O mother! My obeisance to you!
Ecstatic moonlit nights
The plants blooming with flowers
Sweet speaker of sweet languages
Fount of blessings,
Mother, I salute you!

What about HUMAN EXTINCTION ??

Well, I gave it some serious thought and came to a conclusion that we thank God for everything he has given to us, also what we want from him for our future and the respective generations to come. We curse him when we do not get what we wanted....the way we wanted it to be!

What if we never faced the extinction of wildlife, plants and the environment as a whole and worried day and night about the "Human Extinction". Would that make us a little better-off than the hue and cry we make for a living today?

The Revolutionary India many moons back....

Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna is a poem in Hindi/Urdu written by Bismil Azimabadi (Hindi: बिसमिल अज़ीमाबादी) and popularized by the Indian revolutionary Ram Prasad Bismil, who was involved in the Indian Independence Movement against the British Empire in India.

The Poem (English transliteration)

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai
Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil mein hai

aye watan Karta nahin kyun doosra kuch baat-cheet
Dekhta hun main jise woh chup teri mehfil mein hai
Aye shaheed-e-mulk-o-millat main tere oopar nisaar
Ab teri himmat ka charcha ghair ki mehfil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Waqt aanay dey bata denge tujhe aye aasman
Hum abhi se kya batayen kya hamare dil mein hai
Khainch kar layee hai sab ko qatl hone ki ummeed
Aashiqon ka aaj jumghat koocha-e-qaatil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Hai liye hathiyaar dushman taak mein baitha udhar
Aur hum taiyyaar hain seena liye apna idhar
Khoon se khelenge holi gar vatan muskhil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Haath jin mein ho junoon katt te nahi talvaar se
Sar jo uth jaate hain voh jhukte nahi lalkaar se
Aur bhadkega jo shola-sa humaare dil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Hum to ghar se nikle hi the baandhkar sar pe kafan
Jaan hatheli par liye lo barh chale hain ye qadam
Zindagi to apni mehmaan maut ki mehfil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Yuun khadaa maqtal mein qaatil kah rahaa hai baar baar
Kya tamannaa-e-shahaadat bhi kisee ke dil mein hai
Dil mein tuufaanon ki toli aur nason mein inqilaab
Hosh dushman ke udaa denge humein roko na aaj
Duur reh paaye jo humse dam kahaan manzil mein hai


Wo jism bhi kya jism hai jismein na ho khoon-e-junoon
Toofaanon se kya lade jo kashti-e-saahil mein hai


Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.
Dekhna hai zor kitna baazuay qaatil mein hai.[4]


The Poem (Devnagari version)

सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है
देखना है ज़ोर कितना बाज़ू-ए-क़ातिल में है


(ऐ वतन,) करता नहीं क्यूँ दूसरा कुछ बातचीत,
देखता हूँ मैं जिसे वो चुप तेरी महफ़िल में है
ऐ शहीद-ए-मुल्क-ओ-मिल्लत, मैं तेरे ऊपर निसार,
अब तेरी हिम्मत का चरचः ग़ैर की महफ़िल में है
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है


वक़्त आने पर बता देंगे तुझे, ए आसमान,
हम अभी से क्या बताएँ क्या हमारे दिल में है
खेँच कर लाई है सब को क़त्ल होने की उमीद,
आशिक़ोँ का आज जमघट कूचः-ए-क़ातिल में है
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है


है लिए हथियार दुशमन ताक में बैठा उधर,
और हम तय्यार हैं सीना लिये अपना इधर.
ख़ून से खेलेंगे होली गर वतन मुश्किल में है,
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है


हाथ, जिन में हो जुनून, कटते नही तलवार से,
सर जो उठ जाते हैं वो झुकते नहीं ललकार से.
और भड़केगा जो शोलः सा हमारे दिल में है,
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है


हम तो घर से ही थे निकले बाँधकर सर पर कफ़न,
जाँ हथेली पर लिये लो बढ चले हैं ये कदम.
जिन्दगी तो अपनी मॆहमाँ मौत की महफ़िल में है,
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है


यूँ खड़ा मक़्तल में क़ातिल कह रहा है बार-बार,
क्या तमन्ना-ए-शहादत भी किसी के दिल में है?
दिल में तूफ़ानों की टोली और नसों में इन्क़िलाब,
होश दुश्मन के उड़ा देंगे हमें रोको न आज.
दूर रह पाए जो हमसे दम कहाँ मंज़िल में है,


जिस्म भी क्या जिस्म है जिसमें न हो ख़ून-ए-जुनून
क्या लढ़े तूफ़ान से जो कश्ती-ए-साहिल में है
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है
देखना है ज़ोर कितना बाज़ू-ए-क़ातिल में है

Join the league with Hands On the World Global !

Are you looking for a short term donation of time and research in an abroad program or are you looking for a career in this field? IMs. Rachael Paulson is the founder of a grassroot organization called Hands ON the World Global and am setting up a HUB school in South Africa that will soon work as the base for science and research. It started with the install of water as 700 schools in Kwa zulu Natal do not have running water. The young girls leave schools to walk miles to fetch dirty filthy water. From the install grew a sustainablilty project that is now working to plant foods to help those dying from HIV and they are putting in livestock programs.

This HUB school area will soon work as the base for exchange students and for professionals who would like to donate time while growing in experience.
The board is growing strong and they are still working on building a strong foundation of a 5 year plan.

You can contact Ms. Rachael Paulson if you would like to get more information. They are not paying employees at this time as the funds are all going into the HUB properties.

There is so much more to share and you can see photos of her work on her web site which is not yet filled with all of the information that is updated.

Links:
http://www.howglobal.org

A PLEDGE !!

Sometimes I am astonished by what nature has given to us, and we keep ruining it as days go by.

This year I have decided to share it with as many people and my family that "I will not harm the environment which includes plants, animals, water, air and other organisms".

I will discontinue using Fire Crackers from this year onwards, which we use for our pleasure and for the environment at stake. Noticed more recently that Fire Crackers have become the disastrous source of displaying a happy moment in the family for millions of people across our country and around the world for example : Marriages, A Win in the game of Cricket, Parties, Birth of a Child etc...etc. Leave aside "DIWALI" in the "Indian Context" for which Fire Crackers were actually meant to be used.

I will discontinue using Plastic bags for carrying groceries...instead if I am really a style freak till the grocers shop!!! I will accompany myself with a nice cloth bag.

I will not waste WATER. Even a drop of it...Remember...My nanny always told me not to waste it..drop by drop fills a pool of bucket! And thus, if I do not use a bucket to fill that drop, it will be wasted!

Its only a few things in life I can manage a few years down the line to make this World... a bit ...better place.

And this is for all those people out there who can make a difference !

-KD

Our own Tibet !

EDUCATION...

"Education is what remains when we have forgotten all that we have been taught.
George Savile, Marquis of Halifax (1633-1695) English statesman and author."

Whereas....

Education … has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading.
G. M. Trevelyan (1876-1962) British historian

For the Eyes to Relish.....

God in Conversation with his people - 1

Here is the new set of Comic Clips I made recently....

Part - One



Part - Two



Part - Three

Seven Deadly Workplace Sins !

To avoid becoming the once-respectable, often-humble guy who got a promotion but lost his wits (and gained an ego), follow McKee’s advice on the seven deadly career sins to assure career advancement and move you on the path to paycheck promise land:
1. Pride
Despite any help they received along the way, time and again, people take full credit for their accomplishments in the office, thinking that personal success will fast-track their career.

The sin: “What often goes unrecognized is that people around, and especially below, the serially solo-successful resent the ego-centricity, and may actually begin to actively undermine that person’s efforts in the future.”
The salvation: “A dose of acknowledgment of and appreciation for one’s peers and subordinates, so they may share in some of the glory, can go a long way to foster one’s long-term success.”

2. Envy
It’s OK to acknowledge another’s achievements, but lamenting “what should have been yours” can be destructive and adversely impact your own ability to focus on current job tasks, McKee says.

The sin: “Allowing yourself to be overly envious of others in the workplace can sabotage your self-esteem, which is one vital characteristic every successful business person shares.”
The salvation: “Rather than being envious, let the accomplishments of others become motivational fuel for your fire in working toward your own successes.”

3. Anger
Anger doesn’t benefit anyone in the workplace – it only damages your reputation, credibility and professionalism.

The sin: “Those prone to angry outbursts rarely get promoted; they are seen as being poor leaders who cannot inspire or motivate others.”
The salvation: “It’s fine to feel passionately about your job or a project at hand and to disagree with others, but learn how to channel those emotions into actions that will work to your benefit in the eyes of others – especially your superiors - rather than against it.”

4. Greed
An employee’s selfish desire for “more, sooner” is what motivates many workers. While these folks may do well in the moment, they won’t be prepared to take things to the next level, McKee warns.

The sin: “Taking this notion to the extreme can and will be self-defeating as core values become misguided and life becomes unbalanced in the process.”
The salvation: “The road to success requires a long-term approach in all aspects of one’s job duties. Those laser-focused on quick, short-term gains may do well in the moment, but will be ill-prepared to take things to the next level.”

5. Sloth
Indolence gets you nowhere in life – especially in corporate America. Laziness in the workplace will have you sitting idle, watching others surpass you in success and authority.

The sin: “Simply put, complacency and laziness have no place whatsoever in the workplace – especially for those with high aspirations. Expecting one’s past achievements and successes to carry them forward in their long-term career is imprudent.”
The salvation: “Treat every work day and every project as if your job, and your future at large, depends on it. It very well may.”

6. Gluttony
Too much focus on only one facet of life, like work, is a recipe for overall failure. Make sure you’re ready – professionally and personally – to take on new and bigger challenges, for which expectations are also bigger, McKee says.

The sin: “Many individuals move up the corporate ladder so fast that they actually end up failing as a consequence. More isn’t always better – especially if you’re not ready for the challenge at hand.”
The salvation: “Achieving career success also includes maintaining a life balance, and a misplaced professional desire can create a backlash both at home as well as amid peers for your perceived obsessiveness.”

7. Lust
The old “grass is always greener” adage applies to the workplace as well. Spending your time focused on others’ work achievements rather than working to further your own is a sure-fire career killer,” McKee contends.

The sin: “Spending an inordinate amount of time fixated on what you don’t have rather than what you do will foster a bad attitude and negative overall demeanor.”
The salvation: “One’s overall ‘presence’ in the office plays a big part in who gets promoted and who doesn’t. No matter how ambitious, it’s prudent to be ‘present’ and make the most out of your current position at this moment in time.”

Plaxo....Why are you using it?? by Susan Scrupski

So, I’ve been using Plaxo for a long time now. Probably years? I dunno. When did they launch? I seem to remember always having my contacts online with Plaxo in recent years. It’s always been handly to have an online database of my contacts. Plus, I really like the user-generated, self-maintenance of my personal contact database. Makes life really easy for people who never getting around to digital housekeeping. I guess LinkedIn is the same idea, but Plaxo has always been a nice convenience for me, but something I would have filed in the “personal productivity” category of life’s niceties. Kind of like a Swiffer or my Polaris.

But, all that is changing. Little Plaxo may be the engine that just could give Facebook a run for its market dominance. I know I’m not the only one who thinks so. I saw this piece on Wired today, “Slap in the Facebook: It’s Time for Social Networks to Open up.” It was also picked up by Tom Regan, an NPR blogger, here. And I’ve already blogged about the impression Plaxo made out at mashup camp with its 3.0 release demo.

What I really like so far about the Plaxo platform is the sensible approach to the nonsensible “friending” silliness of Facebook. For instance, our HR leadership at BSG Alliance has a hard time embracing Facebook as a serious social networking platform when new employees and customers are faced with choices such as these.

Frank Hamm Says:
August 7, 2007 at 12:55 am
I discovered Plaxo only some weeks ago by accident when looking for having my addressbook and contacts stored online with access from almost everywhere.

With the brand new Pulse and connecting to business network, friends and family I almost feel addicted to Plaxo!

You must read this as an "eye opener" what i found on one of the IT News flash website:

What will be the 10 worst Internet scams in 2008? : The year 2007 was a record year for Internet scams, yet most experts agree that 2008 will be even bigger. The editors of Scambusters.org, a public service website that has been helping people protect themselves from Internet scams since 1994, have created their fourth annual 'Top 10' list of predictions for the biggest online threats you need to watch out for to stay safe in 2008. Scambusters believes there will be a new category of scams that makes the 2008 Top 10 List, most likely related social networking sites.

Here is the complete list of predictions for the Top Ten Internet scams for 2008.


10. New category of scams.
9. Pump and dump scams.
8. Online dating scams.
7. Spyware threats.
6. Overpayment scams.
5. Viruses, worms and Trojans.
4. Nigerian scams -- with many new twists.
3. Lottery scams.
2. Phishing scams.
1. Identity theft scams.


"Identity theft continues to hold the top position, and we predict phishing scams will be the number two scam for 2008," said Dr. Audri Lanford, Co-Director of Scambusters.org.

"Perhaps most surprising is that there hasn't been a new large category of scams in three years, which is frankly shocking to us," says Dr. Lanford. "We believe there will be a new category of scams that makes the 2008 Top 10 List, most likely related social networking sites."


*Be Safe*

Top 10 Ideas About What Employees Want From Work!

Its Rocky yet again!

Every person has different reasons for working. The reasons for working are as individual as the person. But, we all work because we obtain something that we need from work. The something obtained from work impacts morale, employee motivation, and the quality of life. To create positive employee motivation, treat employees as if they matter - because employees matter. These ideas will help you fulfill what people want from work and create employee motivation.

1) What People Want From Work
Some people work for personal fulfillment; others work for love of what they do. Others work to accomplish goals and to feel as if they are contributing to something larger than themselves. The bottom line is that we all work for money and for reasons too individual to assign similarities to all workers.

2) How to Demonstrate Respect at Work
Ask anyone in your workplace what treatment they most want at work. They will likely top their list with the desire to be treated with dignity and respect. You can demonstrate respect with simple, yet powerful actions. These ideas will help you avoid needless, insensitive, unmeant disrespect, too.

3) Provide Feedback That Has an Impact
Make your feedback have the impact it deserves by the manner and approach you use to deliver feedback. Your feedback can make a difference to people if you can avoid a defensive response.

4) Top Ten Ways to Show Appreciation
You can tell your colleagues, coworkers and staff how much you value them and their contribution any day of the year. Trust me. No occasion is necessary. In fact, small surprises and tokens of your appreciation spread throughout the year help the people in your work life feel valued all year long.

5) Trust Rules: The Most Important Secret
Without it, you have nothing. Trust forms the foundation for effective communication, employee retention, and employee motivation and contribution of discretionary energy, the extra effort that people voluntarily invest in work. When trust is present, everything else is easier.

6) Provide Motivational Employee Recognition
You can avoid the employee recognition traps that: single out one or a few employees who are mysteriously selected for the recognition; sap the morale of the many who failed to win, place, or even show; confuse people who meet the criteria yet were not selected; or sought votes or other personalized, subjective criteria to determine winners.

7) Employee Recognition Rocks
Employee recognition is limited in most organizations. Employees complain about the lack of recognition regularly. Managers ask, “Why should I recognize or thank him? He’s just doing his job.” And, life at work is busy, busy, busy. These factors combine to create work places that fail to provide recognition for employees. Managers who prioritize employee recognition understand the power of recognition.

8) Top Ten Ways to Retain Your Great Employees
Key employee retention is critical to the long term health and success of your business. Managers readily agree that their role is key in retaining your best employees to ensure business success. If managers can cite this fact so well, why do many behave in ways that so frequently encourage great employees to quit their job?

9) Team Building and Delegation: How and When to Empower People
Employee involvement is creating an environment in which people have an impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs. Team building occurs when the manager knows when to tell, sell, consult, join, or delegate to staff. For employee involvement and empowerment, both team building and delegation rule.

10) Build a Mentoring Culture
What does it take to develop people? More than writing “equal opportunity” into your organization’s mission statement. More than sending someone to a training class. More than hard work on the part of employees. What development does take is people who are willing to listen and help their colleagues. Development takes coaches, guides and advocates. People development needs mentors.

My Inspiration - II

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!

Shhhhh.... Though it makes no difference each year, things remain the same, you work--eat-party-sleep, and then wake up the next morning!
BINGO!! Its a new day yet again : )

Anyways! Am back with my much prolonged sabbatical on my blog. I was talking about my second 'Inspiration' the last i wrote here. I attended this other animation workshop by Vaibhav Studios. Now let me tell you, Mr. Vaibhav Kumaresh and his team members are simply fabulous, it was like a moment i would never forget. The workshop was about Stop Motion Animation. Mr. Kumaresh, at his very best, showed the whole procedure of making a dummy or a model before one actually starts clicking those models to make them moving objects or animations. His work can be seen here >>>

http://www.indiantelevision.com/anex/pandu_mangal/main.htm
I am not a student of animation but the workshop surely gave my creative streak an encouragement to learn something which was beyond my reach!

My Inspiration - I

This week i attended two seminars-cum-workshops sponsored by MAAC(Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics), TASI, NID.

My Inspiration - I, is Mr. Ishu Patel and his work, who has been an Oscar nominee twice and has been working on his skills and knowledge base since his young days. His hard work and creativity is par excellence...he joined the National Film Board of Canada in 1970.

For the next 50 minutes...i was in the haven of creativity and the profundity of art.
I saw 'Bead Game', 'Divine fate', 'Top Priority', 'AfterLife', 'How Death Came to Earth'. It never made me feel that such colorful drawings and objects could make brilliant short animated films like these! He is right when he says 'You young people...eat food and never chew it!' Thats so true...

My next blog is My Inspiration - II...till then try chewing food for a change! ;-)