Birthday Celebrations: Charity

How about adopting this birthday tradition? Birthdays are a big deal in many parts of India.  Some widely respected traditions include wearing new clothes, blessing parents, feeding others birthday cake - often including some messy frosting face smearing - and, in some offices, taking the day off work. But another practice I especially like is to give to charity.  Many people donate to a charity on this special day, especially by giving clothing or food to an orphanage or perhaps hosting a meal at a shelter home. It is both a blessing for the person celebrating the birthday as well…

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Shop for a Cause: Kamalini

Kamalini's spring Mela is coming up!  Kamalini works to empower underprivileged young women by providing basic education, useful skills, and confidence-boosting activities through two centers in Delhi and numerous outreach programs.   This Mela features women's and children's clothes donated by El Corte Ingles, a large Spanish department store. Shop for bargains and help Kamalini at the same time.

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Alpha Montessori Roof Garden Blooms!

The roof garden is blossoming!  Actually, more than blossoming - it's producing real food, smack in the middle of a smashed-in urban labyrinth, a wasteland for nature. Alpha Montessori - one of my favorite places - was last year's recipient of the AWA Glimpses of Asia photo exhibit and fundraiser.  The proceeds went to take their abandoned, unsafe, and pretty well dysfunctional rooftop and turn it into a garden. The goal was to have some space where children - and adults - could enjoy outdoor time, experience nature, and learn about botany. I'm happy to say all the work has paid…

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The Catalyst Conference

Attending The Catalyst Conference Wednesday and Thursday this week: Addressing Sexual Violence in India: Transforming Attitudes, Changing Behaviours. Five key issues will be addressed: Men's Attitudes Toward Women in India Access to Education Economic Opportunities Arts and Media The Law and How it is Implemented Read more about the conference or apply to attend here.

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Glimpses of Asia: Success!

GLIMPSES OF ASIA   FUNDRAISER FOR APNE AAP Friday April 11 A great night for  Glimpses of Asia and a great event for Apne Aap.      One hundred and fifty people crowded the house and garden near Khan Market graciously offered by one of our AWA members. Every photo was auctioned and 38 lucky guests came away high bidders. Our colleagues from Apne Aap offered news of the organization and provided inspiration for further bidding, though we missed Apne Aap founder Ruchira Gupta who had to be in New York that night. Apne Aap works in Delhi, West Bengal and Bihar; today…

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It’s All Local – and Global

Women in India, those living on the equivalent of $2 a day, often struggle to advance in education or jobs because of time spend caring for others.  (This  ‘Care Imperative’ has been noted recently by UN Women.)  Their lives are too constrained by the human imperatives of unpaid care for others to be able to take advantage of better opportunities. And India is not unique among developing countries. But what about elsewhere, in richer countries? No surprise: a persistent gender pay gap persists due to ...you guessed it...women’s responsibilities for care.  American culture often shames women into care giving responsibilities…

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The Care Imperative

Women and the MDG (Millennium Development Goals) What About All That Unpaid Labour? Two ideas are promising, both for proponents of gender equity and for policy makers looking to boost economic growth: Women's empowerment is now widely seen as central to reducing poverty and creating better health outcomes. Countries with greater gender equity in employment and education have higher rates of human development and economic growth. Super, you think.  Everyone will now have an interest in greater gender equity throughout society. So, the logic goes, to improve overall economic growth and human development, get those women jobs and political power. Voila.…

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Feedback from NGO Connect

Great feedback from the NGOs who participated last Thursday!  I came away with a brain full of new ideas and a bag full of business cards.  I know others did as well. Comments included: useful and thought provoking I enjoyed meeting super dedicated people who work so hard really good for other people in the NGO, not just the project leader such a great day useful notes afterward; so glad to have them roundtable participation so valuable when is the next one? thanks for the opportunity to be part of a very meaningful NGO connect the platform opened doors for…

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The Poop Guy – Sanitation in India

For good reason, India is often called the open defecation capital of the world.  The fact that toilets are intensely stigmatized has a huge, deleterious impact on public health.  On an personal level, the burden and cost of this preference for public urination and defecation falls disproportionately on women and girls. For all intents and purposes, public spaces in much of India belong to men. Women are not welcome, whether or not they are overtly banned.  They may be stared at, groped, verbally hassled, or worse, but they also have no place to relieve themselves.  In India a woman cannot…

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Field Trip – Holy Family Asha Niwas

An outing: six of the girls from Holy Family, a visiting colleague from the US, and yours truly went to the Nehru Museum and Planetarium last Saturday.  I take as many girls as my car can hold (six if they're older, eight if they're little) on different outings when they are not in school. On other days we've been to factories, parks, the Purana Quila, restaurants, offices, historical sights, a hotel and a very cool indoor climbing wall. But this time we chose the Nehru Museum, had a picnic, and visited the Planetarium for a sky show.  It was a…

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