tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50204822812325621932024-03-13T11:39:53.151-07:00Stories UnpluggedChangeWire
Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-82586975530636667182019-11-02T12:38:00.000-07:002019-11-02T12:53:52.150-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Easy & Ecofriendly Alternatives </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvaErjP48hC-Flt_zQdI8fbSBEKL9ek8c9WvfT1GzWwy7Y0k2xBDD4UrdIY8TjahxUG5pemLsuaeCSq4cRyuq93TGWFHhcXJ5zQPTjygZ9AlQIbFMkbD2ldXtN3QD1CMQ9hUjvBnmPY8B8/s1600/IMG-20191029-WA0048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="719" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvaErjP48hC-Flt_zQdI8fbSBEKL9ek8c9WvfT1GzWwy7Y0k2xBDD4UrdIY8TjahxUG5pemLsuaeCSq4cRyuq93TGWFHhcXJ5zQPTjygZ9AlQIbFMkbD2ldXtN3QD1CMQ9hUjvBnmPY8B8/s400/IMG-20191029-WA0048.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">Genuine efforts are made by only a few to live in a conscious way all the time. But in reality, sooner or later, this will become the need of the hour. It's not difficult to adopt alternatives for sustainable living. Its probably lack of awareness and access to simple solutions and fixes that can help us move to a healthier planet and co-existence. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent" serif , serif;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">Here are some small alternatives that I have searched but looking for more people to share their researches to raise awareness-</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent" serif , serif;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">1. Reduce paper use in kitchen- instead use 100</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">% organic cotton dish towels that can be laundried and reused repeatedly.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">2. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">Use reusable grocery bags to cut down on the habit of bringing home plastic bags as outcome of shopping. Some grocery stores even offer incentives for people who bring their own bags.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">3. Use </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Biodegradable trash bags - </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">These trash bags are 100% compostable, meet the stringent requirements of municipal composting programs, and should be </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">Certified 100% Compostable Bags. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">4. Bring home - </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 700;">A programmable thermostat that lets you know if you're saving energy. Take small steps to save energy but get started with simple habits of switching off extra lights, fans and gadgets that consumes energy.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 700;">5. Don't use </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Tea bags - </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">look into a loose tea infuser to cut down on how many tiny disposable packets you rip open and throw away. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">6. Use </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700;">LED light bulbs - </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">LEDs are up to 80% more efficient than traditional lighting options. 95% of the energy in LEDs is converted into light and only 5% is wasted as heat. They also use much less power, which reduces the demand on power plants and decreases the accompanying greenhouse gas emissions.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">7. Use </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Natural laundry detergent - search for options over internet for </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">laundry detergents that is made from naturally derived, plant-based ingredients and has a hypoallergenic formula. This will ensure you won't be introducing chemicals into the environment or wearing traces of them next-to-skin.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">8. Use </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Natural cleaning products at home - </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">The cleaning products you use around the house can be full of environmentally harmful chemicals. Look on internet for alternatives with fewer ramifications for the environment. Cleansing products made of natural ingredients can help green mission.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">9. Find </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Compostable cutlery and bowls options during festival than opting for cheap plastics. Start ordering food or visit eateries that use </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">disposable cutlery that are compostable.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">10. Use recycled pens, pencils and papers. Internet surfing can help information on available products and ways to access it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "independent serif" , serif; font-size: 19px;">Happy reading</span><br />
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Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-57668374457716685662019-11-02T01:59:00.000-07:002019-11-02T02:19:49.277-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPceKnHq25xTpLa6y-sjGPjoHvr1wGO-njJ_eMfuzEn0eyrUudYsD_oItGvmeJ9lSSFV3NgXMrzanP1J6p4Did7lROrH3Nw6y3Vm5n4dLiB0ckHjnFq1hQMJssZfc80n8laA7PEkAFB1C/s1600/IMG-20191030-WA0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPceKnHq25xTpLa6y-sjGPjoHvr1wGO-njJ_eMfuzEn0eyrUudYsD_oItGvmeJ9lSSFV3NgXMrzanP1J6p4Did7lROrH3Nw6y3Vm5n4dLiB0ckHjnFq1hQMJssZfc80n8laA7PEkAFB1C/s320/IMG-20191030-WA0008.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">National Geographic Video</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">https://youtu.be/R-VRAemIvbI</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: "roboto" , "helveticaneue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">It originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints; soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: "roboto" , "helveticaneue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">It </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; max-height: 999999px;">was</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: "roboto" , "helveticaneue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> part of the ancient Celtic religion in Britain and other parts of Europe. At the end of summer, the Celts thought the barrier between our world and the world of ghosts and spirits got really thin. The Celts had a big party.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; max-height: 999999px;">Halloween</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: "roboto" , "helveticaneue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> has its roots in the ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of Samhain, which was celebrated on the night of October 31. The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, believed that the dead returned to earth on Samhain.</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; max-height: 999999px;">Halloween</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: "roboto" , "helveticaneue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> is considered a powerful turning point in the wheel of the year, signifying the cycle of life, death and rebirth. </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; max-height: 999999px;">Halloween</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-family: "roboto" , "helveticaneue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> is the time when people release and let go of negative and lower energies that hold them back and celebrate the new energy that will eventually take its place.</span><br />
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History of Trick-or-Treating</h2>
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Borrowing from European traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money, a practice that eventually became today’s “trick-or-treat” tradition. Young women believed that on Halloween they could divine the name or appearance of their future husband by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings or mirrors.</div>
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In the late 1800s, there was a move in America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers than about ghosts, pranks and <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-witches" rel="null" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #e80c30; line-height: 1.6em;" target="_top">witchcraft</a>. At the turn of the century, Halloween parties for both children and adults became the most common way to celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of the season and festive costumes.</div>
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Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything “frightening” or “grotesque” out of Halloween celebrations. Because of these efforts, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth century.</div>
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All Souls Day and Soul Cakes</h2>
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The American Halloween tradition of trick-or-treating probably dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives.</div>
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The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling,” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food and money.</div>
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The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry.</div>
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On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits.</div>
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On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.</div>
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Happy Halloween 😁<br />
Signing off<br />
It's me - Indrani </div>
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Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-45741878206359232872012-01-21T02:19:00.000-08:002012-01-21T02:19:14.705-08:00Activate Empathy and Join the Movement to Teach What Matters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="node-title" style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><img alt="" src="http://cdn.changemakers.com/sites/default/files/empathy_banner_640.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;" /></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">At Ashoka, we believe that empathy is central to our ability to imagine (and create) better communities, societies, organizations, companies, and institutions. We believe that empathy is a skill. We believe that empathy is a muscle we all have. And most importantly, we believe that, like all muscles, empathy is strengthened by use and exercise. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">In this backdrop, <span lang="EN-US">Ashoka Changemakers® has launched a global competition on Jan19, 2012 titled: <i><a href="http://www.changemakers.com/empathy"><span style="color: blue;">Activating Empathy: Transforming Schools to Teach What Matters</span></a>, where m</i>ore than $70,000 in cash and in-kind prizes will be awarded to the best ideas, programs, and learning models that ensure </span><span lang="EN-GB">children master empathy, enabling them to be effective citizens, leaders, and trailblazers.</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Also, with this competition, we are challenging teachers, principals, parents, students, and other innovators to rethink our approach to school culture and curricula. The <i>Activating Empathy</i> competition seeks to spark greater collaboration among efforts such as those that encourage social and emotional development, address bullying in ways that advance understanding of others’ perspectives, promote community diversity and respect for differences, or champion children as real-world problem-solvers.<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">As quoted by </span><span lang="EN-GB">Danielle Goldstone, Director of Ashoka’s <span style="color: black;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/rrahman/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/GBF935LF/empathy.ashoka.org"><span style="color: blue;">Empathy Initiative</span></a>,</span></span><span lang="EN-US"> “Empathy is </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">essential for success in a rapidly changing world. </span><span lang="EN-GB">We are calling on teachers, administrators, parents, students, and innovators to share their ideas for integrating empathy into the core of the student learning experience.”</span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB">The work of Ashoka Fellows and others demonstrates that empathy can be learned, practiced, and measured. For instance, 77 percent of students that are active in Peace First, founded by Ashoka Fellow Eric Dawson, reported reduced levels of fighting, thanks to the program, and Mary Gordon’s <a href="http://www.rootsofempathy.org/en/what-we-do/research.html"><span style="color: blue;">Roots of Empathy</span></a> has seen helping behavior increase in up to 78 percent of children who participated in her program.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Entries submissions are invited until March 30. You can also nominate your favorite learning initiatives and post comments on submitted entries via <a href="http://www.changemakers.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">Changemakers.com</span></a><u>/empathy</u>. One “people’s choice” winner will be selected by online community voting, and an expert panel of judges will select the two overall winners. As part of its efforts to create the future of play, Mattel is offering $25,000 in prizes for ideas that enhance empathy through play. <a href="http://www.donorschoose.org/"><span style="color: blue;">DonorsChoose.org</span></a> will also offer $30,000 of <b>Townsend Press Prizes</b> for the top five solutions by a U.S. public-school teacher, student, or administrator that advance the mastery of empathy in a way that addresses bullying.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><i style="line-height: 16px;">Follow the initiative (and </i><a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/changemakers" style="line-height: 16px;" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #f05323; text-decoration: none;">join us</span></i></a><i style="line-height: 16px;">) on Twitter: #startempathy</i> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">###</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-GB">Ashoka Changemakers</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><span lang="EN-CA">is a community of action that connects social entrepreneurs around the globe to share ideas, inspire, and mentor each other. Through its online collaborative competitions and Open Growth platform, Changemakers.com is one of the world</span><span lang="EN-US">’</span><span lang="EN-CA">s most robust spaces for launching, discussing, and funding ideas to solve the world</span><span lang="EN-US">’</span><span lang="EN-CA">s most pressing social problems. Changemakers builds on Ashoka's three-decade history and belief that we all have the ability to be a Changemaker. Ashoka is the global association of the world</span><span lang="EN-US">’</span><span lang="EN-CA">s leading social entrepreneurs</span><span lang="EN-US">—</span><span lang="EN-CA">more than 2,500 men and women with system-changing solutions for the world</span><span lang="EN-US">’</span><span lang="EN-CA">s most urgent social problems.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-CA"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.changemakers.com/"><span style="color: blue;">www.Changemakers.com</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://empathy.ashoka.org/"><span style="color: blue;">http://empathy.ashoka.org</span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
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</div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-65304381074785504482012-01-19T00:49:00.000-08:002012-01-19T00:49:35.737-08:00Gloria D'Souza on how to grow into a "fruitful" entrepreneur<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="node-title" style="background-color: #fafbf6; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em><span style="color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Gloria D'Souza was honored as an Ashoka ChangemakeHER, Changemakers's inaugural celebration of the world's most influential and inspiring women. </b></span></span></em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><img alt="" src="http://resources.ashoka.org/filestore/5/8/9/2_27ec19551bdc54c/5892_088e4d14491a1c8.jpg?v=2011-03-23+13%3A25%3A10" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" /></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em>One of the first three Ashoka Fellows, Gloria de Souza (center left) turned down lucrative business career opportunities to teach. She found an educational system that deadened student’s creativity, motivation to learn, problem-solving capacity, and faith in India. Gloria created and introduced modern experiential education that challenged students to think and to solve problems together instead of chanting facts. Her core contribution has not been to invent modern education but to adapt it to make it attractive to everyone in non-Western settings. Her patient work of adoption, persuasion, training, and organizing spread her impact widely. Eventually the government of India introduced her work into other districts, and UNICEF asked her to help first in Sikkim and then beyond. Other areas of India, in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East want Gloria to extend her program to their areas.</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Who are your favourite changemakers from history? </strong><br />
Tarabai Moda is one of my favorites. She gave me my best lessons in an environmental approach that makes sensory awareness the key to learning by observation, enquiry, and discovery—indeed, to learning that lasts. <br />
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Tarabai Modak, who lived from 1892 to 1973, is another. She won the Padmabhushan award in 1962 for her original contribution to the field of education. She pioneered an approach that enabled impoverished rural children, and their parents as well, to learn from their daily experiences in their environment. She was 65 years of age, when she set in motion her project to educate adivasis (indigenous peoples in India) through anganwadis (a government sponsored child-care and mother-care center), believing that if children cannot reach school, school should reach them.<br />
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My exposure to Tarabai Modak’s ingeniously simple and inexpensive ways of using the learner’s available environment—to enable growth in learning skills and in the internalization of concepts related to maths, science, and geography—was my first experience of an authentic environmental approach to learning.<br />
<strong><br />
What are three qualities that make a changemaker successful? </strong><br />
Let me begin by saying that the word “successful” is often perceived as being “that something that attracts name and fame.”<br />
<br />
So, let me replace the word “successful” in your question with the word “fruitful” (which carries a kind of organic growth connotation to it).<br />
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The three qualities of a fruitful changemaker are:</div><ul style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><li>Clarity of vision – what is crying out for change and why?</li>
<li>Tenacity of purpose – even when unforeseen obstacles interfere with strategic planning, and prevent desired outcomes.</li>
<li>An open mind – listening to and learning from the wisdom of others, critical and creative thinking (that would envisage necessary detours from earlier plans), and taking the calculated risks that may be called for.</li>
</ul><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>What has made you successful in your work? What specific strategies or tactics did you employ? </strong><br />
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My perception is that Parisar Asha (the organization I was able to set up, thanks to an Ashoka Fellowship) has been fruitful, for the following reasons:</div><ul style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><li>Parisar Asha has stayed focused on its mission of making quality education an affordable gift, even for the underprivileged, first-generation learner. This reality has resulted in a “spread” that has also enabled Parisar Asha to generate a modest income, thus becoming self-sustaining.</li>
<li>It has been ever-open to self-evaluation, to learning from feedback, to be being constantly pursuant of updating and refining its processes and products.</li>
<li>It has, at all times, reminded itself that the only medium of fruitfulness within an organization is respect for teamwork. The contribution of every member is valuable, insofar as interdependence is the key to fruitful functioning.</li>
</ul><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>What are the key elements individuals should keep in mind as they grow as a social entrepreneur?</strong></div><ul style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><li>Be sensitive to the living condition of all humans whom you encounter in your living environment. Work unceasingly to ensure that the current gaping divide between the haves and the have-nots becomes non-existent.</li>
<li>Ensure that all that you do revolves around respect for everything that touches your life, living and non-living.</li>
<li>Be sure never to live by double standards.</li>
<li>Make an unfailing sense of discipline, transparency and accountability the cardinal principles by which you conduct your life.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">Disclaimer: re-posted from www.changemakers.com/blog</span></span></div></div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-20625403544361562632012-01-16T23:27:00.000-08:002012-01-16T23:45:19.505-08:00Eyewitness Account<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-transform: uppercase;">CHILD LABOR IN NORTH INDIA’S HAND-WOVEN CARPET SECTOR</span><br />
<div class="node-info" style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div class="user-avatar-30" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://cdn.changemakers.com/sites/all/themes/cm2/images/default-avatar-small.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; height: 30px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 0px; width: 30px;"><img alt="Changemakers Blogger" class="imagecache imagecache-changemakers_thumb" height="30" src="http://www.changemakers.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/changemakers_thumb/pictures/picture-145352.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="Changemakers Blogger" width="30" /></div>by <span class="bold" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.changemakers.com/users/changemakers-blogger" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" title="View user profile.">Changemakers Blogger</a></span><br />
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</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><img alt="" src="http://resources.ashoka.org/filestore/6/4/3/8_7bb0bd5700e52cd/6438_bb3ef777298427f.jpg?v=2011-06-20+09%3A14%3A29" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" /></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em>[Editor's note: This, written by Siddharth Kara, </em><em><span style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #f05323; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.goodweave.org/index.php?cid=125" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">appeared in the Spring 2011 GoodWeave newsletter</a> </span>and is reprinted with permission. <a href="http://goodweave.org/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323;">GoodWeave</span></a> works to end child labor in the handmade rug industry and provide educational opportunities for children in South Asia.]</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The carpet belt of North India stretches across the state of Uttar Pradesh from the town of Allahabad, east to Bhadohi, ending in the rural reaches beyond Varanasi. I have visited this area several times across the last decade, and despite recent pronouncements by the government of India that child labor no longer exists in the country’s hand-woven carpet sector, there are still innumerable shacks and village huts in this area in which children as young as 10 years of age are coerced to work 16 or more hours a day weaving carpets for export to Europe and North America.<br />
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All of these children are poor, low-caste or <em>dalit </em>peasants who are either paid a pittance for their efforts, or are exploited through outright bonded and forced labor. Children are especially prized for carpet weaving, as their nimble fingers and good eyesight are perfectly suited for the intricate motions required to weave carpets that may be 30 to 40 square feet in size, one thread at a time.<br />
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At a shelter near Allahabad, I met 34 child slaves who had been freed from two different carpet shacks housing up to 20 children each. One of these young boys, Arjun (a pseudonym), remained deeply traumatized by the violence he suffered in one of these shacks. A <em>dalal</em> (trafficker) paid Arjun’s father 1,000 rupees ($22 US) and promised the child would earn 50 rupees [$1.11 US] per day in carpet weaving, half of which could be sent back to his parents. Arjun was subsequently locked in a shack with several other boys and violently coerced to weave carpets day and night, without ever being paid:<br />
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"Most days we were only given one break for eating and one break for toilet. If we tried to sleep, they would beat us. Sometimes they gave us pills so we can work all night. I felt so tired I cut myself often. If the blood from my fingers came on the carpet, they would take green chili and rub it on my wound for punishment," said Arjun.<br />
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Though hidden shacks that exploit child slaves in carpet weaving are not uncommon, the majority of exploitation in the carpet sector of North India takes place in small village huts scattered across the region. One village not far west of Varanasi typified what I saw.<br />
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The village possessed 34 huts of varying sizes (none larger than 150 square feet), each with around five to six inhabitants, all <em>dalits</em>. Twenty-eight of the huts had carpet looms inside them, usually taking up half of the available living space. Everyone in the village had borrowed money from two brothers who owned all of the land in the area. The reasons for the loans were myriad, to include basic consumption, life ceremonies (weddings and funerals), medicine, hut repairs, and the inheritance of debt from a previous generation.<br />
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Once indebted, each of the villagers was put to work as a bonded laborer in three sectors – carpet weaving, agriculture, and brick making. They were paid state stipulated wages (less deductions) by agents of the landowners who visited the villages regularly to ensure work was being completed on schedule. The villagers were not allowed to take any other work or leave the village. In the huts I documented, two or three teenage boys were typically at work behind the looms. In all cases, the huts were cramped and dark with no electricity. There was poor ventilation and a high level of particulate matter from thread dust in the air. Many of the child weavers were suffering from respiratory ailments, spinal deformation, vision ailments, and severe joint pain.<br />
<br />
Whether it is in a village hut or a clandestine shack, carpets are still being woven by children in North India. Poor, landless, disenfranchised and marginally subsistent minority castes and ethnicities remain deeply vulnerable to trafficking and debt bondage. Law enforcement intervention and rule of law are almost entirely absent, allowing wholesale carpet producers to capitalize on the vulnerability of impoverished peasants in countless ways, including the exploitation of low-wage or forced child labor for carpet weaving.<br />
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Claims that child labor in the rug industry exists because producers cannot afford to pay full wages are spurious. To the contrary – the typical carpet weaving business model produces more than sufficient profits to pay full and fair wages; however, greed drives exploiters to utilize bonded, forced and underage labor to maximize profits in full violation of the law. In my forthcoming book on bonded labor, I developed profit and loss statements for a “typical” carpet weaving business that employs 30 bonded or child laborers. Such a business can generate $952 in net profits per laborer on a net profit margin of 50.7 percent. At best, nominal or no wages may be paid to the carpet weavers, even though there is ample profit available to compensate them fairly.<br />
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This exploitation will not end until we negate the financial incentive for producers who act with impunity. GoodWeave offers a successful, replicable model for transforming the industry, by putting the power into consumers’ hands to hold producers accountable for their actions and by giving them the choice of a child- and slave-labor free purchase.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em>Siddharth Kara is a Fellow on Human Trafficking at Harvard University and author of </em>Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery<em>. His research into the hand-woven carpet sector of South Asia will be included in his forthcoming book on bonded and child labor in South Asia, to be released in Fall 2012.</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: U. Roberto Romano</span></em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Disclaimer: re-posted from www.changemakers.com/blog. </span></em></div></div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-22703223058154403072012-01-16T08:50:00.000-08:002012-01-17T00:39:33.455-08:00Asia #SocEntChat on #innovatehealth: Summary & Excerpts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #483f30; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ashoka Changemakers and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s <b>Pioneer Portfolio</b> together have launched a competition titled '</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://mail.ashoka.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=2124e47df6874540bdd28320adf2ff01&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.changemakers.com%2finnovations4health" target="_blank"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Innovations For Health: Solutions That Cross Borders</span></a><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #483f30;">' to seek health care solutions from anywhere in the world that have the potential to be applied in other countries to improve health and health care systems.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #fafbf6; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #483f30; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ashoka Changemakers hosted the Asia #SocEntchat on Jan 10, 2012 for its Asia twitter community to discuss replicable healthcare models and views on what kinds of health care challenges are shared by communities around the world, in the realm of <b>Innovation for Health</b> competition. The 2-hour session was attended by more than 100 participants and gathered above 400 tweets from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, HongKong, Israel, Nigeria, Finland, UK and many other countries. </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #483f30; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s <b>Pioneer Portfolio </b>co-moderated parts of the session. Major participation for this online event came from India and Indonesia. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #fafbf6; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Here are some excerpts from the discussions:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Q 1. What are the examples of public health issues that the Asia communities face?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">India <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Access to qualitative and quantitative medical and healthcare facilities in remote rural areas is a challenge. In remote villages people die of TB, Appendicitis, and food poisoning. Filaria identified in 13 districts of 7 endemic states, - AP, Bihar, Kerala, Orissa, TN, UP, WB, covering about 41 million people. In the last five years, Japanese Encephalitis caused by flavivirus group has acquired serious magnitude in 11 states.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Common Health issues discussed were infant mortality, tuberculosis control and control of diseases caused due to mosquito bites. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- One of the common public health issues is level of awareness and sanitation in remote rural areas. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Yet another public health hazard is disposal of hospital waste that poses threat to general masses. Contaminated cotton is often used for ear buds. Small pathological containers are often used as packing container for spices by roadside vendors.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Implementation of Government’s medical aid for general masses is not very effective and is full of layers of corruption. Except for Polio Eradication, other government schemes on healthcare has not been successful (There are iodine, vitamin A related government schemes also, never saw in action). There is a Govt TB treatment program, but poor villagers from remote areas are made to pay for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Many unregulated healthcare providers present huge challenges especially in remote areas for low income group population. Many government doctors are engaged in private practice and lower-ranking staff are engaged in the racket of injecting saline injections and charging patients for it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Punjab province has one of most extensive health infrastructure. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Pakistan<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Pakistan is currently facing issues like quality, accessibility & coverage of services especially MNCH services. Some new public health problems like Dengue has also been observed. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Pakistan is still battling with polio. UNICEF is undertaking a study to find fact and cause.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Indonesia<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Public health issues in Indonesia include accessing public health facility, reproductive health and sanitation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- Indonesia has a high rate of malnutrition due to improper nourishment of children. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Nigeria <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">- The problem of access and quality is rampant in Nigeria but rural areas are the worse hit.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- In must rural areas in Nigeria, hospitals are without electricity, water, mattresses, bedsheet and other needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Changemakers are faced with huge corruption, politicizing health schemes and lack of funds. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Q 2. What are some obstacles to the scaling/expansion of viable solutions to other countries/regions?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Lack of coordination between various implementation organisations, especially between donor & government.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Scaling or expansion also largely depends on the country's public health policy. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Lack of proper documentation and dearth of coordinating platform for sharing information.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Inadequate public-private engagement or partnerships. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- One of the big challenges to expansion is availability of skilled human resource.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Socio-economic inequality has been a crucial obstacle in health care in India<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Q 3. What is the role of social entrepreneurs in improving health processes? Are there some examples of such initiatives?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> - Apollo recently launched the telemedicine service. It has health insurance that costs 2.5 US cents/day for a family of 5, for a village in Andhra Pradesh of 50,000 people.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- The main focus of Cancer buster community in Indonesia is providing balance information about cancer for child patients and their parents & assisting those who suffered.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Gram Vikas (which literally means 'Village Development') is an organization that has been working since 1979, to bring about sustainable improvement in the quality of life including use and management of natural resources.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Mr. Durojaiye launched his company after noticing that even though 20 million people lived in Lagos, there were very few public toilets, thus creating a health hazard. His mobile toilets are now built locally with local materials.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- One of the key health focuses of NGOs in rural Morocco is to reduce newborns death and congenital disability. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Barefoot College, started by Bunker Roy in 1972, has made innumerable school dropouts in villages into “barefoot” doctors<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy and Thulasiraj D Ravilla established Aravind Eye Hospital in 1976. It has treated more than 2.3 million outpatients and carried out more than 2, 70,000 operations in 2006-07, most of them free. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Narayana Hrudayalaya Institute of Medical Sciences & its network of hospitals run by Devi Shetty perform 20 free surgeries a day. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Successful models can only have the maximum effect when Govt and Social Entrepreneurs work to complement each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Collaborative approach has been adopted by people in South Halmahera, Indonesia to eradicate malaria.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Q 4. Are there health innovations you have seen around the world that you would like to see in your country?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Better e-systems in South African state hospitals that improves efficiency of hospital administration.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Cambodian rural areas have health counsellors on motorbikes for tuberculosis (mobile DOTS).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Preventing low birth weight with chewing gum done by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. The team hopes to roll out chewing gum or gummy snacks containing polyols to try to reduce early births in Malawi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Stopping HIV transmission with a vacuum pack @ Duke University from Durham, N.C<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Mobile heart monitoring and data gathering @ Save the Children Federation from Westport, Connecticut.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Isha Foundation's Mobile Health Clinics tours surrounding villages.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- An innovative alternative to forceps @ The World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. The devices is a film-like polyethylene like open plastic bag wrapped around the head of the baby, sealed to help extraction during complications. WHO says Odon could be safer and easier than forceps, and would require lesser training.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Diagnosing with paper stamps @Diagnostics for All, Inc. from Cambridge, Massachussets. Diagnostics for all created 2 postage stamp-sized paper tools to detect anaemia, hypertensive disorders for high-risk pregnancy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Ashoka Fellow Anna Alisjahbana has also created vacuum foot pump for birthing (Frontiers for Health Indonesia).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Telemedicine is also gaining wide popularity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Coupled with mobile health units, telediagnostics could be a great solution for rural areas.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- In Pune (India ), Project for sweepers named, START YOUR BACKWARD COUNTING BACTERIA- HERE WE COME.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Q 5. For someone starting health initiative in your country, would you have some advice?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Mobile applications are useful only when there is high penetration and use of the applications.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Newly trained midwives are providing basic healthcare to over 20,000 mothers and children monthly in 5 districts in Afghanistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- A woman health officer has motivated sweeper community of Kalyani (Kolkata) to shun open defecation & start using toilets. These sweepers now use theatre to spread awareness and motivate fellow-sweepers to maintain good hygiene and sanitation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- The Yeshasvini Cooperative Farmers Health Scheme is a young but successful microinsurance scheme in Karnataka.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- Stagnant water is the agent for spreading many diseases. Planting LOTUS in such regions helps to remove stagnant water. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- PlayAble believe that INCLUSIVE SPORTS has an amazing power to create awareness. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- In the Maoist belt of Orissa, where doctors fear to venture, an NGO named ASHA serves a deprived community with healthcare solutions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- A community radio initiative in Bihar enables locals to voice their problems and raises awareness on mother/child health.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">- SHALOM Delhi is an HIV/AIDS project, providing care and support to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) in and around Delhi. Their Transgender Project Aims to bring healing and care to eunuchs through care, nutritional & medical support and health education.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Useful Resources: </span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">@</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> | </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Block</span></a><a href="http://twitter.com/changemakers" target="_new">changemakers</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Enter Innovation for Health competition at <a href="http://www.changemakers.com/innovations4health">http://www.changemakers.com/innovations4health</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/CHMInnovations" target="_new"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">@</span></a><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> | </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Block</span></a><a href="http://twitter.com/CHMInnovations" target="_new">CHMInnovations</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Check out our Highlights Report from 2011 which shows new innovations and key trends from around the world! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://healthmarketinnovations.org/sites/healthmarketinnovations.org/files/CHMI-report-120211-digital.pdf">http://healthmarketinnovations.org/sites/healthmarketinnovations.org/files/CHMI-report-120211-digital.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">@</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/meryemefaris" target="_new">meryemefaris</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/CHMInnovations" target="_new">@CHMInnovations</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/changemakers" target="_new">@changemakers</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> More promising innovations can be found in our free online database! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://healthmarketinnovations.org/programs">http://healthmarketinnovations.org/programs</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">@</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/EnnoventSEbot" target="_new">EnnoventSEbot</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat">#socentchat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> The World Bank </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://wbi.worldbank.org/developmentmarketplace/">http://wbi.worldbank.org/developmentmarketplace/</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> encourages funding dev projects through social entrepreneurship.... - 3:15 PM Jan 10th, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">@<a href="http://twitter.com/bridge_ofa" target="_new"></a><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> | <u><span style="color: blue;">Block</span></u></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/bridge_ofa" target="_new">bridge_ofa</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/changemakers_id" target="_new">@changemakers_id</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/changemakers" target="_new">@changemakers</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Generating data to measure impact of programs </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/09/melinda-gates-answers-your-questions/">http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/09/melinda-gates-answers-your-questions/</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> via </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/nytimes" target="_new">@nytimes</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat">#socentchat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/innovatehealth">#innovatehealth</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> -2:50 PM Jan 10th, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/hp/Documents/Indrani/Changemakers/Competitions%202011/RWJF/@">@</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> | </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Block</span></a><a href="http://twitter.com/udayusuf" target="_new">udayusuf</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Check our website : </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://cancerbustercommunity.org/">http://cancerbustercommunity.org/</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <-- </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/changemakers" target="_new">@changemakers</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat">#socentchat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, we focused on motivate patients and parents who suffered cancer -2:44 PM Jan 10th, 2012<br clear="all" /> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Quotable tweets:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/lahwahleh" target="_new"></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">@<a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> | </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Block</span></a><a href="http://twitter.com/lahwahleh" target="_new">lahwahleh</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> RT </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/statweestics" target="_new">@statweestics</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat">#socentchat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> is getting popular, +1200% the last hour : </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://t.co/QXuv3JwM" target="_new">http://t.co/QXuv3JwM</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> -2:33 PM Jan 10th, 2012</span><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">@</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/ableinlife" target="_new"></a><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> | </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Block</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/ableinlife" target="_new">ableinlife</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Listen to the people and communities first! Find out what they really need and not what the government thinks they need! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat">#socentchat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> -3:34 PM Jan 10th, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/AkilaCharagi" target="_new"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">@</span></a><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> | </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Block</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/AkilaCharagi" target="_new">AkilaCharagi</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Mobile applications are useful only when there is high penetration and use of the apps. Can poor people afford the mob apps? </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/SocEntChat">#SocEntChat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> -3:48 PM Jan 10th, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/HinaHazrat" target="_new"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">@</span></a><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> | </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Block</span></a><a href="http://twitter.com/HinaHazrat" target="_new">HinaHazrat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Please look into the health of EUNUCHS, they are even not allowed to enter hospitals- talking in broad sense! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat">#socentchat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> -3:49 PM Jan 10th, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/HinaHazrat" target="_new"></a>@<a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> | </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Block</span></a><a href="http://twitter.com/HinaHazrat" target="_new">HinaHazrat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> HEAVEN ON EARTH is a project which is working on EUNUCH in Pakistan!</span><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/HinaHazrat" target="_new"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">@</span></a><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> | </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Block</span></a><a href="http://twitter.com/HinaHazrat" target="_new">HinaHazrat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Next time, Jennifer Ali will be joining us, she is the leading Health Change Agent in Pakistan! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat">#socentchat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> - 4:10 PM (IST), Jan 10th, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/CHMInnovations" target="_new"></a><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> | </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Block</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">@</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/CHMInnovations" target="_new">CHMInnovations</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> We have found that a health market place with many unregulated healthcare providers presents huge challenges </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/globalhealth">#globalhealth</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/SocEntChat">#SocEntChat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> -2:14 PM Jan 10th, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/CHMInnovations" target="_new"></a><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> | </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Block</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">@</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/CHMInnovations" target="_new">CHMInnovations</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Thanks for the great </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/innovatehealth">#innovatehealth</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> chat! Well worth getting up in the middle of the night. Now back to bed! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/SocEntChat">#SocEntChat</a> - </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">4:10 PM (IST), Jan 10th, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/pioneerrwjf" target="_new"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">@</span></a><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Feature</span></a></span><span style="display: none; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> | </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/socentchat"><span style="display: none;">Block</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/pioneerrwjf" target="_new">pioneerrwjf</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Thanks 2 those who participated in </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://twitter.com/changemakers" target="_new">@changemakers</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/SocEntChat">#SocEntChat</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">! Learn about </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://tweetchat.com/room/innovatehealth">#innovatehealth</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> solutions that cross borders </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://t.co/Vr5Ub2Kq" target="_new">http://t.co/Vr5Ub2Kq</a> - </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">4:10 PM (IST), Jan 10th, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
</div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-85938577285436652452012-01-08T09:04:00.000-08:002012-01-08T09:05:11.013-08:00Join Ashoka Changemakers on January 10, 2012, at 2pm IST for Asia #SocEntChat on Innovations for Health.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1UOonzNx940odxNBVO5X_JgdsFIZD-3aLIRUtn475EtNLt0mg2ukl9RZSqWyene8HvhkXandbBYlSHShTc6K_87CET4sayFktz6KGvnOZGT_VyUnWybg3lW1iB0EMavRea3g1kYsMiBi/s1600/ecard_EN.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1UOonzNx940odxNBVO5X_JgdsFIZD-3aLIRUtn475EtNLt0mg2ukl9RZSqWyene8HvhkXandbBYlSHShTc6K_87CET4sayFktz6KGvnOZGT_VyUnWybg3lW1iB0EMavRea3g1kYsMiBi/s640/ecard_EN.gif" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">Ashoka Changemakers and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio together have launched a competition titled <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1255490423">'</a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.changemakers.com/innovations4health?utm_source=twitter-eng&utm_medium=social-media&utm_content=isharma&utm_campaign=innovations4health">Innovations For Health: Solutions That Cross Borders</a></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">' to seek health care solutions from anywhere in the world that have the potential to be applied in other countries to improve health and health care systems.</span></div></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you know about any healthcare models that could be replicated elsewhere or have views on healthcare to share or are interested in knowing about what kinds of health care challenges are shared by communities around the world - <strong><u>Join Ashoka Changemakers on January 10, 2012, for Asia </u></strong></span><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23socentchat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u>#SocEntChat</u></strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u> on </u></strong></span><span style="color: #f05323; font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u><a href="http://www.changemakers.com/innovations4health?utm_source=twitter-eng&utm_medium=social-media&utm_content=isharma&utm_campaign=innovations4health">Innovations for Health</a></u></strong></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u>.</u></strong></span></span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Join </span><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/changemakers" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323; font-family: Calibri;">@changemakers</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> from <strong>2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Indian Standard Time (IST) </strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">— </span>that's 3:30 to 5:30 a.m. EST <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">—</span> to participate in a Twitter-based discussion with innovators, social entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts about health care solutions that have the potential to be applied in other countries in order to improve health and health care. This is your chance to make your voice heard or to ask experts in the field your most burning questions.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">What is a #SocEntChat and how does it work? </span></em></strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">A #SocEntChat is a real-time, Twitter-based discussion about social entrepreneurship that focuses on specific issues, areas, themes, and events. It is designed for current and aspiring social entrepreneurs, funders, journalists, and supporters to share ideas, discuss the state of the field, identify the latest innovations, and pinpoint areas requiring deeper exploration.</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">Joining the conversation is easy. Just log-in to Twitter at 2 p.m. on January 10, 2012. Then:</span></div><ul style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Use the #SocEntChat hashtag to make your comments visible in the stream. Use search.twitter.com or an </span><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/socentchat" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323; font-family: Calibri;">application</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> like Tweetdeck (</span><a href="http://www.tweetdeck.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323; font-family: Calibri;">www.tweetdeck.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">) or thwirl (</span><a href="http://www.thwirl.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323; font-family: Calibri;">www.thwirl.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">) to follow the #SocEntChat hashtag and keep up with the conversation.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">Introduce yourself and take a minute to get to know the other chatters when you join.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">Send your questions to @changemakers without the hash tag (to keep them out of the stream) so they can be considered for this conversation.</span></li>
</ul><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">Please remember to use the #SocEntChat hashtag, stay on topic, be respectful, and have fun! And be sure to invite your friends and followers to join the discussion, too; the best way is to post a tweet like this one:</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Join @changemakers on Jan 10 at 2pm IST for a #SocEntChat on health innovations that cross borders! Spread the word & save the date! </span><span style="color: #f05323; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.changemakers.com/innovations4health?utm_source=twitter-eng&utm_medium=social-media&utm_content=isharma&utm_campaign=innovations4health">#innovatehealth</a></span><span id="goog_1255490435"></span><span id="goog_1255490436"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">Looking forward to catching you on Twitter!</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font: normal normal normal 14px/16px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">Team of @changemakers in Asia</span></div></div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-77232559951618323052012-01-04T06:55:00.000-08:002012-01-04T06:56:27.667-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div><div class="node-title" style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Fighting for Tigers, Giving Animals a Voice</div><div class="node-info" style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: 19px;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"><em>Prerna Singh Bindra was honored as an Ashoka ChangemakeHER, Changemakers's inaugural celebration of the world's most influentual and inspiring women. Find her fellow honorees' voices <a href="http://www.changemakers.com/blog/changemakehers" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></span></span></span></i></span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="http://resources.ashoka.org/filestore/5/9/2/6_661587a5b90f302/5926_cc62e5ca4b0c528.jpg?v=2011-03-25+15%3A26%3A29" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" /></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em><strong>Prerna Singh Bindra</strong> is a journalist and lobbyist for conservation. She has consulted with Friends of Women's World Banking to make microfinance more accessible to rural women. She edits the conservation journal </em>Tigerlink<em> and received the Carl Zeiss Award for her work in wildlife conservation.</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: silver;">★★★</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Who are your favorite female changemakers from history?</strong></div><ol style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><li>Rachel Carson’s seminal work Silent Spring helped spark the environmental movement as we know it today. She showed the world what pesticides have poisoned our world—the presence of toxic chemicals in water and on land, in our soil and food, and its impact on other creatures of the earth.<br />
<br />
Rachel warned about the presence of DDT in mother’s milk. She faced the wrath of the pesticide industry, but her work resulted in the banning of DDT and enactment of environment regulations.<br />
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Rachel Carson showed the world the power of the pen, and what one woman can do—to change the world.</li>
<li>Dr. Jane Goodall, the world’s foremost primatologist and conservationist is my hero. She went into the jungles of Africa (Gombe National Park, Tanzania) to study wild chimpanzees in 1960. Her research and books changed the way we looked at our next of kin. She is courageous, compassionate, and a pioneer in her field.</li>
<li>All those woman who fight against all the odds to stand up for their rights, such as Bhanwari Devi, who was gang raped by the upper-castes in a village in Rajasthan, India. She risked her life and faced social boycott to fight for justice and bring her rapists to book.</li>
</ol><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
<strong>What are the three qualities that make a changemaker successful?</strong></div><ol style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><li>A sense of passion and conviction. A sense of “I believe.”<br />
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It is when you believe in something that you find the courage to follow your convictions, in spite of the odds.<br />
<br />
When I started to write—I worked for a national newspaper writing about films, shopping, fashion, and theater—about wildlife and conservation issues, the editor scoffed. “Nobody would read that stuff,” he said. “Do it in your own time, with your own resources.”<br />
<br />
There was little room for the environment in the popular press then, but I persisted. I thought of new ways to present a story and packaged it well. I got meaty stuff: I essentially gave the editor little choice. The stories made it to page one, and the editor of a rival daily said they now had to employ an environment reporter too.</li>
<li>You have to empower other people to recognize their skills and expertise, to tap it—encourage it. Knowledge is meant to be shared, not locked in or used for personal glory.</li>
<li>A vision. And ways to work out things . . . any which way.</li>
</ol><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
<strong>What has made you successful in your work? What specific strategies or tactics did you employ?</strong><br />
I haven’t—consciously—employed any particular strategies in my work. There aren’t set formulas for success except hard work and that little “extra” something that you put in.<br />
<br />
I have some mantras I go by: I never give up. In my line of work—conservation—there are many failures. In times of despair, I liken it to that of an onco-surgeon: you do your bit, and you might delay the inevitable, but more often than not you lose the battle—the cancer of greed will ravage the forest.<br />
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Even if you lobby and campaign against a road that is cutting into tiger habitat—it may happen, but it’s a murky battle. You are up against big business and politicians—there are powerful lobbies at work.<br />
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But you don’t give up . . . you battle on. Because somewhere, sometimes, and without even knowing it, you will have made a difference. And that one success that you achieved makes it worthwhile.<br />
<br />
For example, an issue that I raised about frontline staff not getting wages in a tiger reserve resulted—eventually—in funds being released for the reserve. I was the first journalist to go into Simlipal Tiger Reserve in Orissa (no official had been in either) after it was attacked by Naxals, and to draw attention to it. That was followed up by the efforts of a lot of other people that resulted in the park being taken up us a special initiative by the central government. Today, despite many problems, the park has seen some positive changes.<br />
<br />
One of my stories that focused on tourism infrastructure was the impetus for a survey around tiger reserves to study the impact of tourism on tigers and their habitat. Now there are guidelines and rules for tourism around wildlife habitats.<br />
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This is what makes it all worthwhile: the small changes that you can help make. And it’s not just a concrete action—it’s also in the way of thinking.<br />
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The cause is greater than the self.<br />
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Work with others and work as a team. Sure, there will be differences and divergent viewpoints, but strength lies in unity.<br />
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If a story makes an impact, or you can lobby successfully, it is always a collective effort—a local organization provides information, the staff provides input and acts on the ground, an NGO or an official will take your story further, a lawyer might file a PIL.<br />
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Don’t be half-hearted in your work, it gets you nowhere. Put in your best, do your best, and you cannot go wrong. You will succeed.<br />
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It’s clichéd, but it’s true: animals don’t have a voice or a vote, so I am their voice (I think from their point of view, they are my constituency). I believe that they have as much right to live, and die, in dignity as any human being does. They were born free. They should live free.<br />
<br />
<strong>Knowing what you do now, what one thing would you have done differently in your life? </strong><br />
<br />
I would have written a diary—a record of my life (such as it is!). But I get lazy by the end of the day. I get tired of the battles, so I lose putting pen to paper (again!) and capturing so many of the wonderful things I did, the places I have seen, and the people I have met.<br />
<br />
<strong>What is your superpower? Or what one superpower would you want to have? </strong><br />
<br />
My superpower? In Julie Andrews’ words: I have confidence in me! And in what I do.<br />
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And the set of values my family instilled in me.<br />
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The joy I feel when I am in the forest, at one with nature. Watching a tiger or an elephant calf at play. Listening to the sound of the stream, the robin singing its love song. Watching a rainbow streak across a sky, a leaf fall slowly on the forest floor, a squirrel making a nest. Ours is a beautiful world.<br />
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The superpower I want to have: a magic wand, I guess, to remove all suffering and peace in the world, etc.!<br />
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Seriously though, I pray to God to give me the strength to help make a difference; to stay positive when things are going wrong; to deal with the loss when we cannot make a difference.<br />
<strong><br />
What advice would you have now for your former 15-year old self? </strong><br />
As a 15-year-old, I did not know what direction my life would take. I didn’t have any elaborate plan. I just loved animals, and it was this emotive connection and a strong sense of injustice that I felt, on their behalf, that led me up this path.<br />
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I’m glad that I didn’t plan my life. I’m glad that I followed my heart, even though it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world.<br />
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In another sense, it would have been good if I had aspired for more, and realized the potential—the potential of what is possible with hard work and courage. This is something most girls need to know.<br />
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What advice? I don’t know—maybe to have used the opportunities I had, and not pass them over.<br />
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Maybe I would have told myself to have more fun. I was too serious a teen!<br />
<strong><br />
How do you envision your field to be different in 30 years? What big changes do you hope to see?</strong><br />
<br />
It’s just going to get more difficult. The threats to wildlife and pressures on their habitat are accelerating by the day with the rapidly expanding population and raised aspirations and lifestyles.<br />
<br />
Let’s take India: we have a population of 1.2 billion now and it is increasing by the second—it will be 1.6 billion by 2050. India is growing, and it wants to grow faster. Environment and wildlife are the casualties in this mad pursuit of a double-digit GDP.<br />
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For growth you need power, largely to be fueled by coal. There is a constant pressure to free forests for coal. Will we be able to withstand this pressure? The axe will fall not only on the forests, but also on communities that depend on it. And on us, because our forests are the catchment of our rivers.<br />
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Conserving forests is crucial in this era of climate change. Forests play a key role in sequestering and storing carbon.<br />
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The battle is getting more complex—more difficult. How do we marry this obsession with growth to ecological concerns. It will get more polarized by the day. How do we protect wildlife and conserve resources against this onslaught?<br />
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I don’t know about 30 years—we have to counter the tide, starting yesterday.<br />
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My hope lies in the growing army of young crusaders who feel this sense of wrong in the way we treat the planet. They are the inheritors of the earth, and they are working in myriad, wondrous ways to help heal the world. A child took up odd jobs—shoe polishing and car washing included—to donate to tiger conservation. Another has set up a website to acquaint kids her age (around ten) with environmental issues, and so on.<br />
<br />
<strong>How do you know when the time is right to act? </strong><br />
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Any time is a good time to act. The only thing I tell myself: think before you act. But sometimes you’ve got to just act. If you think too much, you won’t take the plunge (it’s like marriage, you know—if you think hard, the downside starts showing).<br />
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Don’t wait for others to act. Don’t assume it is someone else’s responsibility—the government, NGOs—whoever. You act. Your act will be the mobilizing force.<br />
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The time to act is now: from small changes (I know someone who fought relentlessly to stop the use of pesticides and to switch to neem and other herbal alternatives in their society garden), to tackling the big issues like water conservation.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong><br />
What are key elements that individuals should keep in mind as they grow as a social entrepreneur?</strong></div><ul style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><li>Have a complete, consistent commitment to your idea, and to taking that idea forward at the right moment.</li>
<li>People are the key—having the right people on board.</li>
<li>Seize opportunities.</li>
</ul><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
You need to invent new approaches to a problem. You need to impact the thinking of the people—plant a thought process, an idea. I felt the pressing need to connect the concerns of wildlife and conservation issues to the people, the policymakers, the politicians, and the bureaucrats. They had to be foremost in their minds—not relegated or classed as something that does not impact your life.<br />
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You must highlight issues—whether it is hacking a city’s green lungs, or a road cutting through elephant forests, or a mine pillaging tiger habitat and fertile fields—and bring them into the public domain.<br />
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I used the media to bring issues of conservation to the fore—to ensure that these issues have a wider and diverse audience. I used words to reach out; to tell stories that touch a chord. Media became my tool to build public opinion and to be part of a pressure lobby.<br />
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And you must keep innovating—exploring each and every opportunity to reach your goal. Currently, I have changed direction a bit. While I continue to write, I am working with governments and NGOs on conservation issues. My strategy has been modified a bit, but the goal remains.<br />
<strong><br />
What issue do you think women of the future will be working on in 50 years?</strong><br />
I don’t think they will be all that much different from what they are working on today. Women have come a long way, but the battle for personal freedom will continue.<br />
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I think one of the major issues that women will work on is preserving natural resources. Women are the hardest hit when natural resources are scarce. Though I am mainly talking about women in the rural landscape, in the future this scarcity is going to cross the rural-urban and the rich-poor divide. It will affect all of us—be it water or fuel.<br />
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I think we will have more women coming forward to work on these issues.<br />
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Woman is a nurturer, and I believe she will have a major role to play in healing the planet.<br />
<strong><br />
What have you learned from younger generations? </strong><br />
<br />
I learnt to take more risks. To—occasionally—throw caution to the winds; to be spontaneous.<br />
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One child taught me the import and impact of what one does. I used to write a nature column for children. It was just something I did, at times. It was merely a deadline to be met until I met this little boy who had stuck all my nature columns in his scrapbook, and would eagerly await the next one. We talked about why the sparrows were missing in his garden, why my dog followed me everywhere, and why tigers need to be saved.<br />
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I had planted a seed, and I never knew it.<br />
<strong><br />
What does a woman of the future look like?</strong><br />
<br />
More confident. More empowered. In more key leadership positions and governance.<br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><img align="middle" alt="Prerna Singh Bindra" height="450" src="http://resources.ashoka.org/filestore/5/9/2/5_f7fb60427bb7ce0/5925_4b1ec805d2b44cd.jpg?v=2011-03-25+15%3A23%3A36" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="300" /><br />
<em>Prerna Singh Bindra</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><em>Disclaimer: re-published from www.changemakers.com/blog</em></div></div></div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-12898119061351751762012-01-03T00:38:00.000-08:002012-01-03T00:38:45.361-08:00Mobile Gaming for Change: AN INTERVIEW WITH HILMI QURAISHI<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><img alt="" src="http://cdn.changemakers.com/sites/default/files/gamer.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" /><br />
<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jackol/2118026914/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323;">via jackol</span></a></span></em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Recently, Changemakers <a href="http://www.changemakers.com/blog/innovating-toward-healthier-world" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323;">reported</span></a> on innovations in health, including Hilmi Quraishi’s mobile phone games that give teens points for knowing more about HIV/AIDS and prevention. Changemakers sat down with Quraishi to discuss his work founding and leading <a href="http://www.zmqsoft.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323;">ZMQ Software Systems</span></a>, which has created dozens of games and technology solutions for the social sector, including ones that raise awareness about climate change and that address the UN’s Millennium goals, such as sanitation, clean water, and children’s health. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div><strong>Changemakers: What was the idea behind ZMQ?</strong></div><div> </div><div><strong>Quraishi:</strong> ZMQ is almost 10 years old now. Around 2004 or 2005, India was experiencing an epidemic of HIV/AIDS. It was a huge issue then, and still is in both India and the developing world. In our search for how to reach people with information about the disease, we started developing mobile-based games on HIV/AIDS. </div><div> </div><div>We realized that popular games, like cricket or Who Wants to be Millionaire, could be converted into simple, user-friendly mobile games that also carried messages about HIV/AIDS facts and prevention. The games were done in 16 different languages spoken in India (including Hindi and other regional languages). </div><div> </div><div>Later on, we were able to partner with a popular mobile operator, Reliance, to have these games distributed for free to all their subscribers. We made it free, because our intent was to create mass awareness of a very serious health issue. After three years, we were reaching almost 42 million handsets.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Changemakers: How did you expand into Africa?</strong></div><div> </div><div><strong>Quraishi:</strong> After our initial success, we replicated the model from India in East Africa — Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The games also dealt with HIV/AIDS awareness, and the project was a big hit there as well. </div><div> </div><div>Since then, we have used mobile games (offered either at a very low cost or for free) as a medium of communication, and today we are a part of a number of government and social sector campaigns in India and Africa, including government campaigns dealing with tuberculosis, family planning, climate change, maternal health, child health, pollution, and hygiene. </div><div> </div><div>We are now able to reach almost 115 million people with our various campaigns; these games can be played not only in India and East Africa, but also in West Africa, Mali, and Senegal. </div><div> </div><div><strong>Changemakers: Can you share a bit more about how these games work to spread awareness? What’s an example of a way that a game can be used to generate meaningful change?</strong></div><div> </div><div><strong>Quraishi:</strong> Games embedded with messages are one way of really bombarding people with information about HIV/AIDS. We track the scores earned by users and their gaming behavior to determine whether the games have successfully changed their level of awareness. </div><div> </div><div>In terms of the how the games work, some games are simple and fast, but addictive. These attract novice users. Other popular games like cricket, available on mobiles in India, or football for Africa, have strategic messaging connected to each of the user’s actions. In the cricket game, scoring a run also gets you a message about how you can prevent HIV/AIDS. </div><div> </div><div>We even have roleplaying games that highlight decision-making and real-life learning. For example, a player might take on the character of a girl coming from a village to the city. Maybe she meets her cousins and invites them to go to a party, et cetera. Through the game, we can invite the user to roleplay decision-making in situations they might encounter in the real world.</div><div> </div><div>And then through the mobile games, we are able to create and map what I call “virtual behavior change.” At the beginning of each game, the user must first answer a questionnaire with 5 yes-or-no questions on, for example, HIV/AIDS. Once you’ve play the game 10 times (or for a month), we are able to see how your answers have changed — whether you’ve gotten more questions right, etcetera.</div><div> </div><div>It’s virtual learning. It’s difficult to gauge how a person would behave in real life, but in terms of knowledge, users do get information that makes them more aware, and the games do combat ignorance. It’s the first step to making positive behavioral changes.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Changemakers: Are there other ways that mobile technology can be used to deliver the information that people need? </strong></div><div> </div><div><strong>Quraishi: </strong>Mobile applications are a new opportunity. For example, we are running a campaign in India targeting women who are expectant mothers. With support from the Ministry of Health, all expectant mothers who are mobile users and registered with the government health program will be getting messages on a weekly basis about the “dos and don’ts” of pregnancy, such as nutrition, medicine, and tests. </div><div> </div><div>We also give them a very small graphical image of the baby growing inside on a weekly basis. It is another mode of giving information, where the majority of our content is basically in iconic language. You can download audio narration, because 80 to 85 percent of women in the villages are either illiterate or semi-literate. So icons can be very powerful tools to provide information on critical health issues. </div><div> </div><div><strong>Changemakers: What exciting changes are you seeing on the horizon or do you feel need to happen in the citizen media space?</strong></div><div> </div><div><strong>Quraishi:</strong> Citizen media is a very powerful tool, although its usage has come under scrutiny. At the moment, we are seeing this as something very positive, but whether it could be used for something negative is uncertain. At this moment its power is that it can change anything in one instant — as happened in Morocco, Egypt, and also in Libya.</div><div> </div><div>Mobile phones can really change the system. We’re also working on another game to help make people aware of the election process and their rights. It’s just a pilot on a district scale at the moment, but we are working on getting 75 ministers of India to participate to in a public-polling iniatitive. The game allows people to vote on the ministers’ performance. We also have a specialized campaign for women to encourage those in rural areas to vote from their homes using the mobile phones.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Changemakers: Thanks so much taking the time to speak. Do you have any final thoughts or hopes for our Citizen Media competition?</strong></div><div> </div><div><strong>Quraishi:</strong> Citizen Media has huge potential. The Changemakers competition is going to surface a lot of newcomers – all new innovations happen basically at the lower end, by start-ups, so I am sure it will be a very good launching pad for those who are doing very innovative work which may not have been noticed yet. So this platform will be the chance for start-ups to debut their citizen media ideas and innovations in a global forum. </div></div></div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-13315439232833217732012-01-02T02:46:00.000-08:002012-01-02T02:46:47.650-08:00Success Requires the Participation of Women<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"></div><div class="user-avatar-30" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://cdn.changemakers.com/sites/all/themes/cm2/images/default-avatar-small.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; font-size: 11px; height: 30px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 6px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 30px;"><img alt="Changemakers Blogger" class="imagecache imagecache-changemakers_thumb" height="30" src="http://www.changemakers.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/changemakers_thumb/pictures/picture-145352.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976563) 1px 1px 5px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(236, 236, 236); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-color: rgb(236, 236, 236); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(236, 236, 236); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(236, 236, 236); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976563) 1px 1px 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px;" title="Changemakers Blogger" width="30" /></div><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">by </span><span class="bold" style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://www.changemakers.com/users/changemakers-blogger" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" title="View user profile.">Changemakers Blogger</a></span> <br />
<div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><em>Chetna Sinha<strong> </strong></em><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><em>was honored as an Ashoka ChangemakeHER, Changemakers's inaugural celebration of the world's most influentual and inspiring women. Find her fellow honorees' voices <a href="http://www.changemakers.com/blog/changemakehers" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></span></span></span></i></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><em><br />
</em></span></span></span></i></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><em>.</em></span></span></span></i><img alt="" src="http://resources.ashoka.org/filestore/5/9/5/1_169d90cf2317b22/5951_755c6d33a6c8779.jpg?v=2011-03-30+17%3A40%3A57" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" /></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em><strong>Chetna Sinha</strong> founded the </em><a href="http://www.manndeshi.org/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em>Woman’s bank, Mann Deshi Mahila Sahkari</em></a><em>, a micro finance institution that makes loans to women in rural areas. To date, the bank has served more than 27,000 women and enabled more than 40,000 families to buy homes.</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: silver;">★★★</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>When you started Mann Deshi bank, what strategies did you use to build its success?</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">When I first went to Bombay to submit applications for loans to women, the license was denied on the grounds that they were illiterate. I was so shocked and nervous, but the women had so much energy and passion.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">They just said, “So what? We will learn to read and write.” Their courage captured me. So we came together for classes to read and write for more than three months.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Then, when I was setting up the bank, one of our many ideas for different products was a small savings box. Without asking any of the women, we ordered 5,000 boxes.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The women told us, “It’s my hard earned money that I save by not buying another biscuit for my child. If I keep it in this, my husband will come and break it, and just take it!”</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">So I learned many times that I have to involve the women in the process. It was also clear that it’s not just about finance or savings, but about giving women control over their assets.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Would you have done anything differently?</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Oh yes, I would have done many things differently. It took us six years to understand that it’s not just about providing finance and services, but that you also have to start a business school for women.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">For example, after eight years of banking with us, a woman who had been selling milk from buffalos came to us to request grant money for her own paper cup business. Her business became so successful that she was given an award by the Prime Minister. She became a role model for other women who then started asking us what type of businesses they could also start.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Anything else?</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Yes, I feel strongly that what we do is very different. We’re providing regular banking services, but the services our women wanted were very different from what’s usual.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">For example, we had to design a savings and loan product that dealt with the fact that many women could not afford to come to the bank. So, with the use of technology, we started providing doorstep banking. And through our business school, we used technology to design a special classroom on wheels. It goes from village to village, so women can get training on many topics including computer skills. I’m very proud that many of them didn’t just go to any job after graduating – they actually started their own business.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>A lighthearted question: what advice would you give to your 15 year old self?</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">(Laughs) – very interesting. I would say: always question the status quo. Mann Deshi started by focusing on girls who are between 13 and 15 years old, but we saw that the institutions like schools were already setting their behavior pattern. We found that they had already become very shy – they would not look in to your eyes – they would get scared – and as a result we found that we cannot be as effective at that age.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">So we started a new program called Mann Deshi Champions that targets girls ages 8 and 9. We wanted girls to play basketball, football, and volleyball. So, if I had to give advice to myself at 15, it would be that these are the sports through which you get confidence.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Mann Deshi is the first institution that provided girls bicycles so they could go to school. This gave them the right to have the freedom to get higher education. I believe this is an important life freedom for them. So, I would say, don’t miss any opportunity to pursue your freedom.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Do you have any final parting reflections?</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I would like to share the experience of how we started our bicycle project. A young girl came to us who had just ended the 7th grade and was beginning her 8th grade. She said, “I want to work during my summer break for two months.”</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Everyone was surprised and asked, “why?”</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">She said, “because the school in my town ends at 7th grade, and because of the distance, I can’t continue unless I get a bike.”</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Since that young girl first came to us, helping us understand the need for bikes. Maneshi has now been able to provide more that 5,200 bicycles to schools. If we listen to girls, I do believe we’ll be able to create the changes this world needs.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: silver;">★★★</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"><em>An economist, farmer and activist, Chetna Gala Sinha was born in Mumbai. In the 1970s she was active in the Jayprakash Narayan student movement through which she worked intensively with rural and marginalized communities. After her marriage to a farmer and rights activist in the Mahaswad area, in Maharashtra (India), she decided to pursue a career in farming. This was when Chetna experienced, firsthand, the challenges faced by rural women—lack of access to financial services leading to debt. The design and development of the Mann Deshi Mahila bank idea has emerged organically from her personal life trajectories. Chetna was awarded the 2005 Janakidevi Bajaj Puruskar for rural entrepreneurs and was selected for the first class of Yale University’s World Fellows Program in 2002–03.</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><em><img alt="" src="http://resources.ashoka.org/filestore/5/9/5/3_32cd9a0504c2ace/5953_25de32d466f1134.jpg?v=2011-03-30+17%3A43%3A43" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" /></em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><em>Disclaimer: Reproduced from www.changemakers.com/blog. Could be re-published with due credit to Ashoka Changemakers. </em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><em><br />
</em></div></div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-18694486599488239282011-12-31T05:16:00.000-08:002011-12-31T05:16:51.309-08:00Women Stuck in Poverty in Asia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><img alt="" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5098/5535740988_065f8bd06a_z.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" /></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em>[</em><em>Editor's note: This article was written by Aisha O'brien and was originally featured on</em><em> </em><a href="http://www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights/blog/women-stuck-in-poverty-asia/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em>Care2.com</em></a><em>.]</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Despite an economy in recovery, women workers in Asia still face a life of poverty and exploitation because of prejudice, according to <a href="http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/news/report-asian-women-workers-risk-persistent-vulnerability-poverty-and-exploitation" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a new report</a> by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Asian Development Bank (ADB).</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Women face discrimination when trying to get better jobs or more pay. This is due in large part to cultural norms and lack of governmental investment. Women continue to remain at the lowest rung in unstable industries.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">This ceiling is much more brick-like than glass, and it has serious consequences for their economies.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Enormous economic losses for the region</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The ILO and ADB also report that the Asia Pacific region loses $24 billion to $47 billion a year because of limited opportunities for women as well as a loss of $16 to $30 billion because of the gap in education.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Asia's female labor force accounts for around 734 million women. That's a lot of missed opportunity.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The solution, of course, is to better educate women, allow more business opportunity, and fundamentally change the way cultures view working women. Although this report is disheartening, there are other places these ideas are working.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">NigeriaThe Southeastern region of Nigeria is experiencing a boon in the education of young girls. In 1999, 115 million girls were out of school. According to recent numbers, in 2008, 67 million girls were out of school - a 42 percent decrease.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">This, in spite of the fact that the region has received the least amount of government aid. So why the change? According to the <a href="http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=33411" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Nigeria Country Directory of Ipas, Dr. Ejike Oji, in the Daily Independent</a>, "It has to do with the cultural orientation of the predominantly Igbo-speaking group people."</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The change in cultural dynamics has reduced poverty by 50 percent across the region, according to Oji.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Nicaragua</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">In the small town El Carizal, work is often temporary, seasonal, and available only to men.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Even so, small group of women is making solid headway, <a href="http://www.hispanicla.com/nicaraguan-women-challenge-unemployment-and-poverty-19794" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">according to an article in Hispanic LA</a>.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Despite a momentary boom in the economy due to CBS's Survivor filming, women still find it hard to work and make enough money. However, while "the men" were working, women in the area started more long-term projects, like the Condiments Carizal Co-Op.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">The Co-Op is made up of 10 grandmothers and mothers who decided to become entrepreneurs in their community, selling organic, home-made jam.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">With the help of American investors, these women were able to learn about the jam-making process and to boost the effectiveness of their new business. Their five most popular flavors are mango, passion fruit, dragon fruit, pineapple and tamarind. You'd be hard pressed to find these flavors at your local super shopper.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">But you might. One of the women, Ilicia, 69, says she hopes the jam can be shipped overseas. Tim Kelly, an initial investor, thinks Americans may see their jams on the local grocery shelves in one to two years.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/apochromatic/5535740988/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Alexandre Roschewitz (cc)</a></span></em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em><br />
</em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em>*Reproduced from www.changemakers.com/blog</em></div></div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-6017211716350362542011-12-15T01:12:00.000-08:002011-12-15T01:25:19.751-08:00Voice of Chhattisgarh: A CGNet Swara Origin Story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Re-produced from: <b>www.changemakers.com</b></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Post written by: <b>John Converse Townsend</b></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<img src="http://cdn.changemakers.com/sites/default/files/swara.jpg" /></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The citizen media movement is built on one key premise: <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Everyone </em>deserves to be heard. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">However, freedom of expression is often limited by a lack of access to the press; too often, expression is a right exercised only by those in power. <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=a-5Dz7FnaYMC&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=judith+lichtenberg+%22no+money,+no+voice%22&source=bl&ots=cS2PDi8Zj9&sig=g7NjssBexzwH870mtvmYhpFjrOk&hl=en&ei=UGafTvO6KsT20gGw062jBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #cc4400; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #f05323; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">No money? No voice.</span></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">But thanks to a free voice-based portal accessible by even the simplest mobile phones, even those citizens living on just a few dollars each day can report and discuss the top news stories in their region. The project democratizes media by enabling marginalized communities to manage their own content.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">This is particularly important in areas of rural India where, in many cases, half of the population is illiterate, offline, isolated, and at the mercy of the mainstream media’s <a href="http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/forums/spinners_bloggers.htm" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #cc4400; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #f05323; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">top-down power</span></em></a> — and spin.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">“You can call it information poverty, but you can also call it being held hostage,” Arjun Venkatraman said. “Because it’s information that you don’t have, but that someone else does.”</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Venkatraman is a social entrepreneur with a history of “architecting bleeding-edge, tactical IT solutions into enterprise IT projects.” In layman’s terms, Venkatraman is no stranger to technology. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">He’s a young man dedicated to giving rural communities access to information by connecting them to the Web. He’s also a technology and strategy advisor for the Indian social enterprise <a href="http://www.changemakers.com/citizenmedia/entries/new-entry-135" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #cc4400; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #f05323; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">CGNet Swara</span></a>, an entrant in the Changemakers <a href="http://www.changemakers.com/citizenmedia" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #cc4400; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #f05323; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Citizen Media</span></a> competition, supported by Google. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">CGNet Swara was founded in 2004 by Shubhranshu “Shu” Choudhary, Venkatraman’s stepfather. Choudhary is a Knight International Journalism Fellow with decades of experience in the field of journalism, having worked as a TV and radio producer for BBC Asia, a reporter for <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Guardian</em>’s South Asia bureau, and a reporter for the Hindi-language <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Daily Deshbandhu</em>. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">It wasn’t until Choudhary returned to his small home town of Manendragarh in Chhattisgarh, a primarily rural, underserved tribal Indian state, that he had the revelation that led him to social action. He discovered that his old classmates had become Maoists (<a href="http://cgnetswara.org/about.html#overview" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #cc4400; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #f05323; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">exploited</span></a> and influenced by the ongoing insurgency) not because of political or ideological issues, but because of a lack of transparency in communications and an insufficient citizen media infrastructure. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">As Venkatraman pointed out, these issues are not a just a Chhattisgarhi phenomenon:</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">“There are nearly <a href="http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/6958" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #cc4400; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #f05323; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">90 million</span></a> tribal people living in India whose languages are varied, but none are mainstream. There is no media in these languages, and very few administrative organizations understand the needs of this population.”</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">No money, no voice. Choudhary wanted to change that. He wanted to bridge dialogue between India’s top ten percent and the rest of the population. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Naturally, he turned to the Internet—only to realize that the Web reaches only about <a href="http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=it_net_user&idim=country:IND&dl=en&hl=en&q=internet+penetration+india" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #cc4400; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #f05323; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">five percent</span></a> of India’s citizens. Community radio wasn’t really a possibility, either, in part because law restricts its practice, but mostly because it’s much too expensive for people living on less than one dollar a day.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">“Indian law restricts community radio quite seriously,” Venkatraman said. “You can only use your liberty to buy equipment from specific government-approved manufacturers, it’s extremely costly to set up, and the amount of coverage you get for your high-investment radio station is about 15 kilometers. So, for five lakh rupees (about $10,000), you get about 15 kilometers of coverage.”</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Choudhary then turned to a tool that the renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs called the “the single most transformative technology for development”: the mobile phone.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">“Given that radio was out of the question, he looked at mobile as the next option, because it’s the next most ubiquitous thing that’s with everybody now. The mobile population in India is insane; it’s about 850 million users.” </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Choudhary teamed up with a group of MIT students who developed an open source, voice-based citizen media portal, <a href="http://groups.csail.mit.edu/commit/papers/08/kotkar-hci08.pdf" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #cc4400; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #f05323; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Audio Wiki</span></a>. Audio Wiki is a system powered by the mobile phone, easily accessible to the illiterate and capable of publishing user-generated content from just about anywhere. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The customized tech solution became the basis for the CGNet Swara release, which was tested in a training session with a pilot group of more than 30 citizen journalists in Chhattisgarh. It was a hit. Within a year, CGNet Swara began to support an average of more than 2,000 users each week.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Using the service is as easy as one, two, three. Members of the citizen media, tipsters, and callers phone into the CGNet Swara system. An automated operator then prompts callers to press either “1” to record a new message, or “2” to listen to messages that have already been recorded. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">After callers record their message from the field, a professionally-trained journalist accesses the system via Web-based interface to review and verify each report. Approved news reports are made available for playback over the phone or online on the CGNet Swara website, where transcripts and summaries of the stories are provided and translated from local tribal languages. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">News reports and tips are varied, ranging from infrastructure failures, government corruption issues that affect public health (like doctors making outrageous money demands), to human rights violations. CGNet Swara was the first news source to break news of a Maoist offensive in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, where forces burnt down almost 300 homes and granaries, sexually assaulted three tribal women, and killed at least three men.</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Venkatraman himself shared a few anecdotes about violations of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, India’s flagship rural development scheme that guarantees rural adults 100 days of unskilled manual labor at minimum wage. He reported instances where dead men received wages, while some living laborers were denied their fair share. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Venkatraman said these reports don’t go unnoticed: “We know that both The Hindu and the Hindustan Times services pick up tips from CGNet Swara because we keep phone records. We know who’s calling.”</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">In addition to its technical service, CGNet Swara and local grassroots organizations collaborate to host training programs with members of the community. Venkatraman points to these sessions as one of the major reasons CGNet Swara has been so successful. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">Budding citizen activists learn the basics of journalism, as well as technical skills like audio editing and mobile phone navigation for first-time users. The five-day in-house training programs culminate with participants being assigned to complete a field report and produce a radio program. </div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;">CGNet Swara is a powerful tool, and one that continues to elevate the voices of India’s people: the first step in bridging the divide between the haves and have-nots.<br />
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</div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
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</span></span></div></div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-76337584450316493462011-12-14T01:45:00.000-08:002011-12-14T01:45:02.239-08:00“Telling a Story is a Form of Activism” - INTERVIEW WITH NAVEEN NAQVI<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Changemakers recently sat down with <a href="http://www.changemakers.com/users/naveen-naqvi" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323;">Naveen Naqvi</span></a>, co-founder and executive director of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Gawaahi" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323;">Gawaahi</span></a>, to discuss her work in Pakistan’s turbulent and often violent environment, where she uses citizen media as a tool for political engagement and raising public awareness. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Gawaahi, which means “witnessing” in Urdu, is a Pakistan-based citizen-sector organization that produces digital stories of survival and resistance. Through its online platform, Gawaahi shares stories about women's human rights, child sex abuse, unfair labor practices, and religious persecution. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">With a background in journalism, Naqvi was previously the senior anchor and morning news presenter at DawnNews, Pakistan's first English-language channel. Before that, she was a producer for NBC News and online contributor for MSNBC.com. Naqvi is serving as an expert commentator for the<a href="http://www.changemakers.com/citizenmedia" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323;">Citizen Media</span></a> competition.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Changemakers: Can you tell us about how Gawaahi was started? </strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Naqvi:</strong> Our first project was the website Gawaahi.com. The co-founder and I wanted to create a platform that was crowdsourced, but not news-based; that was the basic idea behind it. Now, as you know, every idea needs fuel to get it going. So we had grants from <a href="http://www.takebackthetech.net/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323;">Take Back the Tech</span></a>, the <a href="http://pasha.org.pk/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323;">Pakistan Software Houses Association</span></a>, <a href="http://www.voicesforall.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323;">Voices for All</span></a>, and Deutsche Welle, the German media house. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">With these grants, we created this site to publish our own videos and blog about sexual abuse, minority rights, and women’s human rights in Pakistan. We started with a stockpile of videos and blogs like that, and then we started talking to people. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">We used Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites to call for submissions on human rights issues. We went on television, on the radio, and we were also covered in print. We told survivors that we would protect their anonymity, and so many of our readers and followers become contributors as well.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><object height="390" style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 390px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; width: 640px;" width="640"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SP9xfltBbbk?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Gawaahi’s video series, My Pakistan, featured young, everyday Pakistanis speaking out about their vision for their country.</span></em></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Changemakers: How does storytelling translate later into activism?</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Naqvi:</strong> I think that just telling a story is a form of activism because you are speaking out. Once you have spoken out or emerged in a virtual reality, I believe you can then bring that activism into more mainstream or conventional modes, such as street activism.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">We started with telling stories of child abuse. First we had our own stories — I have my own story in there as well. We used an innovative, multimedia medium of slide shows so that a person could maintain anonymity and still tell a compelling story through the use of photographs and audio. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; width: 550px;"><table border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 550px;"><tbody style="border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: initial;">
<tr><td style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" width="40"> </td><td style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><hr style="border-bottom-color: gray; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-color: gray; border-left-style: solid; border-right-color: gray; border-right-style: solid; border-top-color: gray; border-top-style: solid; height: 1px;" /><b>"Ordinary Pakistanis are desperate for the world to understand what it is that they go through every single day. They really want a more sympathetic audience than they feel they have."</b><br />
<hr style="border-bottom-color: gray; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-color: gray; border-left-style: solid; border-right-color: gray; border-right-style: solid; border-top-color: gray; border-top-style: solid; height: 1px;" /></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">What I think that this did for a lot of people was that it encouraged them to come forward. A lot of survivors came to tell their stories through us. We discovered later — through their comments, email, or their work for Gawaahi later on — that they were visiting other sites dedicated to preventing child abuse, or volunteering for NGOs that did this kind of work. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Changemakers: On the global stage, we’ve seen how Pakistan is still experiencing waves of violence, including a suicide bombing that occurred earlier today. Has Gawaahi engaged its audience to address this violence?</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Naqvi:</strong> Gaawahi’s advocacy campaigns that relate to religious persecution, for instance, work towards increasing tolerance in a society that is becoming more and more radicalized ever since September 11 and the militarization of the region.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">And our most popular videos were the My Pakistan montages, a project that was aimed at getting young Pakistanis to think politically. We talked to kids from private schools, government schools, and universities. And we asked them what kind of Pakistan they wanted, what they thought of Pakistan as it was now. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I think it made the students feel that their voices mattered. It made them think politically. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">For viewers, it showed that Pakistani kids had dreams just like kids anywhere else. For me, it revealed how traumatized kids are by the violence that surrounds them. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; width: 550px;"><table border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 550px;"><tbody style="border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: initial;">
<tr><td style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" width="40"> </td><td style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><hr style="border-bottom-color: gray; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-color: gray; border-left-style: solid; border-right-color: gray; border-right-style: solid; border-top-color: gray; border-top-style: solid; height: 1px;" /><b>"Pakistan has been declared to be the most dangerous place in the world for journalists."</b><br />
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</tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">If someone had asked me the question, “What does Pakistan mean to you, and what do you want for Pakistan?” when I was at school, I would definitely not have said that I want a Pakistan where I’m not fearing a bomb blast every day.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Ordinary Pakistanis are desperate for the world to understand what it is that they go through every single day. They really want a more sympathetic audience than they feel they have. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Changemakers: In your view, what are the biggest challenges today for media in Pakistan? </strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Naqvi:</strong> The biggest challenge for the media in Pakistan right now, the most urgent issue, is the security of journalists. As you may know, Pakistan has been declared to be the most dangerous place in the world for journalists.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">This is because of the recent killings of reporters who were exploring questions against the powerful military establishment, for instance, or the mafias of Karachi. Those killings have not gotten the kind of legal attention that was needed. This gives rise to more insecurity for journalists. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">It’s like a cycle where journalists start living in fear, and they become more insecure. However, it becomes more important to report on these kinds of incidents, because perhaps it would keep some kind of check and balance in place, which seems to be missing at the moment. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">And there is of course the reporting from gun battles, like those that take place in Karachi every day. I know people who are reporters that I follower on Twitter who are right there in the middle of it, working in those conditions. So that for me, is the biggest challenge for the media right now – their own security.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Apart from that, for online journalists, the arbitrary banning of sites by the government is a problem.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Print is facing similar problems here as elsewhere in the world, with more and more people focusing on television here in Pakistan. At the same time, I’ll say that there are papers opening up shop here, so that’s a very interesting phenomenon.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Changemakers: What are the most promising trends or tools in </strong><strong>on the horizon of </strong><strong>Pakistan’s media space? What does the future of media in Pakistan look like?</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Naqvi:</strong> Pakistanis are really looking at the new media right now as something they want to explore. They are very excited about it. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube – it’s unimaginable the world that these sites have created for ordinary people to tell their stories. Pakistan has about five million Facebook users. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I, for obvious reasons, am deeply invested in online media. For Gawaahi, we wouldn’t be anything if we didn’t have the Internet behind our communication technology. While online journalism has a precarious position in Pakistan, I do believe that the future is very, very bright there. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">And I don’t think I’m the only one. Very recently in Karachi, we held the first social media summit of Pakistan, which was organized by the U.S. consulate and a whole bunch of other corporations. They clearly believed that it was worth the effort to bring together all of the prominent bloggers, microbloggers, tweeters, and so on to come together and engage in dialogue and workshops. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">In addition, mobile technology is an untapped tool with great potential in Pakistan, where 65 percent of the population owns a mobile phone. So that’s another additional medium that has great power and influence. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Changemakers: Finally, do you have any advice for growing social innovators in citizen media?</strong></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><strong>Naqvi:</strong> I would say: find a plan that works for you. Gawaahi is a testament to how amazing social innovation is right now, and how much can be done through the use of social media and the new media. We created Gawaahi.com in a hostile environment, at a time when spaces to challenge injustice were shrinking. </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">We created something that we thought would give a platform to people that were working against those norms that were emerging in our society, and that were completely alien to us. We created this platform for those voices to come together and have some dialogue. So for you, you should do what works for you, in your context. Don’t be afraid. And let your project grow to follow its organic evolution.</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Written by: Kristie Wang</span></div><div style="background-color: #fafbf6; color: #483f30; line-height: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">Re-produced from: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.changemakers.com/blog/%E2%80%9Ctelling-story-form-activism%E2%80%9D-interview-naveen-naqvi" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">http://www.changemakers.com/</a>blog </span></span></div></div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-68725804571073078692011-12-13T00:52:00.000-08:002011-12-13T00:52:35.134-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 28px;">Solutions in Health Crossing Borders</span></div>
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<em><strong>Editor's note: </strong>This post was written by Chloe Feinberg, Health Specialist for Knowledge and Learning at Ashoka Changemakers.</em></div>
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It’s time to look at health challenges through a new lens. In the Ashoka Changemakers <a href="http://www.changemakers.com/morehealth" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323;">Innovations for Health: Solutions that Cross Borders</span></a> competition, we are looking for solutions that work in your region — and that will work in other countries, too. </div>
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No two countries, beneficiary groups, or innovative models are exactly alike. But we are seeing the lines blur between health challenges faced in both developed and developing countries, and in rural and urban areas. </div>
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Throughout the world, pressure on national health systems is increasing as populations grow, people live longer, and individuals moving into the middle class have more money to pay for health care. At the same time, the burden of diseases is spreading globally. </div>
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For example, consider two women: one lives in rural India, and the other in urban New York City. Both have been diagnosed with diabetes. Traditionally, these two women would be regarded quite differently. Certainly, the causes of their diabetes are likely to differ significantly. And their treatment and management will also vary significantly. </div>
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But both women suffer the same condition, so there may be ways that the health systems in their countries can learn from each other. What innovative approach from India can be adapted and applied in New York City? And vice versa? </div>
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There are many intersection points where innovation can occur, including diagnosis, treatment, treatment adherence, social marketing about the disease, prevention, affordability and financial access, patient empowerment, and the mental health aspects of chronic disease. Why couldn’t the innovations that exist around the world travel across the world where they can be adapted and applied locally? </div>
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The same story can be told over and over again across geographies. Dental health is another great example. Where are the innovations for encouraging better dental hygiene within communities, or for creating access to dental health where it did not exist before? What innovative processes within these models can be repackaged and applied elsewhere? </div>
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Health challenges are similar throughout the world, although they present themselves in different ways. Health care is too costly, both for governments and individuals, and there isn’t enough of it; the doctor-patient ratio in most countries in the world is too low to allow everyone to access to a physician; preventative health is often overlooked and creates great long-term health challenges down the line. These are stories are common all over the world. </div>
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So rather than focusing on solutions in a single locality, this completion looks at innovation through a different lens and asks, <em>Where else can this work? Who else could benefit from this process? What other populations or patient-types could use this type of model?</em> These are the questions we look forward to exploring with you in the solutions submitted to the <a href="http://www.changemakers.com/morehealth" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(72, 63, 48); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #483f30; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f05323;">Innovations for Health</span></a> online competition.</div>
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Disclaimer: Re-produced from www.changemakers.com/blog</div>
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</div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-39478191883525932652011-12-12T03:24:00.000-08:002011-12-12T03:24:09.651-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Can Citizen Media and Mainstream Media work together?</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Social media has played a critical role in citizen movements
and protests in the middle east and elsewhere. Governments and regimes known to
suppress media freedom and citizens’ rights are being forced to take heed of
these protestors and activists. Factors such as social media, increased
internet penetration, increased popularity of smart phones have enabled
ordinary citizens to express themselves and use these tools as a platform to
voice their opinions. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But how has this phenomenon influenced mainstream media
reporting and coverage? Ashoka Changemakers organized a twitter chat on #CITIZENMEDIA
for their Asia Community to discuss the relationship of citizen media and
mainstream media especially in areas impacted by protests and crisis. The chat
saw innovators, citizen journalists, online activists, content-creators, communicators
and media professionals coming together debating and discussing the many
aspects of the relationship between citizen media and mainstream media.
Finalists of Ashoka Changemakers Citizen media competition which is supported
by Google also took part in the twitter chat. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some highlights of the twitter chat:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/_sanj">Sanjana</a> from
Bangalore, India was of the opinion: “Mainstream media has no other choice but
to wake up, acknowledge it, and proactively collaborate. Citizen media is an
extremely powerful way of challenging the hegemonies of power.”</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/Bell_Bajao">Bell Bajao</a>, a
campaign by Breakthrough, a human rights organization, to bring domestic
violence and all violence against women to a halt was part of the twitter chat.
“Constant activity, participation, engagement has been show to get mainstream
media attention, for example in Egypt, but people have to participate and be
active.”</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/koustubh_sharma">Koustubh
Sharma</a> said “If citizen media increases its reach mainstream media will
follow. At the end of the day, issues that stir citizens make it high on
mainstream media on their own and are now catalyzed by citizen media”.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Follow the twitter chat by following the hashtag #socentchat
on twitter. To find out more about the citizen media competition by Ashoka
Changemakers and Google <a href="http://www.changemakers.com/citizenmedia">click
here</a>. </span></div>
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</div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5020482281232562193.post-11865207925315717062011-12-12T02:27:00.000-08:002011-12-12T02:27:01.402-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Social entrepreneurship? What’s that? </span><span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">You
don’t hear that question asked very often in 2011, about 40 years after Bill
Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka, first coined the phrase. Social
entrepreneurship has grown from a promising notion into a global empathetic
movement for social change powered by individuals. </span></div>
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<span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">Ashoka believes in an “</span><a href="https://mail.ashoka.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=1c49a36199fe4db9aeebdee78a4be2f8&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ashoka.org%2fvisionmission" target="_blank"><span class="Hyperlink__Char"><span class="Hyperlink__Char" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri, Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Everyone a Changemaker</span></span></a><span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">” </span><span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">world; one in which all persons can—and<span class="Normal__Char" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;"> do—</span>respond quickly and effectively to social
challenges. And that’s where the Ashoka Changemakers program comes in.
</span><span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">Changemakers has developed a </span><a href="https://mail.ashoka.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=1c49a36199fe4db9aeebdee78a4be2f8&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.changemakers.com%2fabout%2fchangemakers" target="_blank"><span class="Hyperlink__Char"><span class="Hyperlink__Char" style="color: black; font-family: Calibri, Arial; font-size: 11pt;">fast track for social change</span></span></a><span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">,
catapulting innovative ideas from the first spark of inspiration into action,
from action into measurable success, and from success into system-changing
solutions. </span></div>
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<span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">Changemakers started small and looked entirely different back
in 1993, when it first launched as Ashoka’s quarterly print magazine, chock-full
of impact stories. Five short years later, Changemakers joined the dot com boom
with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, transforming its print pages to
Web pages; in 1999, <span class="Normal__Char" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">USA Today </span>recognized Changemakers as a “Hot Site.”
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<span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">Changemakers launched its first online collaborative
competition in 2002, and over the next decade, Changemakers has hosted about 50
competitions, attracted more than 10,000 entries from 125 countries, and
directed more than US $600 million in funding to social innovators from around
the world.</span></div>
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<span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">Now, Changemakers is changing again by launching a movement
for open growth: a new way to accelerate social change by creating an
environment for the transparent, dynamic evolution of innovation. Participants
in the Changemakers open growth community will find opportunities to make
investments that foster collaboration between entrepreneurs, and innovators can
offer and request resources that help them or others realize their potential for
contributing to real impact.</span></div>
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<span class="A22__Char"><span class="A22__Char" style="font-family: Calibri, Arial; font-size: 11pt;">“Ashoka Changemakers provides a groundbreaking and elective
process for sourcing and supporting innovations,” said Judith Rodin, president
of the Rockefeller Foundation. “The platform creates a space where innovators
can collaborate with each other to work and grow their ideas.”
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<span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">Collaboration is what the social change movement is about, at
its core. Collaborative entrepreneurship, the movement Drayton describes as a
“gigantic breakthrough,” is the critical process where the whole is greater than
the sum of its parts.</span></div>
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<span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">Venture<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a> forth and join the social
entrepreneurship movement. </span></div>
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<span class="Normal__Char" style="font-family: 'Calibri','Arial'; font-size: 11pt;">Innovate. Collaborate. Be a Changemaker</span></div>
</div>Stories of Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12346639476057395158noreply@blogger.com1