New Delhi, 10th December, 2011: Bollywood superstar and international goodwill ambassador for The Loomba Foundation, Kajol, along with Founder and Chairman Trustee, Lord Raj Loomba CBE, was in the capital today to give away mementos and certificates of appreciation to leading industry stalwarts who have come forward to benevolently support the cause of educating children of poor widows in India. The Loomba Foundation, which is accredited by the United Nations, has funded the education of over 6500 children of poor widows and has supported 27000 family members in 29 states of India since 1999. In 2012, the Foundation will provide education to another 3000 children of widows in distress.

Key supporters whose contributions were appreciated by the Foundation:

Shri R.N. Nayak, Chairman and Managing Director, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. received the certificate on behalf the company for having pledged to support the education of 300 children of poor widows.

Shri V.P. Das, Chairman and Managing Director of National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd. received the citation for NBCC sponsoring education of another 300 children of poor widows in India for five years.

Dr. R.P. Singh, Executive Vice Chairman of Jindal Power Limited was felicitated with a certificate of appreciation for sponsoring education for 200 children of poor Indian widows in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

Brig. (Retd.) H. Chukrabuti Executive Vice President, Hinduja Foundation, was also recognized for his organization’s notable support and contribution to The Loomba Foundation.

The felicitation ceremony was followed by inauguration of The Loomba Foundation’s Annual Charity Dinner by its President, Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, which is being sponsored by BNP Paribas Bank as the lead sponsor.

Addressing the audience, Lord Raj Loomba CBE, expressed his happiness with the success of this year’s Annual Charity Dinner, and said, “I am overwhelmed to see so many high profile industry leaders coming forward to support us in this noble cause tonight. All proceeds will be used for the education of children of poor widows in India.”

Lord Loomba added “While India has special privileges for women in general, there is a grave need to recognize the plight of the widows who are fraught with double the burden of supporting themselves as well as their children without any external support. When a woman loses her husband she loses her place in society. Widows are often ostracized by the society and are unable to remarry, poor, uneducated, and unable to find a decent job. Children of widows often end up on streets or work in factories where child-labour abuse is a commonplace.”

Over 200 high-profile guests attended the charity dinner including ministers, senior politicians, Members of Parliament, high commissioners, bureaucrats and business leaders. Some of the guests at the dinner included delegates from Tata Consultancy, Max India Foundation, Central Bank of India, Taj Hotels, Micromax Mobile, Herbert Smith LLP, and Rotary Blood Bank. Harjiv Singh, Trustee of The Loomba Foundation, and co-founder and co-CEO of Gutenberg Communications, gave away the vote of thanks.

Due to its notable contributions to the cause of restoring human rights of widows, The Loomba Foundation has been gathering widespread support from renowned business leaders worldwide including Sir Richard Branson as the Foundation’s Patron-in-Chief. The Loomba Foundation was instrumental in getting official recognition for 23rd June as International Widows Day from the United Nations General Assembly in 2010, five years after the Day was launched by the Foundation at the House of Lords.

There are 245 million widows and over 500 million children of widows around the world. Over 115 million widows live in poverty struggling to survive and 1.5 million widows’ children worldwide die before reaching their fifth birthday. India alone has over 42 million widows in India rearing over 100 million children who are at a risk of not receiving an education in India.

NOTE TO EDITORS: You can download hi-resolution photo from the event by clicking here.

ABOUT THE LOOMBA FOUNDATION

The Loomba Foundation was established by Raj Loomba CBE and his wife Veena in the UK in 1997. It promotes fundamental freedoms and human rights of widows and their children around the world, raising awareness of the gross injustices widows face and seeking to remove stigmas associated with widowhood.

The Loomba Foundation declared 23rd June as International Widows Day at the House of Lords in May, 2005. The Foundation also published a comprehensive Research Study on widows worldwide and the first edition of was presented to the UN Secretary General, HE Ban Ki Moon on 22nd June, 2010 followed by presentations to the President of India and the US Secretary of State. The Foundation collaborates with UN bodies, other NGOs, government officials, human rights advocates and prominent leaders to fight for the over 245 million widows worldwide who suffer prejudice and discrimination.

The Loomba Foundation seeks to bring about gender sensitive reform of national laws and policies, eradicating anti-widow superstitions, traditions, and social practices. It fosters gender equality and women’s empowerment by implementing poverty-reduction strategies and educational opportunities for widow’s and their children.

Media Contacts:

Puneet Khunger (+91.9810191409, Puneet@gutenbergpr.com)

Kimremmawi (+91.9818332638, Kim@gutenbergpr.com)

July 22, 2011, Mumbai: Tilaknagar Industries Ltd. (TI) known for its role beyond being a key player in the Beverage industry has come forward to provide financial assistance to HIV infected children in Tamil Nadu. The company recently offered support to the Petralthan Pillaiya? (All children. Our Children.) project that was initiated by Population Services International (PSI), an NGO working in the field of Public Health along with Hello FM and Padmashri Kamal Haasan.

The Mansion House Brand of TI is the Official Cheers Partner for Chennai Super Kings, champions of IPL Season IV. Mansion House had sponsored a show called Solli Adi on Hello FM, a popular radio channel, as a promotional activity for the MHB-CSK association. They auctioned the tickets for the matches along with the CSK players’ autographed t-shirts and bats through the show, seeking to raise funds for children infected with HIV. Further on, TI contributed an equal amount of the funds received through auction thereby doubling the total proceeds and raising a larger contribution for the cause.

Speaking about the initiative Mr. S.S. Balajee, DGM (sales), Tilaknagar Industries Ltd. said, “The intent to support such campaigns is not just to offer financial support but to reduce the stigma and discrimination faced by children living with HIV. This moral support can create a positive attitude in the child and go a great extent in helping overcome the impact of the infection. ”

TI planned a one day event in Chennai wherein the Senior Management visited the home and spent some time with the children before handing over the cheque.

“It is a very constructive step towards helping these vulnerable children. We wish to continue doing such community improvement programs,” said Mr. K Udaykumar, (Manager-sales), Tilaknagar Industries Ltd.

Mr. Atul Kapoor, Program Director, PSI Connect said, “I am very excited by this initiative of Mansion House to support Petralthan Pillaiya. Corporate involvement such as this will go a long way in mitigating the stigma and reach out to these children living with HIV.”

TI adopts a triple bottom line (TBL) approach of economic sustainability, healthy environment and empowered community. It has initiated various CSR measures and enjoys a reputation for social welfare projects. TI’s other noted environmentally sustainable activities include: rain water harvesting, use of solar lamps for street lighting, Go Shaala to support the abandoned cows.  In addition, TI provides deprived individuals with free food on a daily basis across India. It also runs a full-fledged charitable dispensary and conducts free health camps every fortnight. TI has so far adopted 51 Wadi’s in 22 Gram Panchayats around its Shrirampur plant in Maharashtra. Committed to the Grow Green initiative, TI has introduced a massive Tree Plantation Drive of over 1 Lac trees across India.

About Tilaknagar Industries Ltd: Tilaknagar Industries Ltd. (TI) is an India-based company operating in the alcoholic beverage industry.  The Company’s products include whisky, brandy, gin, rum and vodka. It currently has more than 40 brands across a diverse range of price and product segments and an ever growing, loyal customer base. TI markets its products across a large number of southern states in India and is gradually assuming a pan-national presence.It also exports its products to Western Africa, the Middle East, the Far East and Caribbean countries. Recently, it has bagged the ‘Best Business Partner of CSD-Liquor Category’ Award and ‘World Star Award’.

These children are students at a school run by the YWCA at Najafgarh in New Delhi. While the small children are being taught their reading, writing and arithmetic, the older girls are given vocational training in sewing, beauty care, cooking, house keeping, etc. Thanks to Hina Khajuria and Sophia Rehman for volunteering to make this possible.

The program was conducted by STRAW – Stray Reief and Animal Welfare, New Delhi, INDIA. STRAW is an animal welfare organization that focuses its efforts on humane education in schools. It is recognized by the Animal Welfare Board of India and is a member society of WSPA – World Society for Protection of Animals, UK.

Let your kids enjoy their summer vacation with the power of Colors and Arts. Here is a summer camp on Arts & Craft from Divya Institute of Artsand Paintings Gallery in Kompally, Hyderabad for the summer of 2011.

Divya Institute of Arts and Paintings Gallery offers an excellent career opportunity to professionals related to fine arts. First batch is already going on with very active participation from all age groups; do not miss the next batches which would start soon.

First Batch: Started on 11th April
Second Batch: 21st April
Third Batch: 28th April.

Summer Camp in Hyderabad with Divya Institute of Arts will have following activities for various levels:

Level 1 (For Class-1, 2, 3)
Duration one Month
1. Line Drawing
2. Water Colors
3. Thermo Coal Painting
4. Flower Making
5. Decorative Lettering
6. Mount 3D Work
7. Clay Work (Fruits

Level-II (Class-4, 5, 6, 7)
Duration one Month
1. Primary, Secondary and Territory Colors Wheel
2. 2D Coloring
3. Thermo Coal Painting With Poster Colors
4. Flower Bunch Making
5. Decorative Lettering
6. Mount 3D Work
7. Clay 3D work (Fruits and vegetables

Level-III (Class-8, 9, 10)
Duration one Month
1. Colors Wheel and Color Mixing
2. 2D Coloring
3. Charcoal Work
4. Free Hand Painting
5. Decorative Lettering
6. Mount 3D Work
7. Clay 3D Work (Birds

Fee details for courses:

1. Pencil shading, drawing and sketching 2 months 3500
2. Oil painting-Junior course 2.5 months 10000
3. Oil painting-Seniors 4 months 25000
4. Clay work
5. Mural
6. Tanjore paintings
7. Water colors-Junior 1.5 motnh 5000
8. Water color 2.5 months 10000
9. Acrylic colors-for Juniors 2 months 7500
10. Acrylic colors-for seniors (knife work also) 3 months 15000

Divya Institute of Arts and Paintings Gallery also offers following Regular courses for kids

Drawing, Shading, Sketching, Oil pastels, Cryons, Water colors, 2D painintng with posture color, 3D paintings.

About Divya Institute of Arts and Paintings Gallery:

Divya Institute of Arts and Paintings Gallery was started in year 2003 by Mrs. O Sujatha Venkat – the famous arts trainer Andhra Pradesh,India. Divya Institute of Arts and Paintings Gallery is now one of the leading fine arts training institute in Hyderabad. Divya Institute offers fine arts training courses to develop artistic, intellectual and creative ability of students.
At Divya Institute of Arts and Paintings Gallery we offer training and certificate courses in Oil painting, Water colours, Knife painting,

Mural painting, Glass painting, Clay work, Fabric painting, Tanjore painting, Pot painting, Sketching, Shading, and Drawing. We also provide services for custom painting, custom art and Exhibitions.

CONTACT:
205, Varuna Block, SreeVensai Towers,
Kompally, Medchal Road, Hyderabad-500014,
Phone: Mobile: +91-9849377367; +91-9849577637; 040-2716 5082,
Mails: sujatha.olu@divyainstituteofarts.com
Web: www.divyainstituteofarts.com

April 14, 2011, Mumbai, FLO Bombay Chapter has organized Fund Raiser under their flagship theme ‘PHIR WAHI SHAAM” through a selection of vintage classics from Bollywood to be held on April 15, 2011 at SRI Shanmukhananda Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Auditorium. The Program is conceived & presented by one of the premier Vintage Musical troupe – Musicolor.

The proceeds of this concert will be directed towards the SGS-Abhiyaan for the girl child. Sulabh International Service Organisation-a pioneer in the sanitation sector, both nationally and internationally, has agreed to be FICCIs technology partner for the project.

Sulabh has been working towards this problem for many years, gaining the attention of the Government as well as the private sector through Sulabh School Sanitation Club which now covers over 300 schools in 12 states of India including 12 schools in Nepal and Bhutan.

Says Bela Rajan, spokesperson FICCI-FLO,“The SGS Abhiyan falls in line with FLO’s national vision of educating the girl child, as we believe that this initiative will help arrest the ratio of girls drop out from schools.”

Various studies undertaken by semi-government bodies, NGOs, educational departments & others, point out that over 38% of the girl students drop out of school in secondary stage of education owing to lack of sanitation facilities in schools. ASER 2009, a report based on comprehensive survey of government and private schools in 575 out of 583 rural districts in India, reveals that

1. only 50 per cent of government schools have toilets
2. 4 out of 10 government schools did not have separate toilets for girls.
3. even where there were separate toilets for girls, as many as 12-15 per cent were locked and only 30-40 per cent were \”usable“

Adds Sucheta Shah, “It is time to look beyond just the surface and move to the root of the problem. This fundraiser, where we are expecting Bollywood celebrities, is surely move in the right direction.”

For passes call: 9892476001 / 022-24968000

Bangalore : 5 April 2011; SGBS Trust today announced that Mr. KN Satish is undertaking a 290 KM cycling Challenge to spread awareness and raise funds for Unnati. The Challenge will be flagged off from Unnati Center, NGEF Layout, Sadanandnagar, Bangalore on April 15th 2011, at 0530 AM. The Cycling Challenge is spread over 2 days, 15th and 16th April, with an overnight halt at Mysore, and will pass by various towns, villages along the Bangalore – Ooty Road. The Cyclist will be supported by 2 Support Vehicles through the route, to enable canvassing, distributing application forms and pamplets on Unnati.

This cycling challenge hopes to touch a chord in the life of youth who live enroute Bengaluru to Ooty. “Learn, earn and stand tall” is the motto of Unnati which he feels is highly relevant in the life of all youth.

KN Satish, hails from Bangalore, works in Dubai, and considers it his life mission to support empowering causes around the world. Satish has cycled 500 Kms in Vietnam to benefit Charities CamKids(Cambodia) and Children of Vietnam, to trekking the Simien mountain range in Ethiopia for the cause of Gulf for Good, and now is gearing up for this cycling challenge to raise funds and create awareness for UNNATI.

More details of this cycling challenge is found at http://cyclingforunnati.weebly.com

Noted Cine and TV personality, Sihi Kahi Chandru is joining the Cycling Challenge at Mandya, and will cycle from there in support of Unnati.

The next batch of training at Unnati begins on 30th April 2011. Applications forms are available at the Unnati center in Bangalore, and will also be distributed along the way. It is hoped that this cycling challenge will encourage more people to come forward and benefit from the Unnati program, and help themselves change their lives forever.

About Unnati

Unnati is a vocational training program aimed at enabling and empowering youngsters from families that are below the poverty line. This 70 day program equips unemployed youth (of 18 years or more) with vocational skills and life-skills that ensures employment with reputed organizations at the end of the training program. Currently, the training is offered in 9 chosen vocations – retail sales, field sales, guest care (hotels), guest care (offices), industrial tailoring, Industrial painting, data entry (for BPO), security services and car driving.

In addition to imparting knowledge and skill sets in these vocations, Unnati trains the youth in life skills, communication, spoken English, values and basic computer usage. Special attention is given to inculcating personal and community values in the youth.

Headquartered in Bangalore in a 22,000 sqft state-of-the-art facility, Unnati has impacted the lives of more than 1500 youth through a program that not only trains them in their vocation but also works on their communication skills, life skills and computer literacy. Unnati centers are also present at Mysore, Sirsi, Pune, Ulhasnagar and Ahmedabad.

Unnati’s program is a 70 day training schedule where candidates are interviewed and based on their aptitude and interest, their vocation is selected. Entire program is provided free of cost including training, lodging, food and transportation. Unnati also helps students get a job at the end of the 70 day training with an average pay of Rs.6,000/- per month.

Through its Vision 2020, Unnati hopes to change the lives of 1 Million youth across India, by the year 2020.

About SGBS Trust:

SGBS was formed in1978 and incorporated as a trust in 1993 by a group of like-minded individuals who wanted to make a difference to society, through music, education and social activities. In order to achieve this objective, SGBS Trust rolled out the following programs:
SHIKSHA: Shiksha was initiated to provide financial support for school education who but for the support would have discontinued schooling. The fee towards education is paid directly to the school. The Shiksha program currently supports over 360 children every year. Preference is given to children of widows.
UNNATI: Vocational training and employment for underprivileged youth above 18years of age.
UTSAV: Preserving Indian traditions, and promoting art and culture. Gokulashtami is the time of the year when Bangalore comes alive with resounding performances from known names in vocal, instrumental and traditional dance forms as part of Utsav celebrations at Unnati Auditorium.
SAMSTHA: Funeral Services assistance to everyone

Media Contact

Ramesh Swamy
+91 9844085864
reachvalli@yahoo.co.uk

Mahesh R
+91 9845019896
Mahesh@unnatiblr.org

Meenakshi Gairola
+91 9731200113
meenakshi.gairola@gmail.com

UNNATI CENTRE,
Temple Road,
Sadananda Nagar,
NGEF East, Bangalore – 560038
+91 80 25384642/ +91 80 25384443
Website : www.unnatiblr.org
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Unnati-Bangalore/177993546984
Twitter : http://twitter.com/UnnatiBlr

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BASECAMP Adventures a primer Adventure Travel and Outbound Training company is organizing a unique three day Adventure Camp @ Coorg for children between the age group of 9-14 years.

At BASECAMP we recognize the need to cultivate Nature & Environmental awareness among youngster and help them develop survival skills and live in harmony with the Nature. The objective of the program is experiential learning and enabling the participants to understand nature and learn with nature.

About Coorg: 265 Kms from Bangalore, Coorg or Kodagu (means the dense forest on steep hills) is referred as the Scotland of India. The misty hills, the lush green forest, coffee plantations, flora & fauna and the pleasant weather throughout the year make it the most unforgettable adventure travel destination in Karnataka.

The activities at Adventure Camp include:

• Trekking
• Rock Climbing, Rappelling, Rope Skills
• Bird Watching
• Map Reading & Compass based Treasure Hunt
• River Crossing Technique
• Tent Pitching and Camping basics
• Photography Session
• Team Oriented Games
• Camp Fire

Date: 22nd to 24th April 2011

Group Size: 20 – 30 Children ONLY

Cost: INR 4500 per child

Cost includes – Bangalore to Bangalore travel, Food, Camping at Campsite, Forest Dept Permissions, Camping material/gear/wear, Adventure Equipments, Adventure Consultants, Outdoor Educators and on camp Doctor.

For more details:

Call: +91 9342016482 / 080 22586912

Mail: info@basecampindia.com

Visit: # 227, 31st Main, 7th Cross, Sector 1, HSR Layout, Bangalore 560102

A Humane Education Program for students of Class V of DAV Public School was organized by STRAW – Stray Relief and Animal Welfare on January 18, 2011 at their school premises at R.K. Puram, New Delhi. Around a hundred children were sensitized about the need for compassion and kindheartedness towards animals and other living creatures, who also share this world with us.

The school authorities appreciated the event and have agreed to carry out these humane education workshops for other classes as well.

This program was conducted with the help of volunteers who participated wholeheartedly.

STRAW – Stray Relief and Animal Welfare is an animal welfare organization that is recognized by the Animal Welfare Board of India and is a member society of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), UK. STRAW strives to achieve its motto of “Animal Welfare through Education” by means of humane education programs that are conduct in schools. The idea is to plant a seed of compassion, care and respect for animals and other living creatures into the hearts of children in particular and people in general. The response to our programs in many schools of Delhi has been very encouraging. Both the children and their teachers love it because it contributes not only to animal welfare but also to the all round development of the child. To find out more, please visit www.strawindia.org.

Contact:

Vasanthi Kumar – Co-founder & Chairperson

STRAW – Stray Relief and Animal Welfare

D2 / 2303, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi – 110070 (INDIA)

Phone: 011.46065046; Hand Phone: 09958555443

Email: Vasanthi@strawindia.org; Web: www.strawindia.org

Experience the perfect opportunity to enjoy an explosion of stories featuring the most favorite of animals! Elephant Month is a celebration of the free spirit of our jungle giants. This is an action-packed month with exciting events at Katha every weekend. Be a part of this platform for creativity!

February is Elephant Month at Katha. There are many chances for the entire Delhi community to get involved. In an attempt to revive storytelling sessions, Katha invites children of all ages to readings of the latest books from our publishing house- and they all have one thing in common: elephants! In collaboration with WWF, a movie about elephants will be screened, followed by a discussion on the human-elephant conflict by Mita Goswami, the Director of Environment Education. Finally, in an exciting and unique workshop, Mahima Mehra will teach children how to make paper out of elephant poop! Katha provides opportunities you do not want to miss.

The month-long celebration of elephants began with the launch of the elephant tale “I am Aan” on 12 February at the Katha StoryShop. The book is written by Meenakshi Bharadwaj and is beautifully illustrated by Christopher Corr. The book launch was followed by a story telling session and a creative workshop centered on the theme of the month, elephants!  Mr. Anupam Arunachalam launched the book and conducted the workshop. It was attended by around 20 children over the age of 5.

“I am Aan” is the heart-warming story of a baby elephant named Aan living in the deep jungles of the Western Ghats. Aan embarks on his journey from the magical world of childhood to the tough adult one. Punctuated with facts about elephants, Aan’s exciting voyage of self-discovery made him great friends with the young readers in attendance. With a beautiful depiction of facts, the story attracted children and they were on the edge of their seats. After the storytelling, Anupam entertained the children with sketches and colours. A range of elephants drawn by children was on display, including those that were very small to A4-sized paper sheets. With different strokes and colours, children brought magic to their sketches. Some elephant facts were also shared with the children and they discussed the importance of saving our jungle giants.

In an attempt to save elephants, Katha feels that it is important to involve young people and make them aware of the crucial issue of their endangerment, one that is unfortunately being neglected by our policy makers.

We at Katha are very passionate about a child’s knowledge enhancement and education through the process of story-telling. Katha is a unique model that seamlessly connects grassroots work in story, education and urban resurgence. We started with the main objective: To enhance the joy of reading and have completed 22 years of work in story and storytelling this year.

At the other end of the literacy and literature spectrum, Katha is a quality publishing house for translations from our regional languages, our bhashas. Our children’s books are recognized in India and abroad.

At last count, 46% of the world’s malnourished children were in India. The same number drops out of schooling by the time they reach Class VIII. And more than 50% of the children in India are abused– physically or sexually.

On January 20^th, the UNCRC celebrates its 21^st birthday. The UNCRC is considered special because for the first time in the world, adults had got together and laid down the inviolable rights that every child on earth is entitled to.

But if you are a child in India, the reasons for celebrations are too few to count – a Child Labour Act that lets employers get away with a measly fine; nearly half of the country’s 440 million children left out altogether from the universal education Act, etc.

Yet efforts, atleast if the media is to be believed, are mounting every year. The foremost example is the new National Commission for the Protection of Children’s Rights, formed in March 2007, that is slowly gaining in ascendance and is a constant watchdog against abuse.

But clearly, this is not enough. “If you see in the last few decades, the number of people living in absolute and chronic poverty and the number of homeless, have increased manifold. A persistent livelihood crisis, of which the agrarian crisis forms a large part, continually pushes large communities into migrant work and causal labour, which, in India, is often underpaid, exploitative and fundamentally violative of children’s entitlements,” says Yogita Verma Saighal, Director, CRY UK.

So when you consider the scale of the problem, any lasting solution has to be as large-scale, as entrenched and as ingenious to deal with the changing nature of risks.

“Which is why, when we at CRY knew that the answer lies is our country itself, specifically, its democratic government. Shorn of all the hopelessness that surrounds the public image of the government, it still remains the largest, most well-resourced, best staffed, specialised organization in the country. Powered by the people of India,” says Verma. “When India signed the UN convention 20 years ago, this gave us the global mandate to push for child rights. For the first time, adults had acknowledged and laid down the fact that children are not merely adults-in-the-making or possessions of their guardians but individuals in their own right. For instance, if it is illegal for adults to be hit, it should be the same for children too.”

This belief in building government systems, contrary to the current context of scams and cynicism that dominates news and views in India today, has been something that CRY has seen as possible in small pockets of India where children themselves have made lasting change possible in their lives, through a combination of sheer will and collective action.

A Leader in the Making: 16-years-old Mahendra studies in the class XI. He belongs to Garasia, a scheduled tribe community, among India’s poorest. He is the eldest of four children. Mahendra’s father name is Fateh Singh, a small farmer and a social worker, and his mother, Jamuna, is a Sarpanch of Birothi Panchayat.

Mahendra is an active member of the Bal Panchayat at Birothi. A few months ago, he and his schoolmates at the village government school noticed that the school had too few teachers. Mahendra’s bal panchayat raised the issue of the inadequate teacher-student ratio in Birothi secondary school and demanded the appointment of subject-wise teachers as well as safe drinking water facilities in the school.

The school officials took no notice.

It was then that the children took an extraordinary step – they stopped all flow of traffic in the nearby highway.

“The police came, so did officials from the district collectorate. Everyone was angry, they wanted to know why we had done such a thing. But when we told everyone, including the media, that all we wanted was more teachers and safe drinking water, the officials were embarrassed and soon we had our demands met, says Mahendra.”

Mahendra dreams to become an MLA when he grows up, and currently wants to contribute towards the strengthening of the Bal Panchayat, so that every child is empowered and is able to express her/his thoughts without fear.

The signing of the UN Convention reflects the government’s commitment to the principles of children’s rights. The government states its intention to put this commitment into practice. State parties are obligated to amend and create laws and policies to fully implement the charter; they must consider all actions taken in light of the best interests of the child. The task, however, must engage not just governments but all members of society. The standards and principles articulated in the charter can only become a reality when they are respected by everyone—within the family, in schools and other institutions that provide services for children, in communities and at all levels of administration.

The actions or inactions of the government bodies impact children very strongly. Practically every area of government policy affects children to some degree. Because they are still developing, children are especially vulnerable—more so than adults.

The costs to society of failing its children are huge. Social research findings show that access to basic services (or lack thereof) during the formative and adolescent years significantly influences adulthoods, both in terms of psycho-social and general health and livelihood options. The course of their development determines their chances as adults over the entire course of their lives.

To reduce this disparity of rights amongst children, and for the future development, Child Rights and you (CRY) recommends the following:

· All provisions of the UN Child Rights Charter should become part of the Indian legal system.

• Every adult should work towards better implementations of the laws related to Child Rights
• All laws in India should acknowledge every individual below the age of 18 to be a child.

For Media queries contact

Saranya Krishnamoorthy – saranya@hanmermsl.com

9884552992

19^th January, Pune:: International Baby products can now be ordered to your door stop anywhere in India,  thanks to the online shopping portal www.firstcry.com that was recently launched. The site hosts a wide range of baby products catering to new born babies to even 15+ years of age. They even have products for the benefit of expecting and new mothers.

FirstCry.com makes available products ranging from toys, clothing, toiletries, feeding accessories, stationary, medicinal accessories, diapers etc from 100+ Indian and International brands. The site promises high quality products at affordable rates with customer satisfaction as their main motto. FirstCry plans to offer more than 4000 SKUs by the end of year and is already the largest online eCommerce portal for babies and kids products.

Says Supam Maheshwari, the founder of this initiative, “My inspiration for FirstCry came from my agonizing experience of getting every single item for my daughter on the way back from frequent business trips abroad.  The quality expectations were difficult to be met in India, and even though the international products were being launched in India, convenient availability and affordability were always a pain point. The FirstCry goal is to provide respite to parents tired of finding good brand/quality baby products, & wasting their time waiting in store lines and traffic. Online ordering with free home delivery and providing the best possible prices with huge variety including large number of international brands, enables the parents to end their search and just order online to spend more quality time with their families.”

According to Supam, around 25 million babies are born every year in India. Considering, even 20% of babies are born to parents who would spend annually a conservative figure of Rs. 5000 on baby products (diapers, lotions, strollers etc) per baby, the market size is 2500+ crores and this is just for new born babies alone. And if one includes all babies/kids from 0-10 years, the market size is pretty staggering Rs 25,000 crores and rapidly growing. Due to overall economic boom across industries, there are a growing number of parents who are travelling abroad & getting international exposure, and with increasing income, they would certainly like to provide international quality products for their babies/kids. With all these facts and the desire to quickly build a large consumer brand, FirstCry was born.

About the Company: FirstCry.com is Asia’s Largest Online Portal for Baby Products and Toys. They have over 4000+ items over 100 top International and Indian brands like Mattel, Ben10, Pigeon, Funskool, Hotwheels, Nuby, Farlin, Medela, Pampers, Disney, Barbie, Gerber, Zapak, Mee Mee and so on.
FirstCry.com has a mission to provide best of the products/brands at the lowest prices with great online shopping experience, free shipping and best possible customer service. Their benchmark is to provide customers the stores shopping experience online, without the hassles of driving around the town locating a shop and then a place to park your vehicles. Their sourcing team works with 150+ vendors internationally, nationally to source the best products/brands at the most affordable prices. All items originate from their warehouse and have been sourced from authorized representatives or manufacturers.

About the Founder: Supam Maheshwari is the chief founder of FirstCry.com. He brings in a wide array of experience from companies like Vivendi and Pepsi and the self-founded Brainvisa. Supam is an Engineer and an MBA from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. Supam had earlier co-founded an elearning company ‘Brainvisa’, which was the fastest growing and one of the most profitable companies in elearning space. After successfully running it for 8 years with a 450 staff strength, he sold it to an American company in 2007.

STRAW – Stray Relief and Animal Welfare organized Humane Education Program at Chinmaya Vidyalaya. Man to Animal connection was seen evident during the program.

New Delhi, August 19, 2010, A Humane Education Program for students of Class VI of Chinmaya Vidyalaya was organized by STRAW – Stray Relief and Animal Welfare on August 19, 2010 at their school premises at Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. About a hundred children were sensitized about the need for compassion and kindheartedness towards animals and other living creatures, who also share this world with us.

The high light of the program was the introduction of puppies into the program, which excited the children very much. A man-to-animal connection was surely achieved. Children picked up the puppies, played with them, made a fuss over them and simply enjoyed every bit of it. The puppies loved it too.

The school authorities appreciated the event and have agreed to carry out these humane education workshops for other classes as well, for the next three months.

This program was conducted with the help of volunteers who participated wholeheartedly.

STRAW – Stray Relief and Animal Welfare is an animal welfare organization that is recognized by the Animal Welfare Board of India and is a member society of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), UK. STRAW strives to achieve its motto of “Animal Welfare through Education” by means of humane education programs that are conduct in schools. The idea is to plant a seed of compassion, care and respect for animals and other living creatures into the hearts of children in particular and people in general. The response to our programs in many schools of Delhi has been very encouraging. Both the children and their teachers love it because it contributes not only to animal welfare but also to the all round development of the child. To find out more, please visit www.strawindia.org.

Contact:
Vasanthi Kumar – Co-founder & Chairperson
STRAW – Stray Relief and Animal Welfare
D2/2303, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi – 110070 (INDIA)
Phone: 011.46065046; Hand Phone: 09958555443
Email: Vasanthi@strawindia.org; Web: www.strawindia.org

Very first stone statue in India of the Founder of Zen and ‘Son of the Soil’  – Bodhidharma

Tamil Nadu, India, June 21, 2010: The East West Foundation of India takes great pleasure in advising you, your family and friends of an unique and historic event – the unveiling and inauguration of the very first stone statue in India of the Founder of Zen and ‘Son of the Soil’

Bodhidharma

in traditional Zen manner by The Venerable Gisho Watanabe of the Kan-non-ji Temple along with Ven. Shuko Kikuta, Ven. Shushin Ohsuga, Ven. Jikai Kozuka of the Soto Zen school in Japan in the presence of Dr. Tsutomu Kambe (Upasaka, Vice-President of WABD – World Association of Bodhi – Dharma), Ms. Kyoko Hashimoto and Dr. G. John Samuel (Director of the Institute of Asian Studies, Chennai), local community members and elders along with supporters, children and staff of TEWFI

at 9.30 am on Sunday 4^th July 2010

The ceremony will be followed by lunch at 12 noon at

The Uluru Children’s Home
No. 1 Kamala Avenue
Off Alamparai Beach Road
Kadapakkam Taluk
Kancheepuram District
Tamilnadu, India

For RSVP, directions and accommodation assistance please contact:
Mr Seshachalam Subramanian
Manager TEWFI
Phone: 044-27501200

Cell phone: +91 9840 878 569
Email: admin@tewfi org

For further information please go to our website: www.tewfi.org

Why a statue of Bodhidharma?

I am often asked why a statue of Bodhidharma is being installed.

Someone who has so greatly and profoundly influenced so much and so many in the world over such a long time needed to be finally recognized in the place of his birth.

Which person from the Kancheepuram has had such an immense influence on the world over such a long period (1500 years) as he has?

It often happens that great people are rarely recognized in the place of their birth.

Bodhidharma was born and grew up in Kancheepuram, the same district that TEWFI is located in.

Hardly anybody in India is aware of him or that he hailed from there.

He was the 28^th Patriarch in India after Sakyamuni Buddha.

It is said that he yearned to come back home from China and the 4th statue of him walking in a south westerly direction depicts this.

After training in Psychiatry mainly in Freudian and neo Freudian approaches, I became interested in Jungian thought and practice until in the late 1970s I accidentally but fortuitously came upon Zen and Vedanta. I took to them like fish to water

Zen has had a profound influence on me, my life and my work and in no small part TEWFI owes its existence to it.

In gratitude to the Foundation Fellows who made this statue possible.

It has been an absolute pleasure watching the five senior girls at the Uluru Children’s Home think through, research, plan, design and work through this project to a successful completion.

I am copying below some photographs from an earlier stage of the Bodhidharma project.

The girls from the Uluru Childrens’ Home (who researched and designed the Bodhidharma project) choosing positions for the main statue and the backdrop ones. The central statue will be a 51/2 foot sitting Bodhidharma in granite placed on a one foot granite slab. On the left to the rear of the main statue will be a life size sitting Bodhidharma facing the proverbial wall with Shen Guang (Hue-Ke) standing behind. On the right to the rear of the main statue is a life size one of Bodhidharma walking away with a shoe in his hand.

The girls with the sculptor that they had chosen for the work with my daughter Aditi.

A plaster sample made by the sculptor for approval by the team before being awarded the assignment.

Please do feel free to forward this to those you feel may be interested and/or wish to attend.

There are 2 attachments 1. the formal invitation and 2. the Plaque details which gives a brilliant synopsis of the life of Bodhidharma by Professor (Dr) Kambe.

Contact Information:

Dr. Natteri V. Chandran

Founder and Chair, Board of Trustees

The East West Overseas Aid Foundation

The East West Foundation of India

6th Floor, Druid’s House

407-409 Swanston Street

Melbourne, Victoria 3000

Australia

Phone: +61 3 9663 6271

Fax: +61 3 9662 3440

Email: chandran@chandran.com.au

www.tewoaf.org.au

www.tewfi.org

www.tewc.org.au

www.tihf.org

Fathers Day Rally on 19th June 2010 at Bangalore has been organised by CRISP.

CHILDREN’S RIGHTS INITIATIVE FOR SHARED PARENTING (Regd. NGO) have organized a “NATIONAL FATHERS DAY RALLY” on 19th June 2010, to stop the creation of a fatherless society which coincides with fathers day which is celebrated throughout the world to recognize and to honor the fathers for everything they are doing for the children & express gratitude for their love, care and protection to their children. The function is organized on 19^th June between 10:00 AM to 1.30 PM at Mahatma Gandhi Statue, MG Road, Bangalore.

About CRISP: CRISP is an NGO formed in 2008 at Bangalore by people who recognized the serious effects of Parental Alienation of children due to single parenting in divorce/separation. Now we have chapters throughout the country. CRISP speaks up for the Rights of Children to remain connected with and enjoy the love of both the natural parents being divorced or separated. Our aims and objectives are based on research findings. Our members come from all walks of life, like software engineers, doctors, teachers, businessmen, social workers, etc. which includes women and senior citizens. All family roles like grandparents, fathers, mothers, etc., are being represented. CRISP has charted a Pro-Family agenda to promote family harmony in our society.

Parental Alienation: Psychological Effects on the Child: Parental alienation occurs when one parent estranges the children from the other parent for personal vendetta. Children are brainwashed (used as pawns in divorce/ separation) by the dominant parent against the non-custodial parent (usually fathers). This brings a lot of mental distress & trauma to the child and the alienated parent and is particularly damaging to the child’s psychology and is Child Abuse. Extensive psychological studies over decades collectively called “The Spectrum of Parental Alienation Syndrome1” describe the detrimental effects on the child. In western countries, mainly U.S and Europe, organizations (including medical, judicial & NGOs) have gone into the depths of this and are trying hard to preserve families and save children. Unfortunately, our own country which once prided possessing “family values” now needs to learn basic lessons from the west. Its a well known fact that neglected children and children from broken families are more prone to take to crime. In India, NOT even a single such study/ research has been done. There is a serious need to commit to research and save children from this situation, which is completely being ignored. As a society, we are largely ignorant of the effects.

Judicial & Governmental Apathy: Anti-Child, Anti-Father & Anti-Family: Divorce/ Separation is between spouses. Not child and parent. This is common sense. There is no law requiring a normal father to keep away from his child, in divorce/ separation proceedings. On the other hand, U.N’s Child Rights Convention (to which India also acceded about 20 years ago and then did nothing about) requires the state (of which the Judicial systems are a part) to ensure that the child does not suffer separation! However, the way justice is administered, the child is separated from the father (mostly) for years! One has to “apply” for “visitation” that takes years to “grant” and even then for a paltry time. Innocent children suffer because parents are separating & fight for their egos! Our judicial mechanism has a deplorable understanding of child welfare based on biased and outdated social concepts. The father is a relegated to a mere “visitor”, eliminating involvement in the child’s life and just a “maintenance” paying ATM machine. It virtually condemns the child to an illegitimate. This is neither in the child’s nor the family’s interest and destroys the foundation for the future generation.

The Indian judiciary would do well to educate itself, provide training to judges and inculcate good international practices in the family law systems. The judiciary must become more accountable, transparent, improve the quality of justice and urgently implement extensive judicial reforms in right earnest, if it wishes to be a credible and potent justice system.

Why is a Family institution needed in the first place? Family is the most fundamental building block of society. It builds healthy human beings and healthy society. When family system breaks, its leads to serious social consequences4 and surge in crime rates. A main contributor to teenage pregnancies is broken families. It’s well known that children from broken homes are more prone to crime.

From here it’s a short step to even more serious anti-national crimes like terrorism. Social upheaval/ instability are heavily exploited by anti-nationals and terrorists.

CRISP’s Achievements: Extensively campaigned to implement SHARED PARENTING. Currently engaging with the government on this. In-fact, National Commission for Protection Of Child Rights (NCPCR), Government of India appreciated CRISP for educating the society and legal fraternity on the significance of Shared Parenting.

1. CRISP has created a national forum and made representations to the Chief Justice of India, WCD Ministry and Law Commission to make Shared Parenting mandatory.

2. Over 2500 members strong and growing. Now CRISP has 7 chapters across the nation.

3. Mothers who have been deprived of child custody are also members of CRISP.

4. Some reputed women’s organizations are supporting CRISP’s efforts.

5. Engaging with leading medical professionals to provide quality counseling. This is to prevent suicides of deprived and abused fathers like Syed Makhdoom who committed suicide and whose child is now fatherless.

6. CRISP has conducted several workshops, seminars and press meets pertaining to children issues and sensitized the society and successfully spread the message of shared parenting.

7. Many deprived parents have benefited from CRISP counseling and have successfully got orders for weekends and 50% vacation custody of their children.

8. CRISP provides quality information through its website www.crisp-india.org. Thousands of victims have made use of this information which is the first of its kind in the country.

CRISP’s Demands:

• Basic right of children to access both biological parents

• Implementation of UN’s Child Rights Convention and Hague’s Convention on Parental Child Abduction.

• Implement SHARED PARENTING / JOINT CUSTODY as a rule in separation and divorce cases.

• Setting up Special Guardian Courts in every major city

• Speedy and quality justice (within 3 months)

• Rational and Gender neutral Family Laws (including DV Act)

• Create a separate Child Welfare Ministry at the National Level and separate from WCD Ministry

• Laws against International Parental Child Abduction and Child Alienation

• Enroll organizations like NIMHANS to carry out research on Child Psychology of separated children. Laws to be framed based on scientific studies.

• Compulsory counseling to parent-litigants on Shared Parenting for child’s welfare.

• Ban child interviews of tender age children, who have not had adequate access with the noncustodial parent.

• Appoint psychologists/ child psychologists as mediators and to encourage shared parenting.

• Ban lawyers as mediators! They are suited for arbitration not mediation!

• Ban lawyers form Family Courts (implement the Family Court Act which discourages engaging lawyers).Encourage party in person after giving adequate counseling.

• Grant visitation rights to grand parents who want to have access to the grandchildren.

• Harsh Punishment for Child Abusers including non-compliance of court orders concerning child visitation.

• Punish people who misuse dowry & domestic violence act as a weapon to cut off the children from the father.

• Make the domestic violence act gender neutral and also to protect the child from domestic violence from even the mother.

We appeal & invite our media friends to kindly grace the occasion since media has a very important role in educating the society on this highly sensitive subject of children who constitute 40% of the population and not vote banks & ensure our children are saved from being fatherless since the divorce rates in the cities are escalating and in Bangalore alone there are over 15000 cases pending.

KUMAR V JAHGIRDAR

President CRISP

Childrens Rights Initiative For Shared Parenting (CRISP)

(Regd. NGO) www.crisp-india.org (email: kvjahgirdar@yahoo.com)

# 78, Osborne Road, (Near Lake Side Hospital), Bangalore – 42, India.

Helpline No: +91 80 25593848, Mobile No: +91 98452 64488.

1. The importance of implementing a reward or token economy system to shape or improve the behavior of children,

2. How to extinguish a reward or token economy system to get the maximum benefit, and

3. How to develop effective reward or token economy systems that are guaranteed to improve child behavior.

At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will have developed an effective reward (token economy) system for their home, classroom, or any other setting.

This webinar is extremely beneficial to parents (especially of strong-willed children), caregivers, Educators, and anyone else who works with children.

The presenter is Mark Lakewood, CEO of Building Strong Families National Seminars, a distinguished parenting expert, author, and speaker with over 20 years of clinical experience as a mental health therapist. Mr. Lakewood has an extensive history providing therapy services to children, adolescents, and adults. Several years ago, he developed and facilitated an effective parenting program for parents of strong-willed children that gained local recognition. This program taught parents strategies and techniques to help them effectively manage their children’s behavior. Based on this program, Mr. Lakewood later created the Sudden Compliance Program and is currently offering it as a DVD/downloadable video and webinar series

For a limited time, the cost to attend this webinar is only $9.95.

This webinar is presently scheduled for Thursday, June 17th, 2010, 2010 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm (Mountain Time). Seating is limited. Earlier dates are available. If the scheduled days/times are inconvenient, participants can schedule this live webinar to be presented on a day/time most convenient to them.

For more information or to pre-register, those interested are asked to visit http://www.ShapingBehaviorWithRewards.info.

“Serving families, individuals, parents, couples, and professionals, Building Strong Families National Seminars facilitates powerful educational conferences, parenting webinars, and family-related products with topics geared toward strengthening, empowering, and enhancing the family, schools, and the community.”

]]> http://www.indiaprline.com/2010/05/30/live-interactive-parenting-webinar-announcement-%e2%80%93-%e2%80%98shaping-behavior-with-rewards/feed/ 0 http://www.indiaprline.com/2010/05/29/lotus-valley-international-passouts-among-the-high-scorers-in-delhi-and-ncr/ http://www.indiaprline.com/2010/05/29/lotus-valley-international-passouts-among-the-high-scorers-in-delhi-and-ncr/#comments Sat, 29 May 2010 00:08:15 +0000 Vikas http://www.indiaprline.com/?p=9846 New Delhi, May 28, 2010 – The students of Lotus Valley International School [LVIS], Noida have shown outstanding performance in the CBSE Class10^th Board Exams. All the 50 students have got first division. 43 students scored an A grade in English and Science and 45 students got an A grade in Social Sciences.

The numbers are even more encouraging when compared on an overall basis. 5 students have scored grade point 10 in all the five subjects while a staggering 36 students have scored more than 9 grade points in all the subjects.

Elated on the stupendous success of the school, Principal of LVIS Mrs. Madhu Chandra said, “Our students have done us proud and this will go a long way in writing a positive story for LVIS. We have always stressed on extra -curricular activities apart from regular studies as we believe this helps in the overall development of the child. Communication skills will play a very important role in the future. Thus, we are trying our level best to make the children competent in this skill by giving them stage confidence. This helps in making them better individuals and the results are speaking for themselves.”

LVIS as a school believes in the natural grooming of a child of which education is only a part. It believes in helping the child realize his true potential and this is done through inculcating various interests apart from studies. For academics, the school has one of the best infrastructure and teaching faculty which has proven to lend a big hand in the comprehensive success of the school in class X board exams.

The entire staff and management at LVIS are in a celebratory mood and are congratulating parents and guardians of the visiting students. One of the LVIS toppers, Saif Masood said, “I was nervous about the new grading system and how would it affect my results. But the results are well above my expectations and credit goes to my teachers who instructed not to worry about the new evaluation system and give our best. Thankfully Aal Izz Well! ”

A large part of this success story belongs to the untiring work of the management, staff and various teachers involved in producing one of the best pass percentages in the entire region.

About Lotus Valley International

Lotus Valley International School, laid its foundation stone in 2004 with a collaborative efforts of dignitaries from the education fraternity visualizing an establishment of a centre of excellence in the education sector. The school gained prominence over the past six years in Delhi/NCR. It embellishes its educational standard of the school on concept of ‘The Natural Way’, providing a unique learning experience and passing on to every child in the school that noble aspiration: “Dare to Dream…Learn to Excel…”

For more information, please contact:–

Namita Narula

LVIS / Perspective

M: +91 9810172458

Ph: 011- 23326327

RESULT ANALYSIS OF CLASS X(2009-10)

TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS- 50

Number of students scored 10 points in all the subjects – 5

Number of students scored above 9 points in all the subjects – 31

Number of students scored 9.8 points in all the subjects – 8

Number of students scored 9.6 points in all the subjects -7

Number of students scored 9.4 points in all the subjects -9

Number of students scored 9.2 points in all the subjects -2

Number of students scored 9.0 points in all the subjects -5

Number of students scored above 8 points in all the subjects -47

How the Gender biased laws in INDIA are breaking families – Seminar conducted on International Day of Families – 15 May, 2010

On the occasion of International Day of Families – 15 May, 2010, Family Harmony Society® held Seminar at its weekly meeting at Indira Nagar, Bangalore to discuss the various threats faced by the Family in India, the consequences of systematic destruction of the Family, and what we need to do to check the alarming trend of rising number of divorces, single mothers, fatherless children, and disintegrated families.
The United Nations adopted 15 May as the International Day of Families in the year 1994. This day is meant to highlight the importance of the Family in the society. The logo of International Day of Families consists of a solid green circle depicting the society, with an image of a house and a heart in red in the centre. This symbolizes the fact that families are the centre and the heart of the society, and the society should nurture the Family which provides a stable and supporting home for people of all ages.

The much envied Indian family structure is, in fact, based on mutual tolerance and coexistence of persons belonging to different generations, and provides safety and security to individuals at all stages of life. The larger family also acts as a buffer to mitigate everyday stress and helps minimize conflicts between inexperienced married couples. This stable and time-tested cultural institution has suffered the most serious assaults due to the export of family-breaking ideologies originating in the Western world. As a result, the big fat Indian weddings are getting bigger while marriages are getting weaker and shorter. Houses are getting bigger while the hearts are shrinking and the Indian household is shattering into pieces.
Sadly, the United Nations, while observing a special day to highlight the importance of families, is simultaneously contributing to the destruction of the family in many countries around the world, including India, by sponsoring policies and laws which are harmful to the Family.

Criminalization of marriage and family relationships

Several decades ago, under the garb of equality, the communists and feminists the world over have undertaken the systematic destruction of the Family. They have portrayed marriage and family as oppressive institutions for women. They have projected understanding and tolerance to build harmonious marital relationships as a form of slavery. They have portrayed men as criminals and aggressors, and women and children as hapless victims who need to be rescued from them. They have pushed for importing of senseless anti-family laws to India, without any heed to cultural relevance, social consensus, or the presence of a suitable law enforcement system for their proper implementation.

Today, marital interactions in India have been criminalized, so much so that upon the mere complaint of a married woman alleging cruelty or abuse, the husband and his family members are arrested and jailed, without evidence or investigation. Every year thousands of decent men and their family members are confronted with the shocking reality that today, being born a man, giving birth to a male child, or sharing a womb with one is a crime.

In India, marriage is a crime if you are a man, as there is not a single action a husband might do or not do that does not qualify as an offence, and cost not only him, but even his parents and siblings dearly. IPC Section 498A, Domestic Violence Act, Dowry Prohibition Act, and a slew of one-sided laws enshrined in the “Family Law”, are all designed to criminalize an ordinary law-abiding citizen. It is no surprise that the apex court of India observed that the Hindu Marriage Act is breaking more families than uniting, and that IPC Section 498a has unleashed “legal terrorism” in the country.

New weapons of family destruction or more lethal versions of existing ones are always on the anvil, thanks to anti-male, anti-family organizations, and one is never sure when and how they will strike another death blow on the family.

Legal Sanction of homosexual relationships, live-in-relationships, pre- and extra-marital relationships

After creating various fetters to discourage heterosexual marriage and normal family relationships, there is an upcoming trend of granting legal sanction to hitherto unacceptable homosexual relationships, live-in-relationships, pre- and extra-marital relationships through outrageous remarks and judgments by the judiciary, and even laws made by our elected representatives.
Sexual Freedom i.e. an individual’s right to have unrestrained sex with anyone appears to be the basis for women’s rights. The National Commission for Women (NCW) encourages adultery by women by seeking legal measures for an adulterous wife to claim maintenance from her husband. In other words, a husband is obliged to maintain a woman who is sleeping with someone else! Also, adultery by a man is a criminal offence, but adultery by a woman is, at best, equivalent to a woman’s sexual expression and liberation, and at worst, a civil wrong.
While the NCW is spearheading a sexual revolution, ultra-liberal celebrities like Khushboo are encouraging women to abandon the ideals of premarital virginity and marital fidelity as vestiges of worthless Indian morality. According to them, promiscuous sex should be seen as a morally indifferent and innocuous source of pleasure. How innocuous this source of pleasure can be is indicated by the rates of teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion and foeticide, illegitimacy, and adolescent crime in the Western countries.
American author and judge, Richard Posner, aptly notes in his book Sex and Reason, the “freer women are sexually, the less interest men have in marriage.” With demands for maintenance to an adulterous wife, one should not be surprised, if, in a few years, Indian men, on a large scale, will shun marriage like their Western counterparts, as marriage is not a necessary ticket to a woman’s bedroom. NCW seems to want to transform women into easily disposable sex objects so that there are more and more abandoned, destitute, frustrated, angry women, who hate themselves and men, and NCW’s survival is guaranteed for many more generations.

Promoting a fatherless society

Enjoying the love and affection of both parents is not only a basic right of children, but it is also important for a child’s normal development. Disregarding children’s welfare and best interest of children, anti-family laws have been designed to violate a child’s right to the love and affection of both parents.
Statistics from the United States reveal that, compared to children in intact families, children in fatherless homes are:

• 5 times more likely to commit suicide
• 32 times more likely to run away from home.
• 20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders
• 14 times more likely to commit rape.
• 9 times more likely to drop out of high school.
• 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances (become drug addicts)
• 9 times more likely to end up in a state-operated institution
• 20 times more likely to end up in prison.

In addition, 3 million teenage girls have sexually transmitted diseases, and at least 1 out of 4 teenagers in the age bracket 14-19 suffers sexually transmitted diseases.
While there is ample evidence to show that children need both parents, Indian “family laws” have stolen the right of a father to love and care for his children, but impose unlimited financial responsibilities on the father. Giving unfettered right of access to children to the mother and little or no visitation to the father is the order of the day. Custody laws allow for passing of ex-parte orders to take away the custody of a child from the father on the sole basis of the self-serving affidavits of a complainant woman. In fact, false allegations of abuse are made and cases filed under IPC Section 498a and Domestic Violence Act as a means to strategically eliminate fathers from children’s lives.

The few fathers who succeed in getting visitation orders are left with just the paper orders which even the courts which passed them are unable to uphold if disobeyed by the mother. Fathers who try to make contact with their own children are labelled kidnappers and are constantly under the fear of being arrested unless they give up their desire to see their children.

Why this trend continues and who benefits?

The realization of the communist’s and feminist’s dream of female sexual revolution, responsibility- free relationships, and fatherless homes comes with a huge price tag, which includes the destruction of marriage and the family, increase in the number of illegitimate children, legitimate but fatherless children, juvenile and adolescent crime, unwanted pregnancies, abortion, and numerous abandoned and frustrated women. There is also an increase in the number of men committing suicide or murdered by abusive or adulterous spouses.

These dangerous trends continue because most common men are unaware of what is brewing in the name of women’s rights and empowerment. Many of those who are aware think, “I am a good person, and those who are complaining must have done something to deserve the suffering”. Most others think this hue and cry about destruction of the family is a joke. It is certainly no joke, and the thousands of men who have been jailed along with their families, rendered homeless and deprived of their children will tell you why. If not, you can be sure that before you realize it, your own family or a family you know could fall prey to the vicious agenda of radical ideologues.

These harmful trends prevail because people are ignoring the fact that marriage and monogamy are a result of social evolution with inherent benefits and costs to both sexes, involving a lot of compromises and adjustment. Many do not understand that partner violence is a reality but it happens because of three reasons (1) Psychological problems (2) Addictions and (3) Criminal tendencies. Many do not realize that majority of partner violence occurs due to the first two reasons, that violence due to criminal tendencies is very rare, and most importantly, that partner violence is not gender-driven.

Meanwhile, everyday, scores of marital discords are being escalated into criminal cases and legal battles. They give a sense of instant gratification, revenge or a false feeling of control to a disgruntled woman and her family, but in reality, the only people who benefit from this are middlemen – women’s organizations, police, lawyers, judicial officers and court staff – who are eagerly scavenging to get rich at the expense of the decaying family system, not realizing its consequences to their own families and the future generations.

The way ahead

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society, and is entitled to protection by society and the State.” It also states, “men and women,…, are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. ”

The import of destructive feminist ideologies and anti-family laws has broken many Indian homes, depriving children of a healthy childhood. A report by the World Health Organization cited misuse of anti-family laws as a major factor contributing to the increasing abuse of the elderly in India. Many individuals have ended their lives unable to endure the humiliation of being arrested and the trauma of fighting false cases, which typically span 5-7 years. Many young men have lost the most productive years of their lives fighting false allegations of abuse. There are also an increasing number of unhappy single women and mothers, as the one and only institution that had served as the source of constant support and protection for the woman is now under severe threat.

Unless all responsible citizens rise up against the tyranny of anti-family laws and the system that implements them, there is no hope of survival for the Indian Family.

Resolution by Family Harmony Society…

On the occasion of International Day of Families, Family Harmony Society will be passing a resolution to restore fairness in the family laws and their implementation, and also to stress on a Domestic Harmony Act, in place of all the family-breaking laws.

A Joint Action Committee will be formed comprising of all NGOs across the country working towards gender-neutral, family-friendly laws to draw up a detailed memorandum with our observations and recommendations to the Ministry of Law and Justice on all marriage and family-related laws including the Hindu Marriage Act, Special Marriage Act, Guardians and Wards Act, CrPC Section 125, Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act and Domestic Violence Act.

Appeal to the Government

We appeal to the Government, media and society to play a positive role in strengthening the institution of Family instead of precipitating its destruction. The Government of India should NOT allow radical, anti-family organizations or individuals to take part in making or amending laws. The media should stop sensationalizing family disputes and spreading half-truths either in the name of news or entertainment. Every member of the society should understand that the Family is our only system of social security, and must reject laws, policies and activities which harm our families.

Helpline operated by FHS in Bangalore…

• 9880141531, P Suresh, President, Family Harmony Society
• 9731569970, M Mahesh, General Secretary, Family Harmony Society

About Family Harmony Society®:

“Family Harmony Society®” – FHS – www.family-harmony.org / www.498a.org.in ] is a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) promoting the cause of “family harmony” and “gender equality”. It is registered under “The Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960” and is based in Bangalore.

For more information please contact…

P Suresh, President,                                                      M Mahesh, General Secretary,

9880141531                                                                     9731569970

Family Harmony Society                                                 Family Harmony Society

You are also requested to visit…

www.498a.org.in

www.family-harmony.org

According to researchers at Yale School of Medicine, there is an apparent connection between bullying, being bullied and suicide in children. In an attempt to empower children from the negative emotional ramifications of bullying, Building Strong Families National Seminars is debuting a powerful anti-bullying computer game for children entitled, the “Standing Up To Bullying” Computer Game 1.0.

The “Standing Up To Bullying” Computer Game is an educational game that teaches school-age children anti-bullying skills in a fun and exciting way. This game can be played by one or up to four players and teaches children effective ways to resolve issues of bullying without resorting to violence. Children learn to resolve issues of bullying as they achieve the highest trophy level. This game can easily be played in homes, classroom, and therapy settings.

This game teaches children:

1. This game teaches children:
2. Anti-bullying coping skills.
3. Communication skills.
4. Conflict resolution skills.
5. Confrontational skills.
6. How the self-esteem affects bullying.
7. Profiles of bullies and their victims.
8. The importance of and how to place boundaries on friendships.
9. Anger management skills.
10. The importance of body language and its effect on bullying.

The cost of the “Standing Up To Bullying” Computer Game is only $19.95 and is available as a download. This game is also available as a card game. Those that purchase the game will receive free unlimited updates/upgrades. Anyone interested in purchasing this game can first try it out by playing the limited trial version.

Those interested in trying or purchasing the “Standing Up To Bullying” Computer Game, are asked to visit http://www.Anti-BullyingComputerGame.com.

The following are a few testimonials in response to the “Standing Up To Bullying” Computer Game:

“I liked it (the computer game) a lot—especially the actual photographs of the kids posing in ways which may either invite or deflect bullying. In this case a picture speaks a thousand words. We learned a lot from it.”

Christine – Parent

“This is a wonderful game for children to learn how to handle a bully and to not be a bully! My 9 year old daughter had a great time playing it with me! Excellent creation! Fun and educational at the same time!”

Jennifer – Parent

“My daughter and I enjoyed playing the game! As a 4th grader, she understood the questions with little problem.”

Adrianne – Parent

“Serving families, individuals, parents, couples, and professionals, Building Strong Families National Seminars facilitates powerful educational conferences, parenting webinars, and family-related products with topics geared toward strengthening, empowering, and enhancing the family, schools, and the community.”

This webinar explores:

1. Whether discipline is responsible for behavior change,

2. At what age parents should begin disciplining their child,

3. Disciplining an ADHD child,

4. Whether psychotropic medication cures misbehavior, and

5. Preventing parental burnout.

This webinar is extremely beneficial to parents (especially of strong-willed children), caregivers, Educators, and anyone else who works with children.

As our gift for attending, participants will receive a free copy of the “Standing Up To Bullying” Computer game. This game, designed to teach children anti-bullying skills, can be played in classrooms, homes, or therapy settings.

The presenter is Mark Lakewood, CEO of Building Strong Families National Seminars, a distinguished parenting expert, author, and speaker with over 20 years of clinical experience as a mental health therapist. Mr. Lakewood has an extensive history providing therapy services to children, adolescents, and adults. Several years ago, he developed and facilitated an effective parenting program for parents of strong-willed children that gained local recognition. This program taught parents strategies and techniques to help them effectively manage their children’s behavior. Based on the enormous success of this program, Mr. Lakewood recently created The “Sudden Compliance” Program, and is currently offering it as a DVD, downloadable video, and webinar series.

Participants can view, hear, and interact with Mr. Lakewood similar to that of an onsite seminar. Participants are not required to have a webcam.

This webinar is scheduled for Thursday, May 27th, 2010 from 10:00am to 11:00am (Mountain Time). Additional dates may be scheduled. If the scheduled dates of this webinar are inconvenient, participants can request this live webinar to be scheduled on a date most convenient to them.

For more information or to pre-register, participants are asked to visit http://www.Top10ParentingMythsAndMisconceptions.info

“Serving families, individuals, parents, couples, and professionals, Building Strong Families National Seminars facilitates powerful educational conferences, parenting webinars, and family-related products with topics geared toward strengthening, empowering, and enhancing the family, schools, and the community.”

Motherhood is a journey of discovery, tears, fears, smiles and happiness. All these are truly felt when you held your bundle of joy for the first time, when you heard him/her cry for the first time. All pleasant experiences are worth sharing and your first baby birth experience is definitely a pleasant one that you would remember all your life.

Chennaimoms gives a platform to share your happiness and pleasant memories with your fellow moms. Post a blog here on your first baby birth experience – “The First Cry” and share it with your family and friends. We sure have the voting and prize to motivate moms to post the blog! So why the wait? Go ahead and pen down your memories.

For more details pls visit our Website:http://www.blrmoms.com/home/mother_day_contest Join our Mother’s Day celebration and forward to your friends about this mother’s day contest & win the cash prizes!!!

Have fun! Good luck for all moms or woman’s! Can’t wait to see who the winner is…