THANK YOU.. LET'S NOT DROP THE MOMENTUM

I have never done any kind of fundraising before.. never asked people for money. This was my first attempt at it and its’ been gratifying in more ways than one. I'm writing this post to thank all those people who donated money, donated their time or even sent words of encouragement my way. Some of you, I haven't spoken to in years and some of you, I have never seen. Again, a big big THANK YOU to everyone.
This is not to say my job here is done. We have now raised money for 4 girls and there are 6 others who are still waiting to be helped. I'm positively assured that with your help all these girls will be in a classroom learning magical things by the end of this month.

Visit this link http://www.citizeneffect.org/projects/udaan-debarati to help! Time is ticking!

Yes, India Still Drowns in Dowry

My Google News alert is set to the word 'dowry'. In the last 72 hours my blackberry has buzzed 12 times with dowry related news alerts. You'd think most dowry related harassment cases would be in the rural parts of India. Or even better, you'd think with the advent of stricter laws, increasing NGO's dealing with women's rights, most articles would be about how more and more women are fighting this so called "necessary evil". My intention with setting up the Google Alert was to track this positive trend. Well, if you're thoughts are anything like mine, then you're as far removed from reality as I am.

Highlights of some of the alerts I received:

1.       “Kumar, a businessman allegedly beat Rohini up and threw her out of her marital house due to her parent’s inability to give in to his demands.”

2.       “Saira burnt alive in Mumbai by her husband, Samsher and his sisters Afroz and Naseem after four years of marriage because of her non-payment of dowry. They poured kerosene on her and burnt her alive when she questioned her husband’s fidelity. Saira was later taken to Sion hospital where the doctors declared her dead. She had suffered 96% burns.”

3.       “Bhakti Shah, a 26-year-old woman, jumped to her death from the fourth floor of her residential building in Borivali, Mumbai. Her husband Tejas and mother-in-law had been mentally and physically torturing her for dowry after they realized Bhakti’s parents had spent a lot on the wedding.”

So why did Bhakti have to resort to suicide? Why couldn’t Saira leave Samsher in spite of his extra marital affair? It’s because most of these girls are not educated and do not have the ability to support themselves.  We are wrong. The vicious cycle of dowry is still prevalent and prevalent in urban cities. You know you can help. You really really know you can: Udaan: The chance at a new life

Bhakti Shah had a 5 year old son

                                         The building in Mumbai she jumped off of

Glimpse of Hope

I received this video from Care International last week. Shows a typical Udaan classroom in progress. I loved seeing the enthusiasm and hope in the girl's eyes and the fun classroom setting. See for yourself

You can give similar hope to one more girl. Just giving up on your Starbucks cup of coffee will give them $2.67, giving up on your weekend dinner will give them $26.7. Trust me, any amount you give will make you feel satisfied, happy and worthwhile: Udaan - Donate and make a Difference

We are failing.. failing really bad.

 Sanjana, a 27 year old housewife says her mother-in-law had told her a boy was absolutely necessary. Sanjana’s mother-in-law had warned her that her son would not bare the additional expenses of the girl’s marriage and elaborate dowry. Wow, if Sanjana could control the sex of her child, wouldn’t she be the world’s most advanced scientist! 

This ridiculous pressure and fear of girl child will only stop with education. Education will lead to empowerment will lead to the end of the vicious circle of dowry and finally lead to independent self-made women. Doesn’t it only seem fair that Sanjana’s mother-in-law celebrate the birth of her grandchild, girl or boy?  

The ending of the story was sad: Sanjana gave birth to a girl child and starved her child till her arms and legs were the size of twigs. The little girl, Sania weighed only 5 kilograms at 9-months-old………..

She is going to die by age 1. How many more Sania’s will die before things change?

                                                                   Little Sania

Why are mothers the most amazing people in the world?

My grandmother is critically ill and is battling a life threatening condition at the Intensive Critical Care Unit of a hospital In Calcutta. My mom has been in Calcutta the last couple of weeks in the midst of absolute chaos. Her life currently entails running from one doctor to the other, one blood bank to the other and basically from the hospital to home. I thought a great way to bring a smile to her face in the midst of this chaos would be to send her a nice Mother’s Day present. I called her last night to ask her what I could send her from the US. You will never believe what she said..“Deb, please give whatever money you are going to spend on my gift and Fedexing to those lovely girls you’re trying to empower.”

How did this selfless thought come to her mind at such a frenzied time in her life? How are mothers so unbelievably altruistic? I really have no idea. But, if your mother is anything like mine, surprise her on Mother’s Day by making a contribution to the Udaan: Girl's Education Fund. We will help make your gift even more special by sending updates about the child’s progress as a thank you for your help empowering this young girl.

Happy Mother’s Day! A big shout out to my poised, radiant and selfless mother: 

                                                               That's her!

'Udaan': Their Flight to a New Destination

Wow! This blogging business is really catching on to me. And I’m not going to lie; all the positive reinforcement from you guys hasn’t hurt either! I’m definitely not one of those people who say, “I’m blogging just to release my pent up creativity. I don’t care if people read my blog.” This blog is for a purpose and if I can’t spread the word, then it’s really quite pointless. So, I’m going to take this opportunity to say a big fat THANK YOU to all you guys who’ve helped recruit on facebook, left interesting comments on the blog and retweeted on twitter. 

One question a lot of you have asked is why 267. 267 is the magic number for these ten girls whose lives we’re trying to transform. While you and I were going to school, enjoying family time and learning the ways of life; she was working in the paddy fields, making rope and cooking for her family. In one year, your $267 will teach her language, mathematics, environmental science and also teach her about herself, society, institutions, rights and equality. I’m not trying to sound preachy, but you’ll really be returning the first ten years of her life to her! So, give whatever you can, $2.67, $26.7, $267. Spent too much money on food and drinks this month? No worries. Give five minutes of your time. Adopt a girl and spread the message of one of the girls to ten friends/ family members and ask them to do their part. 

Visit my citizen philanthropist page to donate or just to learn more about this cause: Udaan - Ten girls' flight to a new destination

Why should we care?

In the last 5 years, I have made 5 different attempts to start blogging. New Year’s resolutions, Self-Motivation workshops, Persuasive writing classes brought me very close to it, but could never push me the whole nine yards. Today, I write my very first blog post and I think it’s the right time to do it. As opinionated as I am, to write a blog just to share my opinions about the culprit of this great recession, Obama’s healthcare policy or Charlie Sheen’s “winning” antics just didn’t seem like the right thing to do.

A Social Impact Marketing Class at the Kellogg School of Business brought me face-to-face with my dream project. Girl 267 is my fight to empower ten young girls in India’s eastern state of Orissa. So what does 267 have to do with empowerment? Before I answer that, let me tell you the story of a stunning twelve year old girl, Chanmani. Chanmani begins her household chores at 4 in the morning. Then with her sister, she makes rope for the family business. Around 8 am, she heads for the rice fields where she works until sundown. This young, unassumingly enterprising girl has never seen the inside of a classroom because her family cannot afford it and they believe that losing her labor would put a strain on the family’s earnings. The saddest part is that her parents are ready to get her married by 15 and hence think educating her will not lead to any returns for the family. While an education for you and I will lead to a job and a successful career, an education for Chanmani will lead to not just a successful career, but a whole new life too.

Care International has made an extraordinary commitment to educating young women in the villages of India. They have implemented residential learning programs exclusively for girls (ages 10-14) designed to help never-enrolled or out-of-school girls complete primary level schooling in 11 months. $267 can put a young girl through this accelerated program and empower her to retreat from her poverty-stricken life, get married at an appropriate age and design her life as she desires. To discover more about Chanmani and Care International’s concerted efforts to tackle the evils of her life and many others watch the video below. Watch this space for more updates about Girl 267 and the ten young girls whose lives you and I together can change.