Have You Gone MAD Today?

World Blanket Day 2011

2011-12-08T07:08:00.000-08:00

The world is showing little signs of recovering from the harshest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Millions more jobs have been lost. We are entering a "new normal".

At such a time, everyone - especially the underprivileged - can do with an additional "blanket" of warmth.

In this grim backdrop, MAD Club announces World Blanket Day on December 9, 2011. Please email details of your contributions to blanketday@yahoo.com.

- Team World Blanket Day

Previous Blanket Day blog announcements: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

MAD Club - List of Contents

2010-12-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

(Click on the links below to be directed to your page of interest)

List of MAD Projects

Type A: Group Projects (GP)

GP 1: International Blanket Day (IBD) / World Blanket Day (WBD)

GP 2: PHP - People Helping People

GP 3: Tsunami Relief

GP 4: Pakistan-India Earthquake Relief

Type B: Individual Projects (IP)

IP 1: ASAD - A Smile A Day

MAD Club "Game 18"

IP 2: WWTO - Walk With The Old

IP 3: DYO - Donate your Organs

IP 4: DBBTTB - Don't Be Blind To The Blind

IP 5: LUBKTOA - Let Us Be Kind To Our Animals

IP 6: Adoption

FAQs on Adoption

IP 7: WANAYA - We're As Normal As You Are

IP 8: GC - Gain Confidence

IP 9: Appeal from SHM

Type C: Emergency Appeals (EA)

EA 1: Save Sukriti

EA 2: Please Help This Young Doctor

EA 3: Save Kanisha

EA 4: Spare a prayer for Preeti

EA 5: A Child Needs You

Other MAD Links

MAD Heroes

Dr Manorama and CHES

Making A Difference

Appeal for Aid

About the MAD Club

Have you Gone Mad Today?

MAD Club - The Charter

World Blanket Day 2010

2010-12-05T16:01:00.000-08:00

The world is haltingly recovering from the harshest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Millions of jobs have been lost. We are falling behind in our efforts to contain global warming and achieve the Millennium Goals. At such a time, everyone - especially the poor - can do with an additional "blanket" of warmth.

In this grim backdrop, MAD Club announces World Blanket Day on December 9, 2010.

Please email details of your contributions to blanketday@yahoo.com.

- Team World Blanket Day

Previous Blanket Day blog announcements: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

World Blanket Day 2009

2009-12-05T16:00:00.000-08:00

MAD Club announces World Blanket Day on December 9, 2009 !

Please email details of your contributions to blanketday@yahoo.com.

- Team World Blanket Day

World Blanket Day 2008

2008-11-19T06:21:00.000-08:00

"International Blanket Day" is now rechristened "World Blanket Day"!

MAD Club announces World Blanket Day on December 9, 2008 !

Please email details of your contributions to blanketday@yahoo.com.

- Team World Blanket Day

International Blanket Day 2007

2007-12-06T21:35:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

Do you fear the possible impact of "Global Warming"? I do too. But for millions of people around the world, it is not global warming they fear most - it is the winter cold.

The storms and the sharp cold, which have penetrated the most comfortable of our homes, and made us, in all our wrappers and mufflers, shiver through the streets, have started fallen on the broken shanties and leaky rooms of the poor. Children, half clothed, are struggling to survive.

While most of us have already stitched our beautiful woollen quilts and purchased the furry blankets which tempt us to stay in bed till late in the morning, let us not forget the poor souls who cover themselves with the frost of the season and the agonies accompanying it. A minor contribution from our side can make a major impact in their lives this winter.

International Blanket Day (IBD) started in the winter of 2001 in memory of a great humanitarian who used to silently distribute hundreds of blankets to the poor people of Calcutta every winter. It was in his memory that 9th December, the date of his passing away, was established, first as "National Blanket Day" and subsequently, in 2004, as "International Blanket Day". From a modest beginning in a classroom in Ahmedabad, the effort has slowly but surely been gaining acceptance across boundaries and borders. Details of IBD 2004 are available at madclub.blogspot.com. IBD 2005, which was dedicated to the survivors of the devastating Pakistan-India earthquake, saw a net collection of US$ 4,375 which was utilized towards earthquake relief.

Your contribution could be as simple as donating a blanket or some warm clothes to a needy person this winter. For any help / suggestions, please contact blanketday@yahoo.com and we will revert ASAP. We would also request that each of you who makes a donation or organizes a "mini collection drive" informs us of his / her contribution by sending an email to blanketday@yahoo.com. This will help us keep track of the impact of the movement.

Come on, lets make a difference!!!

Team International Blanket Day

International Blanket Day 2006

2006-11-25T08:33:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

Yet another winter is upon us. And while some of us more privileged ones are looking forward to the season of snow and holidays and cozy pullovers and a "nip in the air", there are millions of people who live near our own homes and who shiver for hours on end until they fall asleep on a cold pavement under an open sky. But for the grace of God, these people could be Us. The impoverished homeless families huddled silently together under the unforgiving open sky every night could so easily have been You and Me and Our Families. This population does live outside our homes, but let them not live outside our hearts. The pavement they have made their bed is cold, but maybe some warmth from our side can help lessen this cold. This large population is only getting larger, year by year, day by day. Whatever we can do may not solve all their problems, but no effort is ever too little.

As our contribution to minimize the impact of the ravages of the winter of 2006, the MAD Club hereby launches International Blanket Day 2006 (IBD 2006).

International Blanket Day started in the winter of 2001 in memory of a great humanitarian who used to silently distribute hundreds of blankets to the poor people of Calcutta every winter. It was in his memory that 9th December, the date of his passing away, was established, first as "National Blanket Day" and subsequently, in 2004, as "International Blanket Day". From a modest beginning in a classroom in Ahmedabad, the effort has slowly but surely been gaining acceptance across boundaries and borders. Details of IBD 2004 are available here and here. IBD 2005, which was dedicated to the survivors of the devastating Pakistan-India earthquake, saw a net collection of US$ 4,375 which was utilized towards earthquake relief. Further details of IBD 2005 are available here and here.

But all these efforts have just been tiny drops in an infinite ocean. Friends, the journey for providing succour and relief to our fellow brothers and sisters is not a short journey, and the road is not always easy. We seek the blessings and active assistance of all of you in our modest attempts to truly make a difference.

IBD 2006 has no theme. All we request is that you try and donate something to the poor of your neighbourhood which would help them survive the winter of 2006. It could be clothes, blankets, or funds to buy the same. Second-hand clothes and blankets are also useful provided they are clean. You could rope in your friends / family / neighbours / classmates / professional colleagues to form teams and decide how best you could collectively make a difference.

For any help / suggestions, please contact blanketday@yahoo.com and we will revert ASAP. We would also request that each of you who makes a donation / organizes a "mini collection drive" informs us of his / her contribution by sending an email to blanketday@yahoo.com. This will help us keep track of the impact of the movement.

So come. Join us in celebrating December 9th as International Blanket Day.

And let us Make A Difference. Together.

2005-12-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL BLANKET DAY 2005 !!!!

IBD2005 Update

2005-11-10T04:49:00.000-08:00

As on 9th Nov 2005, IBD2005 has raised over Indian Rupees One Lakh and Twenty Five Thousand for the J&K earthquake victims.

This figure translates to 2,500 blankets @ Rs. 50 per blanket.

On behalf of all the beneficiaries in the quake stricken areas, and from all of us in Team IBD2005, here is a very sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU to all the donors.

We strongly encourage you to continue your individual / group fund-raising efforts. Please email blanketday@yahoo.com with details of your collection / contribution efforts. We will respect your request for anonymity.

Here are details of some of the genuine NGOs and relief agencies which we support and which are playing a crucial role in the relief and rehabilitation work in J&K.

Remember, no amount is too small and no effort too little.

Pakistan-India Earthquake : Master List of Aid Agencies

2005-10-19T00:08:00.000-07:00

Note 1 : The following lists will be updated periodically. Please keep checking to avail the latest information and updates.

Note 2 : Check http://quakehelp.blogspot.com (from the Tsunami-related SEA-EAT blog team) for continuous updates.

Note 3 : First timers please read the previous post before proceeding.

++++++++

You can select your preferred Aid Agency / NGO according to the following listing :

A. DONATING MATERIALS TO INDIAN AFFECTED AREAS
B. DONATING MATERIALS TO PAKISTANI AFFECTED AREAS
C. DONATING FUNDS TO INDIAN AFFECTED AREAS
D. DONATING FUNDS TO PAKISTANI AFFECTED AREAS

A. DONATING MATERIALS TO INDIAN AFFECTED AREAS

The materials could be Clothes, Blankets, Footwear, Medicines etc.

1. Rotary Club of Hyderabad

Person Spoken To : Mr. Sanjay Khendry of Rotary Club of Hyderabad East

They are doing relief work in the Indian affected areas. They may be willing to collect materials from a central location, but they would prefer that donors courier the materials directly to the Rotary Club units working in J&K. Further details will be available soon.

Contact Details :

Rotary Club of India URL : http://www.rotaryindia.net/

All Rotary Club Details : http://www.rccentralcal.org/link_below.html

Rotary Club of Hyderabad :
Flat No.403 D No.3-5-798 Pratima Apts.
Opp. Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan
King Kothi Road
Hyderabad-195
Tel. 040-23243101

Rotary Club of Hyderabad East :
Mr. Sanjay Khendry
Email: skhendry@Rotary3150.org
Phone: +91 40 5543 6299

2. Indian Red Cross Society

Person Spoken To : Mr. Satish (040-23221748)

They prefer new materials. If the materials are old they should be clean, washed and ironed. They will revert soon on whether they can arrange for pickup from a central location.

Contact details :

Indian Red Cross URL : http://www.indianredcross.org/south-india.html

IFRC India URL : http://www.ifrc.org/where/country/cn6.asp?countryid=84

Andhra Pradesh State Branch
Indian Red Cross Society,Raj Bhavan, Hyderabad-500041
Contact numbers : 040-23221748, 23260201

Online donation : http://donate.ifrc.org

3. Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) (Working through FOCUS)

Person Spoken To : Mr. Sarfaraz (022-23001726)

The immediate requirement is for winterized tents. They are collecting clothes and blankets also, but they prefer donation of funds for various reasons. Donors will get 50% tax exemption. Right now, they have sent 1000 blankets and have not yet started the next round of blanket collection, but will do so soon. For clothes, they do not want old / used clothes, they only want new clothes – but again, they prefer cash donations for reasons mentioned elsewhere in this post.

Contact details :

AKDN URL : www.akdn.org

FOCUS URL : http://www.akdn.org/focus/index.html#contacts

AKDN Mumbai
INDIA
Focus Humanitarian Assistance, India
4th Floor, Warden Building, 340, Sir J.J. Road,
Byculla, Mumbai 400 008
India
Tel: + 91 222 300 1726 /1749
Fax: +91 22 2300 1792

4. Action Aid

Here is a letter from Action Aid (Srinagar) :

(Reference http://pakistan.wikicities.com/wiki/Earthquake_10-05_in_India)

Dear Friend,

If you live anywhere in India here is one way that you can help, in your own small way, the suffering victims of the recent earthquake in Kashmir:

You can collect or buy warm clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, sheets etc [in good condition please] from friends and relatives and then arrange to send them by truck/road transport to Kashmir [which will be cheaper, although less fast, than courier]. Please note that all this material should be in GOOD condition, and not torn or unusable. Please do NOT send dirty, torn or very old and fraying material.

Think of the thousands of people suffering in Kashmir with severe winter now approaching.

You could send them to my friend Arjimand Hussain, who heads Action Aid in Kashmir, who will arrange to distribute them in affected villages in Kupwara and Baramulla. The parcel [s] should be addressed to:

Arjimand Hussain
Action Aid
H-12 Cooperative Colony
Peerbagh
Srinagar
Jammu and Kashmir
Cell no: (0)9419004521
(Res): 0191-2476367

Regards, and in solidarity,

Yoginder Sikand

B. DONATING MATERIALS TO PAKISTANI AFFECTED AREAS

The materials could be Clothes, Blankets, Footwear, Medicines etc.

1. Edhi Foundation

Contact details : http://www.contactpakistan.com/socialwork/Edhi/Intloffice.htm

2. Association for the Development of Pakistan (ADP)

(Working with the Edhi Foundation)

Contact details : http://www.developpakistan.org/Default.aspx?tabid=149

3. Insanity Works Blog

URL : http://www.insanityworks.org/earthquake_relief.html

This has links to sites for donating goods, money, blood units and volunteering :

Goods : http://www.insanityworks.org/earthquake_relief--goods.html

Money : http://www.insanityworks.org/earthquake_relief--money.html

Blood units : http://www.insanityworks.org/earthquake_relief--blood.html

Volunteering : http://www.insanityworks.org/earthquake_relief--volunteer.html

4. Pakistan Medical Association

Refer http://madclub.blogspot.com/2005/10/pakistan-india-earthquake-pakistan.html

C. DONATING FUNDS TO INDIAN AFFECTED AREAS

The funds could be in the form of Cash, Cheque, Money Order, DD, Online or e-Deposit.

1. PM's National Relief Fund

Checks/Money Orders should be drawn in favor of "Prime Minister's National Relief Fund" and can be sent to any one of the following addresses:

Prime Minister's Office
New Delhi 110011
India

OR

Prime Minister's National Relief Fund
Embassy of India
Attn: Head of Chancery
2107 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008

For details on contributing Online or via e-Deposit, and for more information on PM's National Relief Fund Website, visit : http://pmindia.nic.in/relief.htm.

See also : http://pakistan.wikicities.com/wiki/Earthquake_10-05_in_India

2. UNICEF

Person Spoken To : Mr. Prasad of UNICEF Hyderabad office

For earthquake relief, UNICEF is only collecting funds. For donating materials, they recommend the Red Cross.

Contact details :

URL : http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_india_contact.html

Hyderabad Field Office Mail address :
United Nations Children's Fund
"Gulmarg"
D. No. 865
Street No. 19, Himayathnagar
Hyderabad 500 029
Andhra Pradesh, India
Tel.: 040- 23227236 / 23227226 / 23227328 / 23227335
Email : Hyderabad@unicef.org

3. Eficor

Person Spoken To : Ms. Sheela George (+91-11-25516383)

Eficor is not accepting materials. They are accepting donations. Donation can be in any of the following two ways:

a. Online donation

Go to : http://eficor.org/ ==> Get Involved ==> Donate ==> India

ICICI branch EFICOR account No: 008701018157 Janakpuri Branch

After donation, please send a confirmatory email (mentioning your postal address) to eficorhq@vsnl.com or info@eficor.com. They will send you the receipt & ATG relief form by post.

b. Donation by post

Make your Cheque or Demand Drafts drawn in favor of "EFICOR, New Delhi".

Contact details:

URL http://eficor.org

Postal address:
EFICOR
308 Mahatta Tower
B Block Community Centre
Janakpuri
New Delhi 110 058
Telefax +91-11-25516383/4/5
Email: eficorhq@vsnl.com / info@eficor.com

4. Chinar (Child Nurture and Relief)

Donation details URL : http://www.chinar.org/appeal.htm

5. AID India

Refer http://madclub.blogspot.com/2005/10/pakistan-india-earthquake-aid-india.html

D. DONATING FUNDS TO PAKISTANI AFFECTED AREAS

The funds could be in the form of Cash, Cheque, Money Order, DD, Online or e-Deposit.

1. Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps URL : http://www.mercycorps.org

Online donation URL : http://www.mercycorps.org/topics/emergencies/910

2. Hidaya Foundation

Hidaya Foundation URL : http://www.hidaya.org

Online donation URL : https://donation.hidaya.org/donation.aspx?projectId=66

Zakat-ul-Mal Online donation URL : https://donation.hidaya.org/donation.aspx?projectId=40

3. Oxfam

Online donation URL : http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_you_can_do/give_to_oxfam/donate/asian_quake.htm

Oxfam International URL : http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/emergencies/country/asian_quake/index.htm

Oxfam India URL : http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/where_we_work/india/index.htm

Pakistan-India Earthquake : Important Note

2005-10-19T00:04:00.000-07:00

IMPORTANT : ALL POTENTIAL DONORS ARE REQUESTED TO PLEASE READ THIS NOTE

Perspective

Most NGOs have not yet been able to access the affected areas.

Of the few who have, most are not accepting materials. They prefer money donations because :

Organizing the collection, sorting, fumigation, loading and dispatch of the materials is very difficult for them as it needs full-time workers. It is also time consuming and delays the relief work. For instance, the journey from Mumbai to the affected areas by road is 6 days! Hence they need to airlift the materials, which again is very costly and difficult to organize.
They find it logistically much easier and more practical to use the money to buy the materials directly in and near the affected areas. Plus they can collect everyone's money and buy in bulk, which gives them a bulk discount, which you and I cannot avail individually.
They mostly need new blankets, clothes etc. Not used ones. So they prefer not to accept our second hand materials and instead prefer to use our donations to buy new materials themselves.
What we donate may be very different from what is actually needed on the ground. For instance, most of the victims are Pathans and Punjabis who would wear a specific kind of attire – so all the t-shirts, frocks and saris sent there will end up being wasted. Thus, because of local & cultural factors, most non-cash donations end up being unused.
Cash donations enable the NGOs to buy exactly what is really needed, e.g. winterized tents, specifically required medicines.
Local sourcing (i.e. buying material from the affected areas) also gives a boost to the local economy.

How can you help?

The best way to help is by personally volunteering to work with a reliable NGO or aid agency, and working either onsite or offsite.
If (1) is not possible, clearly the next best option is to donate funds. Read the note on Perspective above to understand why.
If (2) is also not possible and you are intent on donating materials (clothes, blankets, footwear, medicines etc.), please try and buy new ones instead of old / used ones. Ask your NGO what kind of clothes you should buy - e.g. salwar kameez and pathani suits would be more useful than t-shirts, jeans, frocks and saris.
If (3) is also not possible and you wish to donate old / used material, please confirm with your NGO if they will accept it if it is washed & ironed.

International Blanket Day 2005

2005-10-13T03:54:00.000-07:00

Two million homeless people face a harsh winter – The Guardian

Government acknowledges dire need for blankets in quake affected areas - BBC

Cold kills hundreds in South Asia last winter - BBC

Dear friends

It is that time of the year when 90% of the population of extensive parts of South Asia – from the malnourished beggar, to the debt-ridden small-time farmer; from the poor girl child, to the wafer-thin lady who works as a manual laborer; from the residents of slums and shanties, to those whose beds adorn the pavements of frozen roads – start feeling the first pangs of biting cold.

It is mid October, the unwelcome month which heralds the arrival of yet another harsh unforgiving winter in North India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and neighboring areas.

And this year will be worse. Immeasurably so. For this year, it is not just the above mentioned who will suffer – it will also be people who “normally” would never have experienced such cold, but who, in the Winter of 2005, will. These are the victims of the tragic Pakistan-India earthquake which has left millions homeless and without shelter from the fury of Mother Nature.

To quote from here:

“For thousands of survivors of Pakistan's worst-ever natural disaster, the misery continues.

“Most spent a shivering fourth night in the open, too afraid to use what is left of their damaged houses amid the ruins of a catastrophe that has left at least 23,000 dead in Pakistan and some 2.5 million homeless.

"The lucky ones managed to find themselves blankets and some even tents to protect against the cold. Others made do with pieces of cardboard and slept between mounds of rubble on the pavements.

"All emerged from the freezing night to find that snow had fallen on the peaks surrounding the once-picturesque Kashmiri city.

" 'That was the fourth night we slept in the open,' said Khurshid Bibi, pointing to her family of 15 camped on the roadside outside their collapsed house in Gulshan street. 'We were very, very cold. We need tents and blankets.'

"During Tuesday's rain they had sheltered in the only room left standing of their home, but they had been afraid it would collapse.

" 'It's hard living on the street. My mother is very ill.' "

Need one say more?

In light of this devastating tragedy, the MAD Club launches International Blanket Day 2005 (IBD2005). But with a difference!

The objective of IBD2005 is : "To help the survivors of the Pakistan-India earthquake survive the harsh winter of 2005-06. And thereby to help them rebuild their lives, one small step at a time".

The modus operandi of IBD2005 is going to be different from IBD2001 – IBD2004. For the first time in its 5-year existence, IBD2005 is going to steer away from its core theme of “individual donations” and is going to focus on the modus operandi of “mini collection drives” - albeit individually organized. Why? Because, when dealing with devastation of this magnitude, individuals just do not have the time, money, energy and resources to individually make a noticeable difference to the large number of survivors. But collectively, working together under focused direction in a cohesive and systematic manner, they can move mountains.

It’s basic mathematics : In times of such international crises, 1 = 1, but 1 + 1 = 11!

So this time, the onus is on each individual - on each one of us - not just to donate on our own, but to organize "mini collection drives" and thereby get others to donate too!

The Process for IBD2005

Each person (henceforth referred to as "contributor") would buy a blanket. In case the contributor cannot afford a new blanket, he or she is welcome to donate an old blanket.
Other items which can be collected, and which would be very useful, are:
a. Warm clothes (sweaters, cardigans, scarves, socks, shawls ... )
b. Any other clothes (shirts, trousers, kurtas, lungis ... )
c. Footwear (slippers, shoes ... )
d. Medicines (sample list given here)
e. School or tuition fees, study books or materials (note pads, pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, rulers, geometry boxes, pencil boxes, school bags ... )
f. Money
Once the contributor has collected his/her share of the above, he/she will then organize "mini collection drives" to gather as much of the above material as possible. Some target groups among which these drives can be organized are:
a. Family
b. Friends
c. Neighbourhoods / building societies
d. Schools
e. Colleges
f. Workplaces
g. Other groups - Internet acquaintances, NGOs you may know, friendly govt organizations, libraries, clubs etc.
Please collect as much of the above as you can buy / spare, both through your individual efforts as well as through your "mini collection drives".
We will shortly provide city-wise details of who to contact for handing over the material you have collected.

At the end of the day, there should be just that extra bit of warmth and happiness in this increasingly cold and frosty world of ours.

How can you help?

The dream is very lofty. The resources are very scarce.

You can help immeasurably simply by participating.

You can help even more if your answer to any of the following questions is a "Yes":

Do you have family, friends and acquaintances with who you can share this message? Do you know people who are willing and able to create a warmer and happier world?
Can you get together with your friends on any Sunday or half holiday, and organize a "mini collection drive" on your own? It will not take more than a few hours, and trust me, the kick you will experience is not worth missing!
Is your academic institute or workplace willing to undertake a "mini collection drive" for earthquake relief?
Do you have ideas or recommendations or contacts for spreading news of this request to the maximum number of people? Any and all suggestions are most welcome.
And finally, is anyone interested in volunteering to join Team International Blanket Day 2005 (TIBD2005)? Based on the level of your participation, we will assign TIBD Coordinators for your school / college / organization / locality / city / country.
(List of last year's coordinators given here).

If you have answered a "Yes" to any of the above, and if you are willing to participate, please email blanketday@yahoo.com. Please mention your name and city / country of residence. All your inputs, feedback, suggestions, ideas, queries, clarifications and offers to help will be keenly appreciated. We promise to revert ASAP.

We also request that each of you who makes a donation / organizes a "mini collection drive" informs us of his / her contribution by sending an email to blanketday@yahoo.com. This will help us keep track of the impact of the movement.

So come. Join us in celebrating December 9th as International Blanket Day.

And let us Make A Difference. Together.

Related Posts

IBD 2004 : Details of Project International Blanket Day 2004 are here
IBD 2004 : Details of Team International Blanket Day 2004 are here
To help in Pakistan Quake Relief, click here
To help in India Quake Relief, click here

Pakistan-India Earthquake : Aid India

2005-10-12T06:32:00.000-07:00

Letter from Aid India:

Dear Friends,

As you know a huge earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck Muzaffarabad region of Pakistan on 8th October. This earthquake is bigger than the Gujarat earthquake. A large part of Pakistan and Kashmir was badly affected. 800 people in Kashmir are dead and more than 2400 are injured. Pakistan has suffered a major loss of life - more than 40000 people have died. Indian and Pakistan governments are working together to speed up relief operations.Many more people are injured and still buried under the debris.

We are in touch with a number of groups working on basic relief in both India and Pakistan. There is a lot of urgent help that is needed by these organizations. At this point, we are collecting funds from all over India and relief materials at Delhi. Volunteer doctors and medical supplies are needed to work in Kashmir. Warm clothing, tents and make-shift shelter arrangements are also needed urgently.

Because of the transportation problems involved - at this stage - we are NOT collecting relief materials in Chennai, Mumbai, etc. The relief materials are being collected only at Delhi. Please contact Anuj Grover -0-98182-48459 - if you want to donate relief materials.

Relief materials will be sent to:

1.Kashmir valley: through the The Servants of the People Society which is starting relief work in Baramula. Their trucks are leaving from New Delhi on the 13th. Contact person: Dr Satya Paulji (0 98111 12705) or Mani (011-2642 7650).

2. Pakistan: through the Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace & Democracy(PIPFPD) which is collecting relief supplies in Delhi and will be transporting it to Pakistan.

Apart from relief supplies, we also need a lot of funds. There are several organizations in both India and Pakistan that we are in touch with who require financial support for their relief and rehabilitation work. We have set up a special fund for this purpose in AID-INDIA: "Indo-Pak Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Fund".

We request you to donate generously and also to collect funds from your friends and colleagues for the Earthquake relief. All donations can be made by cheques payable to "AID-INDIA" and marked or with an attached letter for "Indo-Pak Earthquake Relief".

If you are in Delhi, please make a cheque to "AID-INDIA" and contact Anuj Grover: 0-98182-48459.

In Bangalore, please make cheque to "AID-INDIA" and contact Aradhana:0-98455-37269.

If you are in Mumbai, please contact T. Shankar: 0-98208-06127, Om Damani: 9323003401

If you are in Chennai or anywhere else, please post your cheques to:

AID-INDIA
New No 34, II Floor, Rathenam Street
Gopalapuram, Chennai - 600086
Phone: 044-28350403, 94440-61033
email: aid.info@gmail.com

Please forward this information to other friends who would be interested in helping the earthquake victims.

Thanks.
Balaji Sampath

Note: Please note that due to logistic issues, we are not collecting any goods but just the funds. Please feel free to contact us with suggestions. Please forward it to others who may be interested.

Pakistan - India Earthquake : Pakistan Medical Association

2005-10-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

A letter from Dr. Shafaq Yusuf of Karachi, Pakistan :

Dear friends

As you all know very well that disaster in its worst form ever has hit South Asia. Pakistan's Azad Kashmir is the worst hit area. Over 41,00 people according to unofficial reports have died – and there are areas still inaccessible where thousands of people buried under the rubble have not been counted in the official death toll as yet. We do not yet know what the final death toll would be.

The number of injured people is still greater. And due to after shocks, the hospitals have been evacuated as well. Patients are lying on the grounds. Doctors and other rescuers have been working non stop for over 50 hours. Dead bodies have started to rot, and epidemics may start to spread soon if action is not taken promptly.

People all over the country have stood up to the task, and everyone is doing their level best to help the victims.

This fax was sent today in the morning regarding the things that are needed according to one organization working in the Mansehra area. Of course the requirements given below are not sufficient to meet the needs of all the places affected, but still it is quite a lot, and these medicines and other materials are immediately needed. I request you to send as much help as you can, in whatever form, to us.

Kindly donate generously, because no one knows who might be needing help next.

May God bless those who have been affected,and help us all.

Dr. Shafaq Yusuf

PAKISTAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (PMA)

Postal Address to send medicines / supplies / outstation cheques:
PMA House, Sir Aga Khan III Road, Garden East, Karachi, Pakistan
Tel. No. : +92-21-2251159

Bank A/C Details for DD/Cheques:
C/O PMA House, Habib Bank SDV Branch Acc. No. 423-59

LIST OF IMMEDIATE REQUIREMENTS

Note 1 : Please do not give medicines which have crossed the expiry date.

Note 2 : Please do not give empty or used medicines.

Spirit - 100 litre
Dettol - 50 litres
Cap.Amoxil 500 mg - 1000
Inj. Ampiclox 500 mg - 1000
Inj Velosef 500 mg - 1000
Inj Volium - 500
Inj Anjinox - 1000
Tab. Ponstan Forte - 1000
Tab. Pontstan Plane - 500
Feldiene - 1000
Aminophylin - 500
Vetoline solution - 100
Tab. Ventoline - 1000
D/syringes 10cc
Inj Adrenaline - 500
Inj Atropin - 500
Inj Solucortif - 500
I/V Canula 20,224,186,166 size - 200
Inj Haemacel 500 ml - 1000
Surgical gloves - 1500
D/gloves
Food items
Oxygen cylinders
Polyfex ointment - 500
Cap. Imodium
Tab Entox P
Tab Spasmoeibalgin
Tab Bellodona
Tab Chlorphenarmin
Metacolon
Adhesive tape
Surgical bandage(4", 6")
Crepe bandage (4", 6")
Inj. Xylocaine 2% plain
Inj. Xylocaine with Adrenaline
Syp Paracetamol
Syp Brufen
Syp Amoxil 250 mg
Syp Gravivola
Syp Maxalon
Syp Spaslen
Syp Flagyl
Syp Metodim
ORS
I/V fluids :
(ringer 1000)
(D/S 1000)
(D/W 1000)
Inj Excef 1mg - 1500
Jansonaplkasin - 1500
Inj Tramol - 1000
Inj Nalbin1 - 500
Blood bags with sols. - 2500
Inj. Gravinate - 2000
Inj. SALINE - 2000
Inj. RINGERLACTATE - 2000
Catgut - 1500
Cotton roll - 1000
D/S syringe 500 cc
Cap Velosef 500 mg - 150
Guaze piece - 1000 meters
Tab Brufen 400mg - 1000
Syp Brufen - 1000
Syp Augmentin - 400
D/S syringe 1cc - 500
Tatauix - 500
I/V Caula 22 size - 1000
Glysilk - 2000
Tents - 300
Blankets - 1000
Bed sheets - 40
Patient clothes - 100
Plastic sheets 6* 6 thick for the floor
Sweaters
Jackets
Socks
Winter clothing

Appeal from SHM

2005-10-03T03:30:00.000-07:00

(MAD Club Independent Project IX)

(Contact Person : Mamoon Akhtar, shm7@rediffmail.com)

For a brief introduction on SHM, click here.

Here is a letter from Mamoon Akhtar, the visionary young founder of the Samaritan Help Mission (SHM). Please help as much as you can. For details, email Mamoon Akhtar directly.

(Transcript of letter dated 24-Sep-05)

First of all I would like to convey my heartiest thanks and love from my very poor but loving family of 400 Children of Samaritan Help Mission.

Our Motive is to help the people on need not on creed.

Note that our area Tikiyapara in Kolkata is a muslim dominated area having 80% muslims and 20% non-muslims. The beneficiaries of SHM Project consist of the same ratio. Due to poverty, illiteracy and ignorance, children have been involved in drug trafficking and peddling. Women are been exploited by the Drug Mafia. Our Mission is to save the children from the clutches of the Drug Mafia and also the women. By making them empowered, the daughters of the MILLAT will not have to sell their conscience and dignity to bring a daily loaf of bread for her family and children. In the past, those children who used to stand on the street selling drugs and waiting for the customers, now come on time, books in polythene bag in their hand, to SHM.

Thank you for asking how you can support SHM. Note that we have limited resources. The Almighty has Sent Shri Ramesh Kacholia Uncle & Mrs. Lee Alison Sibley W/o Ex-US Consul General in Kolkata who send most of the support from their personal resources as well as garner support from their well wishers and friends. The local individual interested person donates to the SHM cause in the shape of Rs. 100/- or Rs. 50/- per month. Besides, children give Rs. 5/- per month. Many people come and donate copies, books, pencils etc to SHM, on the eve of their children's birthday. We motivate people to donate pencils, copies, pencils boxes on the eve of their children birthday so that children will develop the feeling of giving and helping the fellow human being. As the IDD & Durga Puja is coming near we have motivated the local people to help us so that we could give the underprivileged old aged and orphan children of SHM clothes in Durga Puja & IDD, which we do every year.

We appeal to the people to help us with whatever capacity they have so that we an run our Educational, Vocational Training and other projects smoothly. We can give the honorarium to our Girl Volunteers who are college Going Students, and they render their services for teaching these unfortunate children, in lieu they receive honorarium of Rs.125/- each so that they could pay their college fees and continue their studies. They all come from poor families.

We humbly request you to help us under your capacity and tell your friends and well wishers to help SHM cause in the name of their late beloved ones. We need support for running of our Illiteracy Elimination Program, Vocational Training Program, Computer Literacy Program, and Sponsorship of Orphan or underprivileged Girl or Boy for continuing their studies.

Please note we are running our School in three shift in 600 sqft of Land. In the past we had only one class room running classes upto I & II, but with Ramesh uncle's personal support and support from his friends, we have been able to build one additional room, and are now running classes upto Class I, II, III, IV.

We are trying to get a land for the school so that we could start school upto class X, and maintaining the corpus fund for it. Hence we request you to support us under your individual capacity for running of the SHM programmes. The support of people will make our mission more strong.

We request you to donate a portion of your heart to the most needy and unfortunate children and ensure them to the holistic approach to education. We shall be happy if you always write few lines to us, which will give us encouragement.

Your brother with love

Mamoon Akhtar.

Picture 1 : SHM CLASS IN PROGRESS

Picture 2 : SHM CHILDREN ON THEIR WAY TO CLASS

A Child Needs You

2005-09-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

(MAD Emergency Appeal #5)

(To help, contact: Shaffy)

There is a new hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, where Dr. Shafaq Yusuf and other students of Dow Medical College have been posted. The place where it is located is the poorest area of Karachi. Two days of incessant torrential rains had caused it to submerge under water, and several houses had been washed away.

There is this little child over there who is suffering from a serious disease. The medicine for treatment costs Pakistani Rs. 1500 (approx. INR 1500) per day. This comes to about Rs. 2.7 lakh for the complete course. The child has to take these medicines for 6 months for complete recovery. Any help would be most appreciated.

For further information on the child, details of the illness and treatment, how to contact, and how to assist or contribute in any manner, please contact Dr. Shafaq Yusuf at shafaqyusuf@gmail.com.

Appeal for Aid

2005-07-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

Sub : Donation for some outstanding institutions involved in the work of education of underprivileged children in rural/tribal/slum areas

Mr Ramesh Kacholia is an outstanding humanitarian worker. Apart from being a flagbearer for Baba Amte's Maharogi Sewa Samiti, he is closely associated with almost 15 NGOs, most of which are deeply involved in the education and rehabilitation of the underprivileged children from Red Light Areas, Railway Platforms, Street Children etc. His office acts as the Mumbai Office for all these institutions. The schools have just started for the current Academic Year. At this time, all these NGOs are in need of funds.

Enclosed herewith is a note giving brief details of six of these institutions. We encourage you to talk to some of your close friends and associates and urge them to help these outstanding institutions . For full contact details of each institution, or if you or your close friends and associates need any additional information / literature etc, please contact the institution directly via email. Alternately, you may contact Mr Ramesh Kacholia at glorimex@vsnl.com or Suhail Kassim at suhailkassim@yahoo.com for contact details and any other information.

The A/c Payee cheques drawn in favour of the institutions can be sent directly to the concerned institution. Alternately, they can be forwarded to Mr Ramesh Kacholia or Suhail Kassim, and we shall arrange to deliver the necessary receipts along with IT Exemption Certificate to you.

We encourage you to personally visit these organizations as per your convenience and witness first-hand the amazing work they are doing. Each of them have struggled against all odds and have done a truly remarkable job. Anyone who visits them is greatly impressed and returns with the feeling that they extract maximum benefit from every rupee donated to them.

1 . KARRA SOCIETY FOR RURAL ACTION (KSRA)
The dynamic husband-wife duo of Syed Afzal and Sakina Ahmed run two NGOs in Ranchi (Jharkhand). These are the Karra Society for Rural Action (KSRA) and the Kalanga Bazar Educational Trust (KBET). KSRA and KBET, established over 10 years ago, work in urban and rural poverty-stricken areas to help women, children, and disadvantaged communities become empowered through education, health and economic independence. Groups of women organized into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) get all the necessary training, loans, and support to start their own businesses. Poverty-stricken children are receiving non-formal education in 25 centers. KSRA and KBET have raised women's awareness of reproductive health, family planning, nutrition and sanitation. These are amazing organizations which started from very humble beginnings and is now doing an unbelievable amount of work. KSRA has now started a school for primary children in the slums and tribal areas of Ranchi in Jharkhand, where 50 students are already enrolled. The school is from Class 1 to 5. The operational expenditure for the school will amount to minimum Rs 12 Lacs every year. Pls issue your cheque in favour of 'Karra Society for Rural Action' (50% tax exemption).

Email ID: rch_ksra@sancharnet.in

2. PARIVAAR EDUCATION SOCIETY, KOLKATA
The Founder Director is Vinayak Lohani, an IIT Kharagpur and IIM Calcutta Graduate. Totally inspired by ideals of Swami Ramkrishnaji Paramhans and Swami Vivekanand. Has taken Brahmacharya about 6 months ago and has decided to devote his life for the education and total rehabilitation of the most down trodden children ( e.g. children from red light areas, from railway platforms, destitute children etc). Right now developing insfrastructure costing about Rs 70 Lacs. The number of children has gone up from 3 to 110 in the last 18 months and is likely to reach between 175-200 by year end . The recurring expenses for the current year are expected to be about Rs 28 Lacs. We propose to raise a substantial portion through the sponsorship scheme already operating successfully for nearly a year. The annual total cost for looking after one child comes to Rs. 15,000.

Email ID: vinayak@parivaar.org, parivaar_mission@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.parivaar.org/

3. SAMARITAN HELP MISSION (SHM)
A Group of 6 Muslim Youths who live in Tikiapara slum of Howrah near Kolkata are trying hard to save the children of their slum from falling easy prey to anti-social elements who want to forcibly induct them in nefarious activities like boot legging, drug peddling, smuggling and prostitution. SHM is trying to provide quality education to these children upto 4 th standard in their own school (run in 3 shifts to accommodate all the students) and then by enrolling them in the nearby good schools. The Trustees of SHM act as the guardians of these children. Starting from 6 students in 1999, today the school has almost 380 students (majority muslim girls, but there are students from other communities also). The school is open to all communities and the motto of SHM as embossed on their letterhead is, " WE GO BY NEED, AND NOT BY CREED".
SHM is now trying to establish in their locality a full-fledged school from KG to 10 th Standard duly recognized by the Govt. They are looking for a piece of land in the Tikiapara Area. For this purpose, they are contacting various Govt Authorities and are also looking at the option of renting or purchasing a land in their area.
If SHM receives any major donations for this purpose, it will be kept as a separate fixed deposit and utilized for the purpose of purchasing the land and building the school thereon.
(50% Tax Exemption)

Email ID: shm7@rediffmail.com

4. SNEHALAY, AHMEDNAGAR
Dr Girish Kulkarni, the young (35) Founder Director of Snehalay is running this institution for 15 years. The thrust of their work is to improve the living conditions of CSWs in Ahmednagar and nearby towns, provide Medical & Educational Facilities to their children, provide pre-primary education to children of the worst slums in Ahmednagar. A wonderful team of totally dedicated young persons is doing truly outstanding work under the leadership of Girish. Pls issue your cheque in favour of Snehalay (50% tax exemption).

Email ID : snehalay@rediffmail.com

5. SRISHTI, ORISSA
The pitiable conditions of tribals in Orissa led to the foundation of this organization. They run a High School, a Hospital and Cold Storage Plant for the benefit of the local people in Boxma, Orissa for the last 20 years. Please issue your cheque in favour of 'Srishti' (50% tax exemption).

Email ID: omsrishti@yahoo.com, omsrishti@sancharnet.in

6. MAHAROGI SEWA SAMITI
Baba Amte's world renowned organization has received sanction to accept donations under 35AC (100% exemption) to the extent of Rs. 82 Lacs under 3 heads. If anyone is keen to donate only when he/she gets 100% tax exemption, he/she is welcome to donate to MSS.

Website: http://mss.niya.org/

Project GC

2005-07-15T23:30:00.000-07:00

(MAD Club independent Project VIII)

(Project Coordinator: Madiha Salam)

MAD Club introduces Project Gain Confidence (GC) -- a project targeted towards people who are shy and timid and thereby suffer in landing that dream job, gaining admission to that prestigious college, or simply making a positive impact on people!

Why Project GC?

The key reason behind this project is to create awareness among people, all of who carry natural God-gifted talents within themselves -- talents which are often left hidden, unrevelaled, unencouraged and thereby unrewarded! This project encourages them to Dare to Dream, and unearth their intrinsic talents through overcoming their lack of self-confidence and due to factors like crowd fright. Self-confidence is the need of the hour and without it many otherwise achievable targets become impossible -- especially in the fields of study and jobs.

What are the objectives of Project GC?

The objectives of Project GC are:

1. To build self-confidence in people who believe they are too shy and timid to face a crowd
2. To help people cope with their current situations and take appropriate steps to overcome their shyness and timidity
3. To provide a common forum for people to share their unique experiences to overcome shyness for the benefit of others

Who will benefit?

This project will be beneficial for people (especially youth) who lack confidence in the following areas:

1. In their social lives
2. In their academic circles and school / college / university lives
3. In their co-curricular and extra-curricular activities
4. In their projects and jobs

Project GC would provide a forum for interaction between people who are confident and people who are not. The less confident people would benefit from the collective wisdom and training of the confident people, while the confident people would be able to contribute though sharing their experiences and thereby immeasurably enriching the lives and future of the less confident!

How can people participate in it?

The entire project has been conceptualised and implemented by a dynamic young girl, Madiha Salam, from Pakistan. What makes Project GC unique is that this project has been envisaged entirely from an altruistic perspective with the sole intention of helping others for free.

The current format would involve one-on-one counselling and advice to those who need it, and sharing experiences, writeups and presentations. In the not-too-distant future, the project may expand to taking personal classes and giving lectures on motivation and confidence building.

There is also an Orkut Community named "Gain Confidence" which provides a common forum for sharing of experiences.

Project GC has the potential to make an explosive impact in the lives of those who really need it. So come join Project GC. Come help Make a Difference to our youth.

Project WANAYA

2005-04-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

(MAD Club Independent Project VII)

(Project Coordinator : Shaq)

All of us are equally normal.

Conversely, all of us are equally abnormal.

How come?

Abnormalities are not only those which are visible. They can also be emotional or mental in nature.

Some of us have physical infirmities. We are visually challenged, or speech/hearing challenged, or physically challenged. But the term "physically challenged" in reality covers a much larger spectrum of "abnormalities". In fact, wearing spectacles and lenses is also a physical infirmity. And all of us have fallen ill occasionally - which is just another physical infirmity, albeit a short-term one.

Some of us have emotional handicaps. We're cruel, unkind, unjust. And all of us have lost our tempers occasionally - which is just another emotional infirmity, albeit a short-lived one.

Some of us have mental shortcomings. We're dyslexic, ADHD, autistic, or just slow in grasping new things. And almost all of us would have flunked a test - which is just proof of mental infirmity, albeit a temporary one.

Most of us have suffered all three shortcomings at one point or another. Nobody is “perfectly normal” – and that’s good, because nature loves irregularities and perfection is so boring! We're all a mix of abnormalities. Ergo, we are all challenged in one way or another.

Why then do we look at physically handicapped people differently from us?

How is a person who needs crutches or a wheelchair to move, any different from you and me? All it takes is one split second - the fraction of time required for an accident - to become lifelong “physically challenged” ourselves.

And if a "physically challenged" person is mentally and emotionally "normal", chances are that he or she is much more wholesome than many so-called "normal" people who are victims of emotional or mental challenges.

Why then should it matter if a person has certain physical handicaps? Do we look at people who wear spectacles as being different from us? If not, then why should we look at people on wheelchairs differently? They're human, just like us ... except their legs are a bit weaker. But in the long run, is it the strength in the legs that counts? Or is it the strength in the spirit?

If you talk to "physically challenged" people, the overwhelming feeling you will come away with, will be:

Do not give us sympathy. Give us respect as humans. Give us dignity.

And for God's sake, treat us as equals. Don’t single us out.

Because all of us are equally normal.

The MAD Club hereby launches "Project WANAYA - We're As Normal As You Are".

Here is what Project Coordinator Shaq wrote in his blog:

People know me as being in a wheelchair, as a wheelchair. I always try to put myself on the other side . IF I were looking at me, I am sure I would be thinking of that guy in the chair. I can't expect to think any differently.

"I must admit I can't really claim that I have been happy or content since I have been in a wheelchair. The frustration have always been there to take it away. For me each day, life is either bearable or unbearable. It has never really got beyond that. Very few days have got above bearable"

"Happiness is a positive emotion, short-term enjoying a film, an overall feeling. Before I was left "physically challenged"I was sometimes happy and sometimes not, but since I have been disabled I cannot claim that I have ever been happy. It is too much struggle , every day"

Can we do our bit to make them happier? Can we make their struggle easier?

Can we convince ourselves – and them – that there really is nothing wrong with them, after all?

Why not try? Because, folks, guess what – it’s true!

Come let us do our bit in helping the so-called "physically challenged" live with dignity and equality. Come participate in Project WANAYA.

And let us Make A Difference.

Spare a prayer for Preeti

2005-04-26T03:24:00.000-07:00

(MAD Emergency Appeal 4)

(Acknowledgements: Neelima)

Friends, please pray for this young lady and for her family. They need all our good wishes.

GOD BLESS YOU PREETI

Save Kanisha

2005-04-13T03:51:00.000-07:00

(MAD Emergency Appeal 3)

Below is an email received from a close friend. Kindly respond if possible. And kindly circulate.

***

From: Meghal Pandya
Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 2:45 PM
Subject: FW: Please Circulate my daughter website for her urgent needs!!

Dear All,

I am aware that such unsolicited mails are not appreciated, but this is a very genuine case. The patient in question is my cousin’s 6 year old daughter in Bangalore. Request you to circulate the mail to people who won’t be offended on its receipt.

Rgds,
Meghal

***

From: sanjeev b shah
Subject: Please Circulate my daughter website for her urgent needs!!

Dear Friends & Well Wishers,

I hereby give my Daughter website, who is suffering from Blood Cancer and presently taking treatement in Bangalore Institute of Oncology. The Estimate Treatement Cost is 10 laks upward.

http://www.geocities.com/kanisha_princess/Kanisha.html

Please go through it and also circulate the same to your friends Circle.

The above website is Exclusively to bring awareness / Donations where you can directly contribute to her Saving Account No: 1505014697 , Oriental Bank of Commerce or Bangalore Institute of Oncology, file no: 16305 Patients Name: Kanisha S. Shah, not for any other means of informations to Construe upon.

With Regards,

Sanjeev Kumar B Shah

FAQs on Adoption

2005-02-28T03:16:00.000-08:00

What is adoption?
Adoption is a process of parenting children who are not related to one by birth.

Who is eligible to adopt?
• Married couples or single adults (unmarried, widowed, divorced) who have a steady income sufficient to bear the family expenses and provide a financial security for the child.
• Those whose age does not exceed 45 years.
• Those who have a home environment comfortable for themselves and a child.

Is adoption legal in India?
Adoption is legal in India. The IPC has two laws under which children can be adopted depending on the religion of the adoptive parents.
1. The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956 which applies only to Hindus.
2. The Guardianship and Ward Act 1890 which applies to non-Hindus (Christians, Muslims and Parses). A 1996 judgement by Justice FI Rebello of the High Court grants adoption for non-Hindu families who have taken the child under guardianship for over a period of two years.

How can you adopt?
Adoption can be done only through government recognised placement agencies, in accordance with the prescribed legal procedure.

Where can we find more details of adoption in India (specifically Mumbai)?
Check this link for organizations and contact details.

***

Ours by Choice
We are guilty of many errors and many faults
But our worst crime
Is abandoning the children,
neglecting the fountain of life.
Many of the things we need can wait.
The child cannot.
Right now is the time
his bones are being formed,
his blood is being made,
and his senses are being developed.
To him we cannot answer"Tomorrow."
His name is "Today."
- Gabriela Mistral

***

The really beautiful comment Tejaswini left on the previous post on Adoption is repeated below ... verbatim, because I feel it's impossible to improve on what she's said so wonderfully ...

Adoption ... to me, its one of the noblest things that one can do. Also, one of the toughest.

There's a cute little book called "Little Prince". Its a sweet rambling book that gives you huge insights into life. One of the things that's stayed with me, is the concept of "Taming".

The author explains how a little prince is fond of one particular rose. The rose is just like any other ... but he loves THIS rose .. because he tamed her. He took care of her .. watered her, fed her. And so he cared only for her.

So it is with a child, a human being. I can say this because I have seen it.

I have an uncle who adopted two children. Another who adopted one .. I find this even more amazing coz he already had one son, but he went ahead and adopted a daughter.

Today, these children are like any of us. We don't ever think of them as "adopted" or as "outsiders".

The biggest factor has been the family support. This has helped the children to merge with the family. And they are all aware that they are adopted by and not born from their parents.

I agree with Suhail when he says that it requires huge emotional investments ... but its the same if you have a kid naturally, right? And a child is like a pet ... it can tame you and make you fall in love.

And when you are in love, you are a goner. The child can twist you round its little finger and you'll never remember that you actually paid for the little devil.

:)

And it will become an inseparable part of you.

The returns are immense ... emotionally. And you have helped to give a child a home, care, love and protection ... everything it would have been bereft of, otherwise.

What better way to do social service?

Adoption

2005-02-22T03:31:00.000-08:00

(MAD Club Individual Project #6)

What does it take to bring a new life under one's wing? What does it take to adopt a child?

Adoption is without doubt a life-changing experience. It involves huge emotional investments. A passionate commitment that will not waver. Often a total change of lifestyle and mindset. A risk of social ostracism.

After all, bringing a child up well is not child's play.

But on the flip side, what are the returns?

Dilip D'Souza and his wife are one such truly rare and wonderful couple who have dared to adopt. He recounts his experiences here and here. May his tribe increase.

For all those interested in adoption, it is recommended that you speak to an adoption agency, not an orphanage. In Mumbai, try the Indian Association for the Promotion of Adoption. For further details, email fd97075@yahoo.co.in.

Don't Adopt Us!

2005-02-22T03:28:00.000-08:00

As a response to the terrible Tsunami tragedy, relief measures are now nearing completion. The phase of rehabilitation begins now.

Rehabilitation includes many aspects. Repairing the houses of the Tsunami victims, and ensuring that the new houses are sturdier than before. Providing boats to fishermen and self-sustainable livelihood to the affected families. Providing counselling to traumatized villagers - often just hearing them out silently is therapy enough for them to snap out of often-suicidal depression modes. And, last but not least, adopting those children left without family and home by the ravaging waves.

Of course, adoption of Tsunami children has its own complications. It is not just about signing on a dotted line. There are multiple linguistic, cultural, and emotional issues to overcome.

But the benefits clearly outweigh the costs. Read a new adoptive couple's experiences here.

For further assistance, contact any NGO involved in doing relief work in the affected areas. But a word of caution : Before embarking on this journey, read on ...

***

(Source : News Reports)

NAGAPATTINAM: Fourteen-year-old Kavidevi breaks down in tears as her uncle begins to register her and her three sisters at a government centre for tsunami orphans in southern India.
She keeps shaking her head, mumbling that she doesn't want to live in an orphanage after her parents were washed away by the sea last month.

Her uncle and orphanage workers try to console her, but she cries and runs out of the gate to hide in the motor rickshaw that brought the sisters from their fishing village.

"I don't want to stay here, I don't want to stay here," she says as she sobs, begging her dead father's younger brother to look after the girls himself.

Her two younger sisters and an older sister stare blankly as Kavidevi pleads.

Uncle Ramajeyam fails to convince her that she would be better off at the orphanage and could even find a new home as hundreds of people from across India and abroad have offered to adopt orphans of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

He takes the girls back to their village, hoping that he will succeed in persuading Kavidevi after a religious ceremony in memory of her parents later this week.

Kavidevi's refusal to leave her village and live in an orphanage, let alone consider being adopted by a new family, does not surprise adoption experts.

The last thing orphans want, especially those above the age of five or six, is to be uprooted from the environment in which they grew up, they said.

The cultural complexities involved in rehabilitation were starkly reflected when many tsunami survivors in south India refused bread served by charities from wheat-eating northern India, preferring their staple of rice instead.

With Indian laws requiring the consent of children before adoption, it is a scenario bound to disappoint hundreds of couples who are keen to adopt India's tsunami orphans.

No ideal solution

"One of the most difficult things for a child is change. And children have had so much change right now that naturally an average child or even an average adult would not want any more change," Aloma Lobo, head of the Indian government's Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), told Reuters.

Children were hardest hit by the tsunami which killed 175,000 people around the Indian Ocean including 16,000 in India.

They account for about a third of the dead in India and tens of thousands more are orphaned or have only one surviving parent.

In Nagapattinam, India's worst hit district, 222 children were orphaned, and another 879 children had one parent left, according to government records.

Dozens more may still be with relatives before they are brought to the orphanage, officials said.

S Suryakala, head of Nagapattinam's social welfare department, said authorities were only considering allowing adoption of tsunami orphans by families in the same region and no thought had been given to foreign adoption.

"We have to be very careful. We have to ascertain that there is no child trafficking or abuse," she said.

While younger orphans would receive regular education, older boys and girls would be trained to work as computer operators, nurses, typists, make pickles or knit clothes.

And under local government rules, such orphans would be given preference during recruitment for government jobs, Suryakala said.

Yet, it is not exactly an ideal solution.

"My first preference would be to let older children remain in their own community. And family care is any day better than institutional care," said CARA's Lobo.

"But allowing adoption of children older than seven presents challenges to both the child and new parents. So we have to play it by ear."

Please Help This Young Doctor

2005-01-17T22:28:00.000-08:00

(MAD Emergency Appeal #2)
(Posted by Shaffy)

This is an appeal for immediate help for a young doctor of only 23 years of age, who recently completed her medicine in the year 2004, but was diagnosed as a patient of ACUTE MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA (blood cancer).

Here are the details:

Dr Sobia Parveen
House Ofiicer Civil Hospital Karachi
Dow graduate, Batch of 2004
Admitted for treatment at AKU Karachi
(M.R. no.117-82-18)

CONTACT:

V.C DUHS Prof.Masood Hameed Khan ( 92-21-9215732)
H.OD. Physiology Department Prof. Shoaib Tauheed (92-303-6236282)
Dean Faculty of Medicine Prof. I.B.Soomro (92-300-9203773)

PLEASE DONATE:

ACC.no: 101211185
UBL-BABA-EURDU ROAD BRANCH
KARACHI

Please donate all you can, it's about the life of a young doctor. A little help from you can save her life. She may not have much time, therefore, please be quick.

***

P.S. She did not survive. Many thanks for all of you who either contributed for her treatment or prayed for her recovery. She had dreamt of becoming a doctor and saving lives, but alas herself died young. Your continued prayers for her soul and her family would be very much appreciated.

Safety for Field Volunteers + Update

2005-01-05T05:16:00.000-08:00

Safety for Volunteers:

If you know any potential on-site volunteers, please pass the following info on to them so they can take adequate precautions. Some of it is obvious, but one can never be too careful ...

1. Tetanus toxoid immunization, if possible, to protect you in case of any cuts or scratches. This is a relatively painless injection and can be given to you by your family physician. At present there is no advisory for any medical prophylaxis, but do keep checking the sites.

2. Mosquito repellent: To protect you from Vector born viral and parasitic disease. You could carry a tube of odomos and apply it to exposed skin.

3. Chlorine drops or tablets: Waterborne disease is the biggest threat, and you need to ensure your water is safe. One to two bottles should be enough, you need to follow the instructions on the package. For purifying water, Chloriwat or Jeevanraksha, both priced at rs 16 for 25 ml, lasting a week as well ( since you need 3 drops for 10 litres of water).

4. Hand disinfection: In case water for washing is a problem, a solution for disinfection is available - Sterillium, Rs. 75 for a 100 ml bottle, which should last a week.

5. Avoid eating raw veggies. Bananas are the safest food as they can be eaten unwashed, and can be peeled without touching the part to be eaten. Please ensure food is always covered and protected from flies. Flies carry a lot of bacteria because they tend to land on different objects before landing on the food.

Current requirements for field volunteers:

1. If you are Tamil speaking, you should commit at least 8/9 days.

2. If you are non-Tamil speaking, then we need a slightly longer term commitment. There is an urgent need for female volunteers who can commit at least 2 weeks. Male volunteers should commit at least 3-4 weeks.

3. There is also an urgent need for medical doctors who are willing to commit at least more than a week.

Immediate material requirement:

(Kindly only source for free in bulk—NO INDIVIDUAL COLLECTION DRIVES):

1. Soaps
2. Detergent bars (not powder)
3. Tooth paste/ toothpowder
4. Tooth brush
5. Hair oil
6. Sanitary napkins

For now no dry foods or medication is required. This will change in the next 4 days.

For the above materials, the requirement is between 500 and 1000 pieces each.

For detailed list of requirements (immediate and slightly longer term), kindly refer previous post.

Detailed Requirements in Tsunami Affected Areas

2005-01-03T05:48:00.001-08:00

(Compiled from AID India, Red Cross, Akanksha as on 2nd Jan 2005)
(In order of priority)
(Items marked in asterisk "*" are needed urgently)

1. Money

Given below is the information from AID India (Mumbai) for donating money:

Cheques: All cheques must be addressed to "AID-India ICICI BankAccount No 602201200299". Cheques may be given to the AID Mumbai volunteer who contacted you or alternatively, may be deposited in any branch of ICICI Bank. In either case please contact an AID Mumbai volunteer to give the information required to process your receipt from AID Chennai.
Electronic Transfers: If you have a bank account with internet banking facility, you can make an electronic transfer via internet banking to AID-India's ICICI Bank Account No 602201200299. Please be sure you that contact an AID Mumbai volunteer to give the information required to process your receipt from AID Chennai.
Cash: We would prefer not to accept cash donations. In exceptional cases, where for instance door-to-door collections in cash are undertaken, the cash may be deposited in any branch of ICICI Bank to the credit of "AID-India ICICI Bank Account No 602201200299". In such cases please ensure you have sufficient information on the individual donors to enable us to process the receipts in their names. Please contact an AID Mumbai volunteer to give theinformation required to process your receipt from AID Chennai.

2. Medicines (all *)

If you wish to purchase medicines, please buy only one or two of the following in bulk and send. Try to avoid sending an assortment of medicines, as it becomes difficult for the on-site volunteers to segregate and classify.

Cholera medicines
Diarrhoea medicines
Paracetamols
ORS Packets
Doxycycline
Savlon / Dettol
Scissors
Crepe Bandage
Soframycin Ointment
Burnol
Disposable Syringes
Bandages
Cotton Bundle
Vaccines - Hepatitis A (approx. Rs. 1,020), Typhoid (Rs. 225), Tetanus Toxoid (Rs. 10)
Cough Syrups
Septron Tablets / Syrups
Anti-Histamines
Dispovan
Calara Injections
First Aid Kits

3. Food (all *)

Must be packaged and non-perishable. High energy, easy to prepare is preferred.

Milk Powder
Chocolate Bars
Jaggery
Maggi
Milkmaid
Biscuits
Rice
Dal
Wheat
Sugar
Salt
Packaged Foods like MTR

Try and avoid sending food as most food items are available on-site. Send money instead. This will cut down transportation cost (from your city to the affected area). Also, on-site NGOs can negotiate a better bulk purchase deal from the suppliers there with the money you send.

4. Clothes and Other Items

Disposable Gloves for volunteers (*)
Disposable Masks for volunteers (*)
Blankets
Soaps / Detergents
Toothpaste & Toothbrush (NEW)
Duct Tape
Pots and Pans (NEW)
Socks (NEW) (*)
Vests (NEW) (*)
Polythene Ropes
Torches
Spare Batteries
Candles
Knives
Matchsticks / Lighters
Blouses (NEW) (*)
Petticoats (NEW) (*)
Sarees (NEW) (*)
Lungis (NEW) (*)
Underwear (NEW) (*)
Towels (NEW)
Mugs
Bedsheets (*)

Please note:

Most NGOs have an oversupply of clothes and are not looking for more. So refrain from sending in any more clothes. Send money instead.
In case you insist on sending clothes, please stick to the above list.
And as indicated in the above list, please send in ONLY new / unused clothes.
Also, please classify the clothes into Men's / Women's / Children's and package separately with appropriate labelling on the packages, so volunteers need not waste precious time in segregating the clothes items.
Once again, try and send money instead of clothes as of now.

Volunteering

Tamil speaking volunteers are required for periods not less than 8-10 days.
Non-Tamil speaking volunteers arerequired for periods not less than 2-3 months.
For doctors language is not a barrier provided they are willing to stay a reasonable period of time (at least 8-10 days).

Other Useful Links - A Compendium:

http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com (Official Site)
http://www.indianredcross.org/contact.html (Indian Red Cross Addresses - please find out the collection centre closest to you on this site)
(Red Cross New Delhi : +91-11-23716441)
(Red Cross Chennai : +91-44-28554548 / 28554117)
(Red Cross Mumbai : +91-22-22661524 / 22644030)
http://survivors.aidindia.org, http://mumbai.aidindia.org (AID India - please find out the collection centre closest to you on these sites)
http://www.akanksha.org/index.htm (Akanksha)
http://shafaqyusuf.blogspot.com
http://pmindia.nic.in/relief.htm (Prime Minister's Relief Fund).
The donations can be made by cheque or draft in the name of “The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund” and sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, South Block, New Delhi 110001.
Contributions can also be made directly at the branches of ALL BANKS in the country.
Contributions can also be sent through Money Orders with no commission chargeable.
Contributions to the PMNRF have ben notified for 100% deduction form taxable income under section 80(G) of the Income tax act.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/28/tsunami.aidsites/index.html (International Agencies for donating for Tsunami Relief)
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/tsunami/ngolist.html (United States Agency for International Development - USAID)
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/news/files/emergencies/asian-earthquake-help.asp (Department of International Development - DFID of the United Kingdom)
http://www.wfp.org/index.asp?section=4 (United Nations World Food Programme - WFP)

Tsunami Relief Contacts

2004-12-28T00:53:00.000-08:00

Even if you can't help, please pass on these details ...

Loads of info on http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com.

To donate money -- Hindu Relief Fund webpage is at http://pay.hindu.com/thrfpay/thrfpay.jsp

Some other details we've got so far is given below ...

1) To help : http://www.worldvisionindia.org

2) To volunteer in Besant Nagar : Please contact Shihan Hussaini 9841618386. You could help with old clothes,water bottles, blankets, food packets.

3) To volunteer in Neelankarai : Please contact Priya 25506284.

4) Message from Ryze Network :

This is an emergency call from WE CARE FOR CHENNAI - Ryze Network. The tsunami has hit Chennai & many other places. The disaster is unprecedented in Chennai, rest of Tamilnadu, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh. Other countries are also hit. Most of the victims and their families belong to lower income strata. Time for action from all of us. Every kind of help counts now. Mitigating the suffering of the families of victims and surviving victims is a huge challenge. Help in every form counts. The psychological scar requires deft handling. What we can do? How we can act collectively, as socially-conscious, educated and responsible group? Who will co-ordinate what action? Please volunteer. Time is very short. Post your views and ideas right away. Let us see if a few workable ideas emerge quickly and get into consensus. If you are outside Chennai, please respond with your msg how you can participate, in whatever form. Can you co-manage this campaign with me? I will be grateful.

Govind Srinivasan,
Moderator,
WE CARE FOR CHENNAI,
Ryze Network
Mobile: 93810 00516
http://wcfc-network.ryze.com/

5) Message from an on-site volunteer:

Dear Friends, I was travelling on the East coast road when the tidal wave hit - lots of people rushed out. Didn't realize the scale of the problem. Then went to the Marina and the slums nearby - all washed out. We still don't know fully what needs to be done. The current focus is on rescue operations - searching for lost people. The police and army is working on this. One thing that is clear when we talked to people affected is shelter -but this is not something that we can do immediately. We will need to work on this over the next two weeks. We have started collecting clothes - they will be needed over the next two days. Food supplies for tonight are being arranged by the govt... possibly we will have to start our food relief within a few days. Main focus needs to be ensuring govt relief reaches people and also some critical areas like rebuilding shelters for the poorest who are affected. We have started collecting donations for the relief work in Chennai and TN - local cheques can be made to AID-Chennai (or AID-India). Foreign contributions must be made in the name of AID-India and sent to:
AID-India
Old No 132, New No 242,
Avvai Shanmugam Road
Gopalapuram,
Chennai - 600 086
Ph: 044- 28350403, 28115058

Clothes collected can be dropped off in the AID office in Chennai - it will be distributed over the next few days. Thanks for the help. Balaji Sampath.

Dr Manorama and CHES

2004-12-03T02:33:00.000-08:00

On World AIDS Day, December 1, even as the focus is on the larger issue of how to arrest the rapid spread of the killer disease, there is a section of infected people that cries for more attention and care.

Children.

In India, about 14 per cent of all HIV-infected and AIDS patients are children.

The plight of many of them is compounded by the fact that they have lost their parents to the disease, and they don't have a home to call their own. Being HIV-infected, their relatives and society have abandoned them.

Like other children, all they yearn for is care and empathy, which is absent because of the taboo attached to AIDS.

For some HIV-infected children in Chennai, there is a silver lining in the form of the Community Health Education Society Ashram, run by Dr Manorama.

Dr Manorama was a paediatric gastroenterologist, working as an assistant professor at the Institute of Child Health in Chennai. In 1993, she came across two children -- Krishnaveni and Ravi, who were abandoned by an orphanage after they tested positive for HIV. The doctor decided to shift them from the hospital to her nursing home. Thanks to her care, both became normal (clear of opportunistic infections) in six months.

Dr Manorama then realised children afflicted with the HIV virus could get better with proper care.

Thus, CHES was born. It is the only home for HIV infected children in Chennai.

Now, if a child is tested positive, it is immediately sent to CHES.

Some live long, some die early.

CHES was conceived as a long-term care centre. But now, Dr Manorama stresses that care by a family is far more important for these children than institutionalised care. And, hence, the ashram has become a short-term care centre.

Without Anti Retroviral Therapy, HIV-infected children normally do not live beyond the age of 15. "But with the government now providing ART for free, we will soon see children living longer," says Dr Manorama. "What will be their future?" she wonders.

"They are not going to get any physical support or social security. They will also be denied education. How are we going to prepare these children to face adolescence? They may fall in love, they may like to get married, there are a whole lot of issues. What is the solution? We should start thinking about all this," she says.

Krishnaveni, one of the first two inmates at CHES, wanted to live in a home where she had parents, brothers and sisters. 'I wish I had my parents. I wish I had a home. I wish I had a pond in my house. I wish I had lots of fish and lilies in the pond. I wish I had lots of books to read,' she had said.

However, she passed away in December 2002 without having her dreams fulfilled.

There are many Krishnavenis among the HIV infected children, who yearn for a family.

For some, this wish may come true. Overcoming prejudice, some families have come forward to adopt HIV-infected children.

When Soorya, a slum-dweller with two boys, brought infected 9-month-old Shubha home as a foster child, it was the first case in India of an AIDS orphan getting a family. "All of us were scared of HIV and AIDS till the volunteers from CHES talked to us about it," says Soorya.

It was a long and arduous task for CHES volunteers to find foster families for the infected children. They took up the task in three phases.

They first created awareness about HIV/AIDS.

Then they brought families to the shelter home to interact with the children. Seventy-eight people attended the first session. But the number came down to 22 in the second session.

The third stage was giving the 22 families intensive training on how to take care of the children.

When the time came for further discussions, only four turned up.

In the end, only two families -- that of Soorya and her neighbour Moksham -- agreed to be foster parents.

Soorya says she decided to take care of one child after interacting with the children at the ashram.

"The moment the children saw us they surrounded us, hugged us and wouldn't leave us when it was time for us to go. All of them were starved of a mother's love. I felt so bad for them. At that moment, I decided to take care of a child."

"When I brought Shubha home a year ago, she was so small, small as a rat. She couldn't even turn to one side. Now, she runs all the time. She is the darling of the entire neighbourhood. I will never be able to live without her."

"I don't think I have done anything great. What have I done except give love to an orphan?"

Moksham decided to be Nitya's foster mother after she saw Soorya bring Shubha home. "When I first saw those infected children at the ashram, I was horrified. They looked so ill and starved of love. I told my husband that we should take care of one child. But my husband was against the idea. I told him all that the doctor and the volunteers told me," she says.

Now both father and daughter are close to each other, Moksham says with a smile.

"I said no to the girl at first. Now, I don't know how I will live without my daughter. We had a tough time taking care of her in the first month. She cried all the time without eating or sleeping. After that, there has been no problem. She is so attached to me that if I am late coming home, she comes to my workplace," says Chidambaram, Moksham's husband.

Both Soorya and Moksham were allowed to become foster parents on the understanding that if the girls reported negative when they were 18 months old, they would be returned to the ashram, where the children would be placed for adoption.

Both Nitya and Shubha are 18 months old now, but the families have refused to have them tested for the HIV virus.

"What if they turn negative? No, we don't want to give them back," say Soorya and Moksham.

"I have told the doctor not to take her (Nitya) way from us if she turns out to be HIV negative. I will not be able to live without her," says Chidambaram.

Dr Manorama is now trying to work out the modalities to enable the foster parents have their daughters.

"We are planning to get sponsorship for these children. But I must give credit to the families. They have so far refused to accept any support. Many students and volunteers have come forward to help them."

Ironically, says Dr Manorama, only economically weak families come forward to provide these children a home. During lectures on foster care for infected children she delivered at some corporate houses, she talked about Shubha and Nitya.

Many in the audience asked why she gave the children to two poor women, the doctor recalls. "I then asked the gathering: 'How many of you are willing to take an infected child for foster care?' There was total silence. Nobody was willing to do it. I told them this is exactly why I gave those two children to poor women."

"Something is definitely holding back people in the higher socio-economic levels from adopting infected children," she says. "Another problem is while it is easy for our volunteers to go and talk to slum-dwellers, they do not get access to middle class or upper-middle class apartments. We cannot knock on those doors and talk about foster care."

"As long as women are going to get infected, there are going to be more and more infected children. So, women must be empowered. We also have to see to it that these children don't suffer from stigma and discrimination. Equally important, if not more, is a family for them."

If extended families come forward to take care of these children, the number of infected orphans will come down, she says. Foster care is another solution, points out Dr Manorama, even as she hopes that more and more families will be encouraged by Shubha and Nitya.

Project LUBKTOA

2004-11-30T03:21:00.000-08:00

(MAD Club Independent Project V)

(Project Coordinator: Srini)

"They are the beauties, we are the beasts."

This little cosmic rock we live on is an awesomely beautiful place.

And what makes it immeasurably more beautiful is the welcome presence of so many diverse life forms. Wild animals, pets, insects. Varying in size and shape from the one-celled amoeba (some of which look really beautiful under a powerful microscope) to the overweight "gotta-go-on-crash-diet" blue whale. Some cute, some scary. Some slow and lazy like Garfield, some quick and active like Odie. Some beautiful, some ugly-pugly. Some impressive, some yawn-whats-so-great-about-them. But all, without exception, very very important. Critical in their own little ways for sustaining our world as we know it.

Have you ever seen a little squirrel having lunch? Click HERE to catch Chiki, a female squirrel who had been frolicking atop the branches of a mango tree with Chikoo, her better half, but who has now succumbed to her hunger pangs and is sitting on her hind legs and balancing herself with her long tail and nibbling on a nut while rubbing her beady nostrils with her furry front paws.

Have you ever petted a cow when she has looked at you with those melting, drooping eyes? Click HERE to see Moo the Cow, flapping her big ears to keep the flies away, hoping that you will stop by and rub her shiny long nose and tickle her under her chin and pet her on the head.

Guess my personal favourite pet? Hint: It's cute, soft, warm, fuzzy, furry, innocent, sweet ... Hark! Do I hear you say "This description fits most pets ... kittens, puppies, even koala bears and pandas?" Well ... actually I'm referring to the Bunny Rabbit :-))))

For the TV addicts among you, Animal Planet is an entrancing channel. It shows us how beautiful and how marvellous the diverse animal kingdom is.

Alas, the fact is that life is not always as smooth and pleasant for the animal world as is made out on television.

In fact, for the vast majority of all animals in the world today, existence sucks.

Do you enjoy going to zoos? I really did. Until one of the caretakers in the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata, a true-blue animal lover himself, told me, with sadness and bitterness and frustration in his voice, of how badly the animals there are treated. True, they are given safety and a good prescribed diet and medicines when they fall ill. But for a moment, place yourself in the paws of a Royal Bengal tiger. A king of the jungle, whose dominion once included vast open spaces. Now confined to a 20 ft x 20 ft space in a cramped zoo, with little children chucking pebbles at him through the bars. No space to stretch its legs; no patch of green to lie upon; no stream of cool water with which to quench its thirst; no thrill of chasing a deer and hunting it down. Doomed to never taste, or smell, or feel, freedom. Is this what it was born to do -- entertain humans?

Do you enjoy going to the circus and watching wild animals putting up skilled performances for your viewing pleasure? I really did. Until I came to know how wickedly some of them are punished and tormented on days when they do not perform up to the mark. Tell me, which animal would like to jump through hoops of fire? Would we force humans to do likewise? Would you like to?

The MAD Club hereby launches Project LUBKTOA -- Let Us Be Kind To Our Animals.

This project does not require much effort on your part. You need not turn totally vegetarian or carry slogans. All you need to do to participate in this project, is avoid cruelty to animals. For all they need, all they ask for, all they cry out for, is a little love and understanding. Stop them from being kicked or stoned. Teach your children to appreciate how innocent and beautiful animals are. Feed biscuits to hungry dogs; an occasional packet of Parle-G will do. Stroke any puppies or kittens you come across; it is our solemn promise to you that they will not bite you. Try not to litter, or dirty any natural water bodies, or pollute the air; innumerable fishes and migratory birds will bless you.

And if you are in Mumbai, you can carry the following numbers around with you in your purse or wallet, and if you see any animal in pain or suffering, whether in your own house or on any street or anywhere else, just call up:

For dogs and cats: WSD (+91-22-23733433 / 23891070)
For all other animals: SPCA (+91-22-24137518 / 24133451), PETA (+91-22-26281880, Fax: +91-22-26281883)
For first aid and emergency services: Karuna Mobile Clinic (+91-22-26701413)

For those who live in other cities and countries, and for those who wish to volunteer for a more active role than prescribed above, details of some animal rights organizations are given in the links below:

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)
Beauty Without Cruelty (BWC)
mailto: info@bwcindia.org
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
PETA India
PETA India can be contacted by postal mail, voice phone, fax, or e-mail.
Those using e-mail, please include both your name and mailing address when requesting any information to be mailed to you.
Postal Address
PETA India
P.O. Box 28260
Juhu
Mumbai 400 049
India

Details of some other organizations in India and abroad are listed HERE and HERE.

For other contact numbers and details, queries, or suggestions, please email fd97091@yahoo.com.

Come let us do our bit in making the world a better place for all life forms. Come participate in Project LUBKTOA.

And let us Make A Difference.

MAD Emergency Appeal # 1

2004-11-24T22:03:00.000-08:00

“If you save a life it is as if you have saved all humanity; If you take an innocent life it is as if you have killed all humanity.”

Here is an all-time favourite Chicken Soup story ...

Giving When it Counts

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.

The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her."

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?".

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

***

Below is an email received yesterday from my friend and batchmate Yogi aka Yogesh Yadav <yogeshiitd@yahoo.com>. Please respond.

Subject: Help needed to raise funds for a bone marrow transplant

Hi All,

A friend of mine (a batchmate from IITD) is trying to raise funds for his little niece, Sukriti, who is suffering from Blood Cancer. Since the cost of treatment is very high and his family cannot afford it, we are planning to mobilize the same from people across various companies / universities.

Request you all to make donations for the cause. However small you may consider your contribution to be, it would indeed be a great support for Sukriti.

For more details please find my friend's mail attached below.

If anyone is interested in making e-transfer then it can be done to my account (ICICI / HSBC).

Please drop me a mail and I’ll provide the account details.

Best, Yogi

-------------------

Hi All,

I am trying to raise funds for my little niece Sukriti, who is suffering from blood cancer (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) and urgently needs a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately for us, an unrelated bone marrow transplant is not done in India and therefore we’ve zeroed down on Singapore as a preferred location for the transplant. Although the cost of the transplant in Singapore is relatively a lot less compared to other locations ($150K vs $400K in US), my family would only be able to mobilize approx. $50Kgiven our current financial situation. We are hoping to raise the balance for Sukriti’s transplant through donations and other fundraising channels.

In this regard, we’ve set up a charity fund called the Save Sukriti Fund and a website (www.savesukriti.org) that provides information on Sukriti’s situation. The website has an online payment gateway (Paypal) for online contributions as well as an option to mail checks/demand drafts to Save Sukriti Fund both in US and in India. (Online Payment Link: http://www.savesukriti.org/make_donation.htm)

I would really appreciate any help from your side and would be grateful if you could also forward this email to your family, colleagues and friends who would be able to contribute to this cause. Also, I would really welcome any other fundraising ideas /suggestions that you might have in order to raise the appropriate funds for Sukriti in this short time frame.

Thank you so much for all your help.

Nishant

Email: nsharma@mba2006.hbs.edu
(617) 987-2383 (Home)
(858) 229-3427 (Cell)

P.S: For people outside the US, wanting to contribute through Paypal, it takes 2-3 days to verify your debit /credit card if you are using Paypal for the first time. The other option is to contribute via a check/demand draft.

International Blanket Day 2004 Update

2004-11-09T03:25:00.001-08:00

Team International Blanket Day 2004 (TIBD2004)
(based on Bloggers who've volunteered via email as on 09/11/2004):

Sumu - Coordinator, Bangalore Chapter
Neelima - Coordinator, Hyderabad Chapter
Phoenix - Coordinator, Hyderabad & Gulbarga Chapters
RS - Coordinator, Delhi Chapter
TT - Coordinator, Delhi Chapter
Srini - Coordinator, Mumbai Chapter
Shaffy - Coordinator, Pakistan Chapter
Sagnik - Coordinator, US Chapter

Applications for coordinators are open until further notice. Please email blanketday@yahoo.com for applying. Everyone's invited! :)

***

Agenda for TIBD Coordinators:

First of all, welcome aboard on Ship TIBD! Here's hoping you have a heady flight.

After some brainstorming, the 7-Step PoA has been laid out as follows:

Step 1: Select your team members (at least 4 per coordinator). They could be from among your colleagues, friends or family, or just about anyone in your city irrespective of age, gender or any other factor.

Step 2: Each member of your team is to identify a unique "Attack Zone". It could be the local Railway station, vegetable market, mosque, temple, just about any place. The single criterion for an area being chosen as an "Attack Zone" is that there must be a fair number of poor homeless people there.

Step 3: Your team now has as many "Attack Zones" as members. Please brainstorm among yourselves and decide on the final number of "Attack Zones" that your team will focus on. Then decide which "Attack Zones" have made the final cut.

Step 4: Hunt for sponsors! Ask around. Colony residents, classmates, car pool members, the Admin department of your company. Tell them about TIBD. Team members can of course sponsor, though it is not imperative.

Step 5: Collect money or second hand clothes / blankets (which are in good wash-n-use condition) or anything else which can be donated to the poor, from the sponsors! Whatever they're willing to donate of their own accord, happily.

Step 6: Purchase blankets with the money collected! Small blankets for poor children, larger ones for widows / old / handicapped people. (Note that the Target Groups for TIBD 2004 are orphans and poor children, widows, old people and handicapped people).

Step 7: Distribute the blankets and clothes to the identified Target Groups at the identified "Attack Zones" personally.

And feel the warmth that comes your way!

Team members may divide responsibilities among themselves if they wish. Our recommendation is that everyone be involved in everything.

***

The Mumbai Chapter Challenge

Team TIBD, Mumbai Chapter, presents its interim report card for the period 09/10/2004 to 09/11/2004:

Number of teams involved: 2
Total number of participants: 12
Final "Attack Zones": 2 (Mahim area, Haji Ali Area)
Other areas where contribution made: Bandra station, Khar station
Total amount collected: approx. Rs. 8,000
Total number of blankets donated: 101

YAY !! The Mumbai Chapter has HIT A CENTURY !!!

In celebration, the Mumbai Chapter throws an open challenge to all other TIBD Chapters to overtake its record on or before "International Blanket Day" - 9th Dec 2004.

All members of the Chapter which overtakes, or comes closest to, the Mumbai Chapter will be treated to a dinner at any place of their choice whenever they visit Mumbai next.

Has any Chapter the guts to respond?

- For and on behalf of Team TIBD, Mumbai Chapter

***

Some awesome heart-warming feedback from D. Yogeshwaran (Yogi) of IISc Bangalore. He writes in:

In IISc, a group of students have been collecting clothes, blankets etc. & distributing them around this time of the year for the past 3-4 years. I've joined the group this year. Basically, we place huge carton boxes at many places within the campus and put a notice requesting the institute community to donate their best. Then we assimilate and throw away the ones in really bad condition. We also a buy a few blankets. We distribute it in Govt hospitals, maternity homes etc. One interesting way the blankets are distributed is, the group goes out in a vehicle at 2.00am in the morning & distributes it to the pavement-dwellers in near-by areas.

The Report of Activity for the Year 2003 is as follows:

As you are aware, a large number of winter clothes and other material have been collected in the Institute over the past couple of weeks. The response from the Institute community has been tremendous and unprecedented. A total of over 1500 items (more than twice that werecollected last year) were collected. A number of volunteers (about 30) from students, faculty and staff participated in the activity. It is matter of immense satisfaction to inform you all that over 1500 items have been received. Most of them are in very good condition and some of them were new. The list consists of new blankets (81), old blanket and bed sheets (43), pants (322), shirts (325), T-shirts (194), other material such as jerkins (20), sweaters (20), dhotis (16 ), sarees (65 including 12 new), womens wear (236) and children wear (193), and shawls (5). These were sorted and distributed to the homeless and the needy in various places in Bangalore. The items were distributed to:

Homeless people (these people have only some plastic sheets / old newspapers, sometimes nothing to cover them) sleeping on pavements in the Yeswantpur area, Majestic railway station and K R Market area 1.00-5.00 AM Saturday, November 8th 2003.
Needy and poor patients in various government hospitals (Hospital superintendent/staff have been very helpful in identifying the deserving cases)
Bowring Hospital, Shivaji Nagar, 2-5.30 pm, Saturday, 8-11-2003
Kidwai cancer Hospital (Dharmashala) 6.30-8 pm, Saturday, 8-11-2003
Victoria Hospital, K R Market 9.30-11.00 am, Saturday 15-11-2003
Vani Vilas Hospital K R Market 11.00-1.00 pm, Saturday 15-11-2003
Maternity Home (Yeswantpur railway station) 5-6 pm, Wednesday 19-11-2003

This is a simple and robust model which can be replicated in most academic insitiutes (schools and colleges), in organizations which are bullish on Social Service (the Admin department will usually buy in if you pitch it as a Brand Building exercise for the company!!) , as well as in your own housing colonies. Do try it out!

Happy TIBDing! :-)

Project DBBTTB

2004-11-01T00:42:00.000-08:00

(MAD Club Independent Project IV)

It was a warm Monday morning. A little beggar boy and girl, maybe 5 and 3 years old respectively, jumped into a crowded second class compartment of a Mumbai local train. The boy sang old Hindi movie classics in mellifluous albeit high-pitched tunes. The girl went around with a steel bowl, unleashed her warm innocent smile at unsuspecting passengers, and wriggled several coins out of their heart pockets.

At the next stop, an old blind beggar clambered into the same compartment. He struggled through the crowded aisle, requesting alms in a feeble shaky voice. The commuters, their patience and charitable intentions already exhausted by the boy-girl combo, ignored the hint of weariness and desperation in the old man's voice. By the time he reached the other end, where the little boy and girl were now standing quietly, his bowl was almost as empty as it had been when he had entered.

The boy looked sideways at the girl. Almost imperceptibly, she nodded. The boy quietly took a handful of coins from the bowl which the girl was carrying, and dropped it into the blind beggar's bowl as he passed them by. The next moment, the train had stopped and the boy and girl had disappeared into the crowded platform in a flash.

The question here could be about who was the most generous of them all. The ones who had it all, or the ones who had it in them to give it all away?

The question here could also be about who needs our help so badly, so desperately, that even beggar children are willing to help them.

The blind.

Imagine never knowing what a clear blue sky looks like. Imagine not knowing what the difference between "pink" and "green" is. Imagine living your entire life in a riotously colorful city, which all Indian cities without exception are, and not knowing anything except occasional flashes of white and black. Imagine walking through gloriously golden corn fields and knowing that you're missing someting so wonderful, so beautiful, so miraculously divine. And knowing full well that you would never, ever, be able to have that experience, sense that thrill, feel that warmth, which this beautiful world has on display every single day.

If there is one thing which can partly compensate for the beauty of this world, it is the beauty of a kind and sympathetic human heart. If we can do our bit, just a little bit, for the blind people of this world, they will surely notice and be overjoyed. For the blind can see with their heart. And they can see kindness from miles away.

The MAD Club hereby launches Project DBBTTB - Don't Be Blind To The Blind.

Our inspiration for this project comes from Neelima. Here are excerpts from a beautiful email she wrote to the MAD Club. Notice the Truth and the Wisdom in these humble words which she has written so simply ...

"I just feel we are losing ourselves in this busy world. 'Me, mine, my family, my job' ... everything is restricted to this small spectrum. I have always wanted to do something, not that I feel superior, but if I can make someone smile with my own capabilities then I will feel I have had a better living in this world. The day I know someone has smiled with my efforts, I can sleep in peace ... I go to a blind school regularly to gift them audio cassettes, they need them very badly to record their notes and listen to them ... but I think as a single hand I am not capable of doing much ... "

She signed off with "Akele chal pade the, log milte gaye, kaarvan banta gaya".

Can we reach out our hand to the Neelimas of this world? Can we ensure that they never need to say that they are "a single hand", that they never have to feel that they are alone on the rocky road they are travelling?

Can we share the loneliness of blind people of this world? If we do, the loneliness will melt away before our very eyes and the world will appear to be suddenly filled with the color of love. The color and the love which can only be seen through the eyes of the blind.

The MAD Club does not prescribe any methodology for Project DBBTTB. Whether you wish to participate by volunteering for a School for the Blind, or by agreeing to donate your eyes to the blind after death, or by deciding to give alms to every blind beggar you will meet in future, or by helping blind people across a busy road whenever you can, is entirely your choice.

Do email mulpurineelima@gmail.com for mutual sharing of ideas.

And let us Make A Difference.

Project DYO

2004-10-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

(MAD Club Individual Project III)

How many people have you helped in all your life? Make a guesstimate.

100? 200? 300?

Imagine being able to really help up to 400 people in one simple stroke!

The MAD Club launches Project DYO - Donate Your Organs.

KEY FACTS (WORLDWIDE):

Organ donation and transplantation is one of the most remarkable medical success stories of this century.
It is now possible to transplant several organs and tissues. Organs include the heart, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, liver and intestines. Tissues include eyes, skin, bone, heart valves, tendons, ligaments and veins.
However, the growing shortage of transplantable organs has reached crisis proportions and is getting worse.
One organ, tissue and eye donor may help between 200 and 400 people.
Most religions support donation, considering it a kind act.

KEY FACTS (USA):

Nationally, more than 73,000 people are awaiting an organ transplant.
Approximately 16 will die each day without receiving one.
More than 46,000 people await a kidney transplant.
Following kidneys, livers, hearts, and lungs are the organs in greatest demand for transplantation.
Since 1988, the median waiting time for a kidney transplant has risen from approximately one to two years.
The wait for livers has been even more dramatic--an eightfold increase from one to eight months.
Between 10,000 and 12,000 people die annually who are considered medically-suitable for organ donation, yet only an estimated 5,200 donate.

KEY FACTS (INDIA):

Approximately 50,000 individuals require cornea of eye, over a lakh nationwide suffer from renal failure and more than 2.5 lakh die of liver disease annually.
To make organ donation possible in India and thus alleviate the suffering of millions of Indian patients, the government of India in 1994 passed an act called the "Transplant of Human Organ Act".
However, since 1994, only 400 renal, 40 liver and 30 heart transplants have been performed from cadaver sources.

Shocking, isn't it?

FAQS ON ORGAN DONATION

WHO CAN BE A DONOR?

Anyone from child to an old person.
Even if you have suffered from serious illnesses in the past, you can become a donor under the right circumstances.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS?

Please contact any related foundation, organization or NGO for more details regarding your country.
Indians can contact the MOHAN Foundation (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) (http://www.mohanfoundation.org)
The HQ is in Chennai. They also have centers in Hyderabad and Mumbai.
The address of the Mumbai centre is:
Post Box No. 16775
Sion West
Mumbai 400 022
India
Upon contacting the MOHAN foundation, you will be provided a "DONOR CARD".

WHAT IS THE DONOR CARD?

The "DONOR CARD" is the first step. Your signing the card can save many lives.
The Donor Card is a card of credit card size and it can carried in your wallet or purse.
The Donor Card is a way of expressing your wishes. It is like making a will. By signing the Donor card you have agreed to organ donation.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO NEXT?

Keep this card always with you in your wallet or purse.
Let your close relatives know your wishes about organ donation.

And that's it! So simple, isn't it?

“Don’t take your organs to heaven ... heaven knows we need them here.”

MAD Club Game # 1

2004-10-20T22:42:00.000-07:00

This game is to be played whenever you are in a very bad mood.

Please note: It is ONLY to be played when you are in a REALLY TERRIBLE mood.

Some instances which would classify as calling for a REALLY TERRIBLE mood are:

Sulky: Tom at the end of every Tom & Jerry show
Depressed: Napoleon on realizing he would never touch a height of 5'
Shocked beyond redemption: Me when I reached out for that last piece of chocolate and you grabbed it first

So what is this game all about? It's a very educational game. Let's call it "Game 18".

"Game 18" is a 9-step game:

Step 1: Confirm that your mood is REALLY TERRIBLE.
Step 2: Go to a place where you're not alone. It could be your family living room, your college library, your office canteen. (Ok, you can do play this game all alone too if you want, in the washroom or in front of a mirror. That's good fun too!)
Step 3: Shut your eyes, inhale deeply, clear your mind of all your sorrows and worries (this is VERY important), and Realize The Great Truth. Namely that the English Language has 26 alphabets and innumerable combinations of these. However, the world of Smiles is not far behind ... experts claim there are 18 different kinds of smiles! And they all have sub-types, and they are also amenable to permutations and combinations, just like English! So if we can spend years, sometimes lifetimes, in mastering the English language, why don't we spend some time in practising and mastering the "Smile" language? NOW you have Realized the Great truth, AND why this Game is called "Game 18", and are ready to move to Step 4.
Step 4: Think of as many types of smiles as you know. List them down if you have pen and paper. Some that I can think of right now (and I'm not sure if they're right!) are:
a. Sheepish grin
b. Amused grin
c. Chuckle (do YOU know how exactly to chuckle? I'm not sure if I do ... need practice on this one ... )
d. Happy smile (duh!?)
Can you add more to the list? Remember - no search engine help is allowed here!
It's an open challenge here ... the MAD Club's in-house Smiley Team is certain the experts are wrong, and there are MORE than 18 types of Smiles !! So draw up your own list, with as many types of Smiles as possible, and do us ... our Smiley Team is simply DYING to know your list.
Step 5: Now, one by one, practise each of the types of Smiles on your list. Remember, you are (ideally) in a place where you're not alone.
Step 6: Identify your favorite kind of Smile. And keep practising it till you master ALL the nuances possible.
Step 7: After 2 - 5 minutes of this game, rate your mood on a scale of 1 - 10 (1 = REALLY TERRIBLE, 10 = REALLY ECSTATIC). If your score is less than 5, repeat Steps 5 and 6.
Step 8: Repeat Steps 1 to 7 whenever you feel you're in a REALLY TERRIBLE mood.
Step 9: When you've totally mastered the game, inform us and we'll send you a "SMILE MASTER" Certificate. And the first ten respondents will receive a special gift !!!

As you must've guessed by now, our Smiley Team is part of Team ASAD. If you want to join the Smiley Team or Team ASAD, email rasi_014@yahoo.com!

PS. We're in the process of setting up a MAD Club "Laugh Team" and developing a game similar to the one above, with "Smile" replaced by "Laugh". Some ideas for the "Laugh Game", initiated by Shaffy, are:

Making really odd faces all of a sudden!
Bursting into song! (The more out-of-tune the better. If you don't know too many, even Happy Birthday to anyone or the National Anthem will do!)
Jumping up and down 6 times! (Restricted to people of age 20 and above ONLY)
Producing a funny hat out of your bag and wearing it!
Basically doing anything odd or childish, something you're DEFINITELY not supposed to do at your age and stage :)

All these games will ensure, not just laughter all around, but instant popularity for you :)

Do try these out and let us know your findings!

And in the meantime ... keep smilin' !!! :-))))

Project WWTO

2004-10-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

(MAD Club Individual Project II)

(Project Coordinator: Jahnvi)

I'll let you in on a little secret of mine. One of my fondest dreams is to one day become a jolly, semi-senile, doddering old grandfather of 80, swamped by dozens of teensy little grandhildren clambering all over me, tugging at my snow-white beard and listening excitedly to my quaint old-fashioned anecdotes ... no wonder I'm in a hurry to grow old! :)

But there's a nagging fear behind these rosy dreams. What if ... and even the most optimistic among us may not easily be able to blindly refute this possibility for our own selves ... what if I end up in an Old Age Home?

Have you ever visited an old age home? Based on limited personal experience, they're of two kinds.

Type A is the Old Age Home for the rich. For a substantial annual fee, the inmates are given access to clean bedsheets and washrooms, laundry (they pay extra for this), warm food, a little garden where they can stretch their legs at fixed hours, a 24x7 nurse (usually an ayah) and a doctor who'll look in once a week and during emergencies.

Type B is the Old Age Home for the poor. The inmates (dare we use the word "victims"?) sleep on the cold damp floor irrespective of their rheumatic bones ("Well, at least we're saved from the rain, beta"). They use public toilets, share the responsibilities of cooking and sweeping between themselves, and wash their own clothes. And in most cases they're still required to pay for this existence. If they're lucky, a humanitarian doctor visits them in his or her spare time. If they're luckier, there'll be someone to weep for them when they die.

Irrespective of whether the Old Age Home is Type A or Type B, they suffer from two common diseases. The two diseases which are the "biggest businesses in the US after Christmas". Doctors may use different names for them; but two common words sum them up adequately.

Loneliness.

And unwantedness.

Imagine a typical day in the life of Hari, a “fortunate” Type A inmate.

Hari opens his eyes reluctantly in the morning, not knowing who he's still living for, not knowing what the purpose of his existence is. The thought crosses his mind that, if only he had died in the night, at least his son would not have had to continue paying the exorbitant fees charged by the Home. Well, I guess I’ll remain a burden to my son for a day more, sighs Hari as he struggles up and sits vacantly in his bed throughout the day. He thinks a lot; that's his only occupation, after all. These days, he realizes he's thinking less than usual; his mind has been filled with unusually long durations of blankness. As Babu, the Warden of the Home, brings him his insipid tea and stale arrowroot biscuits which cause indigestion, Hari looks into his eyes and sees an indifference which is scary. Hari talks little to Mohanlal, his old room partner who suffers from piles and has a horrid cackling laugh. They have very little to talk about, after all. They've run through the same topics innumerable times ... about their youth, their wives, how sweet their kids were when they were young, how absolutely adorable their grandhildren, who live in Florida, are ... the conversation invariably breaks down at this time, and so do Hari and Mohanlal. Evening brings a flutter of excitement ... Arun, the South Indian gentleman in Room 11, has passed away. Heart attack. Arun didn’t have any family; he had never married. No one to weep for him. As if there’ll be anyone for me, thinks Hari sardonically. Good for Arun ... freedom to soar at last ... maybe, thinks Hari as he lies in his bed and looks at the stars, maybe tonight I'll get lucky ...

And what does next morning bring? No, not the same loneliness, but two young idealistic people. And ... wonder of wonders ... they want to take Hari and others to a House of God of their choice to worship !! Hari is ecstatic for a few hours … he gets an outing, he gets a rare chance to pray to God in a place of worship of his choice ... and he doesn't need to pay even a penny ... it momentarily feels almost like he’s got his lost children back for a day … and besides, for all you know, this may be Hari's last ever opportunity to visit a Holy Place ...

The very fact that someone, somewhere, cares enough for the unwanted to make that extra effort ... it is so rare, and makes such a difference to the Haris of the world !!

Taking inspiration from this noble venture, the MAD Club introduces it's second Individual Project -- Walk With The Old, or WWTO !!

The modus operandi of Project WWTO is simple:

Identify an old age home near your home / college / workplace
Take some time out one day and pay a visit. You can go on a holiday; an old age home is never closed.
Talk with the manager and find out what the inmates really want or need, and which you as an individual with limited resources can provide (partially or fully).
Try and satisfy this need at least once, more regularly if possible.

And in case there isn't any Old Age Home you know, why not start Project WWTO at home? Do little things for your grandpa and granny which you know they'll like. Ask any old neighbours or acquaintainces if you can do something for them.

Do remember, we can never do enough for the elderly. After all, they are our grandparents, our parents. And one day, they will be Us.

Please email fd97075@yahoo.co.in with questions, ideas, and details of how you helped, so all of us can benefit from each other's accumulated experience.

Come participate in Project WWTO.

And let us Make A Difference.

Project ASAD

2004-10-12T02:24:00.000-07:00

(MAD Club Independent Project I)

(Coordinator - Rasi)

Q. What is the opposite of SAD?

A. The opposite of SAD is ASAD.

Beg pardon? ASAD? What's ASAD?

ASAD, friends, stands for Anti-SAD. It is also the abbreviation of A Smile A Day. :-)))))))))

Laughter has been the best medicine over the ages. Did you know ...

There are 18 different kinds of smiles? The most revealing is the smile of enjoyment!
It takes 13 muscles to smile and 50 muscles to frown? So, avoid facial wrinkles -- smile!
Laughing for 15 seconds adds two days to the life span?
Laughing 100 times a day is equal to a 10-minute session of rowing?

Our face reflects our philosophy of life. So why sweat when we can laugh?

Hundreds of Laughter Groups exist today. Are you a member of any? If not, here's your chance to join an Online Laughter Group -- ASAD.

The genesis of ASAD happened here. To quote the author, who puts it beautifully, "I do know one small thing, and that is, one might not be able to change the whole world, but one can definitely change a precious moment in somebody' s life, anytime and anywhere. There is a free tool to do that, a tool which is, like us software people say, platform independent. The use of this tool doesn't depend on your education, caste, religion etc. It is free for all and effortless. This Tool is called SMILE ... "

The prerequisites for participation in Project ASAD are that you must be willing to try and do each of the following at least once every week:

Remember to play. Let's all be kids once in a while. It's fun :)
Think funny! You don't have to actually BE funny, but at least THINK funny! :)
Laugh at yourself. Hey, we've all done dumb and dumber things, haven't we? And it's cool that way ... perfect people are so BORING !!
Laugh with others, never at them.
Lighten up! You know, just because we laugh doesn't mean we're not professionals, does it?
Share laughter. It's life's greatest gift.

For obtaining ideas and contributing suggestions on how to make others laugh, please email rasi_014@yahoo.com.

And let us Make A Difference.

MAD Club - The Charter

2004-10-12T00:47:00.000-07:00

This is the official site of the Making A Difference Club, also known as the MAD Club. On this site, we plan to host:

Details of projects which can Make A Difference
Updates on these projects -- both in concept and in execution

About Us

Click here for details.

Categories of MAD Projects

MAD Club Projects can broadly be classified into two types:

Type A Projects (Group Projects or GP)

These are projects wherein MAD members and other interested junta may ideally need to work together for optimal results. Examples are PHP and TIBD.

These projects will usually have a "Project Coordinator" who:

Would typically have initiated this project
Is willing to coordinate all project related activities and provide direction for optimal success of the project
Would be the single-point contact for volunteering, team building, assigning of roles
Would be the single-point clarification center for all FAQs
Would be the single-point "Idea Center" for accepting feedback and suggestions and modifying the project (both in concept and in execution) accordingly

Depending on the number of volunteers, there may be a Team of Project Coordinators specific to institution (school / college / organization) or geography (locality / city / country).

Type B Projects (Individual Projects or IP)

These are projects wherein MAD members and other interested junta may work together, but it is not necessary for optimal results. Some examples will be put up soon.

These projects will usually have a "Project Initiator" who:

Would typically have initiated this project
Is willing to help and advise interested participants
Would be the single-point clarification center for all FAQs
Would be the single-point "Idea Center" for accepting feedback and suggestions and modifying the project (both in concept and in execution) accordingly

How Can I Participate?

There are expected to be a fairly large number of MAD Club Projects hosted on this site over time. It goes without saying that no one is expected to participate in all the projects; in fact, this may not even be humanly possible.

It would be more than adequate if you could participate wholeheartedly in even one MAD Club Project.

Do also circulate such MAD ideas among your friends and acquaintances, so they too can choose to be a part of the MAD movement if they wish.

Some very official-sounding Disclaimers

The MAD Club does not belong to any individual. All of us are co-owners of the MAD Club!

The MAD Club has no religious, political, geographic or any other affiliations or preferences.

The MAD Club site will be hosting projects which appeal to it, namely those which have the potential to Make A Difference for the better. Not all projects may be original, or thought up by MAD Club members. To whatever extent possible, we will obtain permission from the owner of the idea or project before hosting it on this site. If you believe your idea or project has been erroneously misrepresented / has not received its due / should not be displayed on this site, please email us and we shall act accordingly.

People Helping People

2004-10-11T23:18:00.000-07:00

(MAD Club Group Project II)

(Project Coordinator - Shaffy)

What are some of the worries we face when, God forbid, we or any of our loved ones falls sick and has to be hospitalized?

You will have your own answers. Here is my list, in order of priority:

Quality of doctors, nurses and paramedics. Are they adequately qualified? Are they sensitive and understanding? Are they aware of my concerns, my actual needs? Will they make that extra effort to redress these needs and concerns of mine? Do they understand that they hold in their hands, NOT a sick body which must one day die, but THE LIFE OF ONE OF MY LOVED ONES?
Quality of the hospital overall. Is it neat and clean, so that risk of secondary infection is minimized? Is the food hygienic, healthy and palatable? Is the environment peaceful and quiet? Is the ambience bright and well-lit, the staff cheerful and optimistic and willing to put in that extra effort to help?
Cost involved. Will I be made to pay more than I actually should?

My few experiences with healthcare systems in India has shown that, more often than not, the answers to the above will be No, No, Yes.

Based on your own personal experiences with hospitals, you will doubtless have horror stories of your own to relate. The healthcare systems in most developing countries is abysmal, and the Indian subcontinent is more the rule than the exception.

But do we do anything about it other than rant and rage? NO! Over the ages, consumer courts notwithstanding, we ordinary citizens have learnt to live with our griefs and swallow our unanswered questions instead of seeking to improve the medical system.

Why is that the case?

It is because, if the medical system has to be improved, the initiative CANNOT be taken by laymen like you and me. The initiative MUST come from within the medical fraternity itself.

Why then haven't such initiatives started so far? Why don't doctors live up to the Hippocratic Oath, why don't nurses become Florence Nightingales?

There are a multitude of reasons why not. Lack of time and energy, a blind rush to earn money, highly stressful lives ...

And we common people suffer as a result.

Which is why, when a group of idealistic young doctors decide to stand up and fight the system, one cannot help but cheer oneself hoarse for them!

People Helping People (PHP) is one such bold and visionary initiative started by a young modern-day Florence Nightingale. The objective of PHP is to improve medical ethics in our part of the world, to make the medical fraternity more sensitive to the REAL needs of patients, to improve doctor-patient relationships, to make the entire hospitalization experience sunnier and healthier for the patient.

If you are a part of the medical fraternity, you can help directly. If not, you can help just as much, if not more, in a multitude of ways. Click here to find out how.

Remember, the results of PHP may directly impact you some day. Just a little bit of time and effort from your side can bring a smile to thousands of long-suffering patients.

So do email daringdoctor@gmail.com and volunteer.

And let us Make A Difference.

***

Aloha friend, have you gone MAD today?
Join TIBD and PHP and lead the way!

International Blanket Day 2004

2004-10-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

(MAD Club Group Project I)

Winter is nigh. Yayyy !!!

Winter has always been my favourite season. It conjures up in my mind images of a refreshing nip in the air, cosy pullovers and cardigans, comical monkey caps and riotously colourful scarves, thick snuggly cotton-stuffed blankets. It's a time to enjoy soup and hot chocolate like never before. It's a time when thick fur-encased pomerians look at me pityingly, when I feel envious whenever I stroke the plush coats of pet cats. It's the season of Santa Claus and Lights, of New Year's resolutions and loved ones' birthdays. It's the season of oranges and lemons sold for a penny. It's the season when bathing in the warm mellow noon sunshine feels even better than a hot water shower. I shiver on recalling my experiences with sub-zero desert frostbites, yet feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I cuddle up in my bed and look out of the window at the clearer-than-ever-before starlit skies.

But alas, winter does not hold the same fascination for hundreds of thousands of hapless people. For them, winter means helpless shivering leading to sleepless nights huddled against the nearest stone wall for a shade of protection from the biting wind; inevitable coughs and sneezes and runny noses; the looming threat of fevers which refuse to die down. Little hope of even a cup of warm tea to thaw their limbs and hearts. A cold which penetrates the bones of the aged and the hearts of the young.

In one way or another, each season is an enemy of the poor and homeless and destitute. Winter is an adversary which is often fatal.

Every year, countless Indians die an entirely preventable death due to bitter winter cold.

Can we do something to help?

It was the winter of 2001 when a modest idea was born. Such ideas sometimes happen to the young, foolish, idealistic starry-eyed who still commit the mistake of nurturing hope for the future and reposing an unwavering faith in the human race.

The idea was to designate 9th December, which marks the onset of stiff winter in most parts of India, as "International Blanket Day".

What is the idea behind International Blanket Day?

We all need warmth in our life. And what better way of achieving this is there than sharing warmth with others? Can we ensure that, because of us, at least one poor person will sleep in warmth and comfort this winter? The warmth will assuredly remain with us forever.

What is International Blanket Day?

On or before this day, as many people as possible would be requested to help those less fortunate than them. Please make a donation to any needy person of your choice anywhere in the world this winter, on or before International Blanket Day, and feel the warmth that comes your way. We personally guarantee that a flush of health and happiness will bloom on your cheeks, your digestion will improve beyond recognition, your behaviour will become more effervescent and bubbly and chirpy, your sleep will become more sound, and your dreams will become truly delightful.

How would it work?

The process is as follows:

Each person (henceforth referred to as "contributor") would be asked to look around and identify at least one poor and needy person (henceforth referred to as "beneficiary") of his or her acquaintance.
The contributor would then buy a blanket and give it to the beneficiary.
If the contributor cannot afford a new blanket, he or she is welcome to donate an old blanket to the beneficiary.
If the contributor resides in a warm area which is not affected by severe winter, or if the beneficiary already has a blanket, the contributor will ask the beneficiary about the latter's needs. These could be any of the following:
a. Warm clothes (sweaters, cardigans, scarves, socks, shawls ... )
b. Any other clothes (shirts, trousers, kurtas, lungis ... )
c. Footwear (slippers, shoes ... )
d. Medicines or medical treatment
e. School or tuition fees, study books or materials (note pads, pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, rulers, geometry boxes, pencil boxes, school bags ... )
f. Food
g. Money (although this is not very recommended as it is not a sustainable contribution and has the potential to be be misused, still it could definitely be given. It is always better that it is given in the form of items 'a' to 'f' mentioned above. It is also an excellent idea to give this money to an orphanage, old age home, a school for the poor, a hospital for the poor, or any NGO which you know is doing good work)
h. Anything else which the contributor knows will be useful and important to the beneficiary
Once the contributor knows of the beneficiary's actual needs, he or she will try and provide the beneficiary with the same. The contribution can be new or even second hand. Either way it will Make A Difference.
If nothing else, the contributor can donate a warm loving smile to the beneficiary.

At the end of the day, there should be just that extra bit of warmth and happiness in this increasingly cold and frosty world of ours.

How is this movement different from other donation drives?

Blanket donation drives have been organized before, but this is "a drive with a difference" in two ways:

The drive is self-initiated: Here, the onus on identifying the beneficiary, deciding on what to contribute, as well as making the contribution, rests entirely on YOU.
The drive is self-propagating: It is up to YOU to spread awareness of the movement among your friends, family members, colleagues and acquaintances. You could use e-mail, snailmail or any other form of communication for this purpose.

How can you help?

Chronologically, this is the fourth anniversary of the movement. In many ways, however, it is the inaugural year. This is after all the first time an attempt is being made to institutionalize International Blanket Day and make it a little bigger than just an annual college event.

The dream is very lofty. The resources are very scarce.

You can help immeasurably simply by participating.

You can help even more if your answer to any of the following questions is a "Yes":

Do you have family, friends and acquaintances with who you can share this message? Do you know people who are willing and able to create a warmer and happier world?
Can you get together with your friends on any Sunday or half holiday, and organize a little collection and distribution drive on your own? It will not take more than a few hours, and believe me, the kick you will experience is not worth missing.
Is your academic institute or workplace willing to adopt ideas such as these?
Are you good at IT aspects like database management or website design?
Do you have ideas or recommendations or contacts for spreading news of this request to the maximum number of people? Any and all suggestions are most welcome.
And finally, is anyone interested in volunteering to join Team International Blanket Day (TIBD)? TIBD is today a single member team and cordially solicits participation. If anyone volunteers, maybe we can start a concept of TIBD Coordinator for your school / college / organization / locality / city / country.

We also request that each of you who makes a donation informs us of his / her contribution by sending an email to blanketday@yahoo.com. This will help us keep track of the spread and success of the movement.

So come. Join us in celebrating December 9th as International Blanket Day.

And let us Make A Difference. Together.

(PS. People who have already joined up for the MAD Club are requested to kindly send a separate email to blanketday@yahoo.com in case they want to participate - Thanks!)

(PPS. This idea has NO copyrights! You are MOST WELCOME to adopt the idea, improve it as you feel fit, and spread it as your own.)

Making a Difference

2004-10-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

True stories of people who, despite starting with almost nothing, have made a huge difference to the world we live in and, God willing, will continue making a difference for many many more years.

The Ahmeds and KBET

Afzal and Sakina Ahmed run two NGOs in Ranchi (Jharkhand). These are the Karra Society for Rural Action (KSRA) and the Kalanga Bazar Educational Trust (KBET). KBET was established in 1995. KBET works in urban poverty-stricken areas to help women, children, and disadvantaged communities become empowered through education, health and economic independence. Groups of women organized into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) get all the necessary training, loans, and support to start their own businesses. Poverty-stricken children are receiving non-formal education in 25 centers. KBET has raised women’s awareness of reproductive health, family planning, nutrition and sanitation. KBET is an amazing organization which started from very humble beginnings and is now doing an unbelievable amount of work.

Tel: +91-651-2491985
e-ID: kbet@sancharnet.in

Vinayak Lohani and Parivaar

An engineer from IIT Kharagpur and MBA from IIM Calcutta, Vinayak, hailing from a middle class family, opted out of the placement process in IIMC in 2003 to became a full-time social activist. He has single-handedly founded Parivaar, an action group that works for education of children from segments of orphans, children of women in prostitution, and street children.

http://www.parivaar.org
Tel: +91-33-3093 6136
e-ID: Parivaar_mission@yahoo.com

Vardan Kabra and Fountainhead

24-year old Vardan Kabra, an alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad, chose to stay out of IIM-A's placement process in 2004 and rejected a pre-placement offer of Rs 7 lakh from Procter and Gamble. Why did this boy from a middle-class family spurn a good offer from a big corporate? Well, Vardan is in the process of setting up a chain of primary schools whose teaching methods will be unique. Vardan has risked comfort and security to live out his dream. He calls his dream "Fountainhead".

http://www.fountainheadschools.org
Tel.: +91-79-3112 9167
e-ID: info@fountainheadschools.org

I am truly proud and honoured to have known these people personally.

"To give pleasure to a single heart by a single kind act is better than a thousand head-bowings in prayer." -Saadi, poet (c. 1200 AD)

Have You Gone MAD Today?

2004-10-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

The human race is cleanly divided into two distinct categories. One is the Haves who comprise less than 2% of the world's population. The other is the Havenots who fill up the remaining 98%.

Just answer this simple question to see which category you fall into:

Q. Are you reading this sentence on your own?

If your answer is "Yes", it means a great deal.

It means you are not visually impaired. You have functioning hands to operate a computer. You can understand what you are reading, which means you are literate, and infinitely more significantly you are literate in English. This in turn implies you are at least reasonably educated. It also indicates that you have access to a computer and the Internet, whether you are in school, college, hostel, office, a cybercafe, or home.

Congratulations! You are very definitely a Have !!! You are in the top 2% of the human race in terms of access to education, employment opportunities, income levels, medical care, housing, and goodness knows what else. So look around you ... of every 100 people you meet, only one other, symbolically speaking, will be as or more fortunate than you !!!

So you're a Have. So what?

Let's start from here ... there's a little bit of madness in all of us. So why not redefine the term MAD itself?

Why not define MAD as "Making A Difference"?

It is here that the concept of the MAD Club comes in.

The MAD Club is a group of Haves. Age, Gender, Religion, Nationality no bar. The only criterion is that the members should feel a common desire to Make A Difference. To the people they meet. To the world they live in.

The purpose of the MAD Club is to think up, plan, organize and implement simple projects which will touch people and improve lives. These projects need not be elaborate in the least. They can be one-off or repetitive. They can be grassroots level or futuristic. They can shake up the world, or equally, they can just make the canteen boy in your office grin for a moment.

The MAD Club is not an NGO. It is simply aimed at being a congregation of like minded people who would like to spend some time together and carry out little projects which make a difference. Members of the MAD Club are strongly encouraged to work with various NGOs and organizations, and share their experiences with others in the MAD Club.

Sounds great so far, right? But how? After all, each of us is busy, caught up in our education, our careers, our family lives, our social lives. Even if we do have the inclination, we scarcely have the time or the energy to do "social work" at the end of a tiring day. So how can we Make A Difference? How can we MAD?

Well, how about MADding only when we have time and inclination, only in or around our place of residence, only within our budgets, only within our constraints? And it needn't be anything big either !!

Do we have any examples to show us the way? Sure we do !!

A great example of a MAD project is A smile across many miles. Another is Dreams Come True. A modern-day Florence Nightingale has initiated a wonderful project called People Helping People. Another project, International Blanket Day, will follow soon. And some of our truly inspirational role models are these wonderful people.

Today, Monday October 4th 2004, heralds the official commencement of the MAD Club. The clarion call of this esteemed mental institution shall be, "Have You Gone MAD Today?"

True, one person alone can do very little. But together, trust me, we can truly MAD. We can Rock The World.

You are sincerely invited to join. If anyone wants to apply, or if anyone has any suggestions or queries (both are very cordially solicited, these will form the backbone of the MAD Club after all), please email suhailkassim@gmail.com with your name and location (city / country).

So come. Let us MAD. Together.

Anyone interested?