Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
This Blog is created to promote social awareness, consciousness and commitment amongst general public and tune their thinking and actions to all-encompassing loyalty to our society, our country, our people and indeed to all humanity and to motivate and inspire them to ably, efficiently and whole-heartedly discharge their social duties and national responsibilities.
Remember ME - You Me and Dementia
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
ROARING OPPORTUNITY FOR RESOURCE MOBILISATION & DEVELOPMENT EVANGELISTS IN INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Free culture for a free society
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Apply for India Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award - 2010
The deadline for receiving applications is July 1, 2010.
The India Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award provides unprecedented opportunities to the winner (s)to engage with global decision makers from the public, corporate, media and academic sectors to strengthen and expand their model.
Specifically, the Award benefits for the winner (s) will include participation in the India Economic Summit and regional meetings of the World Economic Forum, inclusion in the Schwab Foundation network of leading social entrepreneurs, possible nomination/s to the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the Global Agenda Council, and eligibility to participate in the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
To view the selection criteria, and apply online, please visit http://www.schwabfoundseoy.org/india.
Start Up! (www.startup-india.org) – an incubator and advisor to social entrepreneurs – has been engaged to manage and the support the outreach and due-diligence process for the India Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2010 on behalf of the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation. We will be happy to respond to your queries via email.
Please feel free to connect with us at seyawards@startup-india.org with a cc marked to jbf_sey@jubl.com
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Closing the Digital Divide for Those with Disabilities
In each of our modern lives, broadband holds a pivotal key to enhancing economic opportunities, expanding access to education, improving our health and participating in civil society. Nowhere is this potential more powerfully on display than at the intersection of broadband and mobility. And, arguably no community has put this nearly limitless potential to more transformational use in their daily lives than the 1 in 5 Americans who, today, are living with disabilities.
From leading wireless carriers to devoted garage innovators, the mobile innovation community is embracing the true spirit of mobile broadband’s much-touted promise to bring opportunity and quality of life enhancements to all Americans. From people with disabilities who are finding innovative uses for connected smartphones and mainstream mobile applications to technologists who are thinking and creating for the unique needs of specific communities, profound innovation is underway today.
This report is intended as a celebration of this innovation—and an exploration of the common elements, values and commitments that can ensure it is continually nurtured. Twenty years ago, our nation made an extraordinary commitment to accessibility and opportunity in passing the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Wireless grew up in this era. And, today, it is ushering in a second wave of quality of life advances and inclusiveness for 54 million Americans with disabilities.
From voice-activated GPS technology that can guide a blind person down the street , to access to closed captioned video on the go, to the fact that kids with disabilities now can go to school with smartphones in their pockets rather than large, cumbersome assistive devices, these innovations reflect awe-inspiring progress. Equally encouraging is the certain fact that we have barely scratched the surface of what mobile innovation can do to expand the horizons and grow the range of opportunities available to this community.
On behalf of the Mobile Future community, we thank the organizations and technologists who contributed their insights to the development of this report. It is our hope that this paper reflects just one small contribution to a growing conversation and further exploration around unlocking opportunities in the digital/mobile age.
With the release of its National Broadband Plan and subsequent report on broadband for people with disabilities, the Federal Communications Commission is signaling its own commitment to encouraging these life-changing innovations. At this important juncture, we offer this paper to help inform both great products and meaningful policy.
Jonathan Spalter
Chairman
Mobile Future
Read Full Report: http://mobfut.3cdn.net/07bf12aba705fafb8f_fym6bat6i.pdf
Source: http://www.mobilefuture.org/content/pages/mobile_ability
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Protest Letter submitted to Minister Mukul Wasnik for neglecting and ignoring Senior Citizens
Date: 24/04/2010
To,
Shri Mukul Wasnikji,
Hon. Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment,
Government of India,
Shastri Bhawan,
New Delhi-110 001
Dear Sir,
Subject:
1. Review committee for NPOP ( National Policy on Older Person)
2. NPOP review and Implementation
3. The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act’ 2007 (MWSCA) Implementation
4. MOSJE department on Ageing
Reference: Ongoing Emails correspondence with you and MOSJE dept. since 15th Feb 2010
At onset we congratulate you and your ministry for taking various steps for Review of NPOP and schemes of welfare of Elderly.
This Letter is to bring to your kind notice the working of MOSJE department with regards to Ageing, NPOP and MWSCA.
On 8th Dec 2009 you had informed us about Review of NPOP at National Dementia Strategy meet held in New Delhi. But On 28/01/2010 we came across an internal circular issued by your MOSJE about appointment of Four Member Review committee. This move has surprised us and other important stakeholders. No consultancy was done for appointment of this committee with important stakeholders.
We appreciate NISD Training programme and government intention to review the NPOP but it’s sad to note that only Four People from the entire country are made part of this very important committee. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MOSJE) which looks after more then 90 million Senior Citizens has neglected and ignored important stake holders ,NGO's and organization in Constitution of Committee to review the NPOP. There is growing anger amongst Senior Citizens and important stake holders for this secretive step of MOSJE.
It seems MOSJE was in hurry and did not inform nor consulted National Council for Older Person (NCOP) nor the Standing Committee of MOSJE. It’s a close door appointment and the process is not transparent and leads to doubt/ suspicious and abuse of Senior Citizens and important organization working for Senior Citizens.
In this regards we had also filed an RTI on 17th Feb 2010 and after nearly two months received a one para reply on 15th April 2010.
It’s also to be noted that MOSJE does not responds through emails and also is not aware of contact details of NGO’s, Organization and professionals working for Elderly - this was visible in circular issued for 2nd meeting of experts in Delhi held on 19th March 2010. It is also alleged that minutes of meeting of review committee and minutes of meeting held by some of this four members is "doctored". Also many times it’s difficult to find right person in MOSJE handling Ageing, the department looks toothless and unmanned. A separate ministry or National Commission might be one of the solutions to look after more than 8% elderly population in India.
There are many important Organization and People all over India who are actively working for /with Senior Citizens and their rights, ignoring them will be big mistake. Already the earlier NPOP which was formulate in 1999 could not be adopted and implemented for more than 11 years and now there was need to review the NPOP due to changed scenario of society and need of elderly.
Most important is the view of common Senior Citizens of India - poll, survey, debate, News paper & Web Base suggestions etc could be an effective method to know the practical needs of man on the street, the common Senior Citizen.
We as an important member of civil society carried out ‘National Online Survey for Review of NPOP’ to look into needs and demand of Senior Citizens. This survey was jointly conducted by Silver Inning Foundation and Society for Serving Seniors to assess the requirement and need of Senior Citizens from 19th March 2010 to 15th April 2010. It was hosted on the Survey Site www.questionpro.com at the .The questionnaire was online for about a month. Wide publicity was given to this survey in a large number of web groups, blogs, websites and by email to Senior Citizens associations, Federations etc. Please find attached the detail Survey Report which will help, all of us to do justice and create a comprehensive NPOP.
If government of India is serious about making an realistic NPOP which will benefit different segment of Elderly viz. young Old, Old Old , Very Old ;then it should have progressive and positive mindset , a holistic approach is needed .It also need to include important stake holders and Senior Citizens themselves. Please find attached a comprehensive list of organization pan India working for /with Elderly.
The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act’ 2007 also needs your urgent attention as it’s not adopted nor implement on whole, pan India. Many Senior Citizens all over country are harassed and abused. This act will bring some relief to our Elderly.
Silver Inning Foundation on behalf of all the Senior Citizens strongly demands Ministry of MOSJE to reconstitute/ extend the current committee to other very important stake holders- NGO’s , Institution’s , Geriatricians , Gerontologist , Professionals and Intra govt. departments for the benefits of millions of Elderly in India, please have inclusive policy and don't discriminate the NGO's and other important stake holders. Also we demand to increase the time line to one year for making any decision with regards to NPOP.
We hereby demand implementation of comprehensive NPOP & The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act’ 2007.
We hereby once again raise our objection on constituting of current minor committee , time line given for review of NPOP , non implementation of NPOP & The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act’ 2007.An urgent step in this regards will be appreciated or else Senior citizens will launch nationwide protest.
Let’s work together for Rights of Elderly and create an Elder Friendly world.
Warm Regards,
Sailesh Mishra
Founder President
Silver Inning Foundation
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Listen to accidental social entrepreneur vision for elderly
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) completes five years
The challenge is to honour every household’s right to quality healthcare. The Mission, which has set up a community monitoring system in nine states, now needs to make it universal before the end of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan so that local communities begin to demand healthcare as a right, says a review
The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) completed five years on April 12, 2010. Launched in 2005 as a seven-year programme, the government may extend it by three years, to 2015, as many of its goals are still to be achieved, say senior health officials in New Delhi.
The Union government’s flagship scheme to improve healthcare services in rural areas seeks to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates, prevent disease, control population, and ensure gender balance in rural India, according to the government website.
One of the visions of the NRHM was to increase public spending on healthcare, from around 0.9% of India’s gross domestic product in 2004-05 to 2-3%. This has not been achieved. The national health accounts of the health ministry says it increased from 0.84% in 2004-05 to 1.1% in 2008-09, while the Economic Survey 2009-10 put the increase from 1.19% in 2004-05 to 1.45% in 2009-10.
“There are some goals that the NRHM still has to achieve… So, the Centre is thinking of extending the NRHM by three years before beginning the next phase,” said the head of a non-government organisation that works closely with the government under the programme. He added that plans were being drawn up with the 2015 deadline in mind. When asked if the Mission would be extended to 2015, Union Health Secretary K Sujatha Rao said: “I suppose so.”
“In 2012, the Twelfth Five-Year Plan will start so it (the extension) will depend on that. But it is likely that the NRHM will be extended, even though no decision has yet been taken,” said Amarjeet Sinha, joint secretary (NRHM), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Poor utilisation of allocated funds and a shortage of medical professionals and administrators seem to have slowed the initiative’s progress. An audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India stressed the need to build public-private partnerships under the NRHM to better utilise the money.
However, in a statement, the health ministry said that spending was poor at the local level initially due to decades of over-centralisation. It added that the situation was improving and that a number of local-level institutions were making better use of funds.
A mid-term review of the programme claims it has unleashed a lot of positive synergies and that the government should make an all-out effort to deepen the processes of community health in such a way that every household is able to seek its entitlement to healthcare.
The review says the 700,000 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) -- the first port of call -- across the country have demonstrated their ability to link households with facilities. The challenge in the coming years would be to honour the entitlement of every household to quality healthcare that is accessible, accountable and affordable. This would also call for a behaviour change in the way the public system interfaces with poor households, particularly women.
The challenge before the NRHM is to craft credible public systems. This would call for new systems of public recruitment that are institution-specific and based on service guarantees with complete local-level accountability. “The NRHM has promoted this culture of local recruitment and local accountability through contractual appointments. There is the need to develop a new paradigm of public recruitment based on the learning of the last five years,” the report says.
Quoting evidence-based studies, the mid-term review added that basic protocols of care at all levels, with wide publicity at facilities, must be universalised. There is a lot to learn from the protocols followed by the armed forces hospitals and dispensaries, in this regard.
While a lot has moved on delegation of administrative and financial powers, the NRHM needs to further deepen decentralised management and accountability by engaging non-governmental organisations for community monitoring at all levels. The NGO programme of the ministry needs to be revised in such a manner that the presence of quality NGOs for community monitoring and skill development can be crafted from block to district to state levels.
Further, the review says, while resources have reached institutions across the length and breadth of the country, under the NRHM, it is time for every facility to develop a detailed institutional plan for utilising the untied resources being made available to it.
Timely utilisation of such resources, their effectiveness and their efficiency must be periodically assessed. Governance reforms and greater supervision in this regard would help, the report concludes.
Source:http://infochangeindia.org/201004138231/Health/News/NRHM-completes-five-years.html
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Social media plays growing role in aid world
In a week when the co-founder of Facebook and brains behind Barack Obama's online election campaign announced his new not-for-profit project Jumo, the U.N. appointed a new Social Media Envoy for Malaria, and London hosted the Social Media World Forum.
But how can charities use existing and new technology to make our virtual societies more charitable?
The London forum saw the launch of a new video application, which helps you broadcast on social media sites in real time. Such interactive video tools have huge potential for humanitarian agencies such as Action Aid, Christian Aid, Save the Children and Oxfam. They could be used instantly when disasters strike to broadcast the charities' relief work live in order to mobilise supporters before the world's media arrive. These tools could also potentially help change the face of reconstruction when the cameras leave the scene.
HAITI EXAMPLE
Christian Aid UK, whose staff in Port-au-Prince narrowly escaped fatal injuries when their office collapsed during the Haiti earthquake, was one of the first agencies at the scene to use social media. They employed Twitter and Facebook, their own website, mobiles, email, flip video, podcasts and Skype to co-ordinate relief efforts and send updates to supporters. Their call for dropping Haiti's debt received 10,000 signatures in four days.
The immediacy of social media has changed people's habits and raised their expectations of how charities report back from a crisis. Trevor Johnson, Head of Strategy and Planning at Facebook, said: "The Haiti earthquake occurred at 4:53 on 12th January and in that first minute, 106 people updated their status with something about 'tierra' (earth). In the first three minutes after the earthquake there were over 700 people updating their status about it."
Oxfam America also reaped the benefits of deploying social media when their Facebook fan base jumped from 35,000 to 250,000 during the Haiti earthquake crisis. The charity set up a live blog site, which aggregated all their podcasts, video clips and twitter streams, and uploaded a YouTube video appealing for money within 5 hours of the quake which resulted in $1.5 million raised within 48 hours.
THE POTENTIAL
Charities are constantly seeking to meet their donors' demands by providing them with stories about where the millions raised during disasters go. With the help of interactive broadcast tools, donors could potentially talk directly with beneficiaries in real time, literally seeing and hearing where their money is being used.
The key to success for charities in the social media landscape could be to get donors and beneficiaries interacting face-to-face by tying technologies together such as video, mobile, location-based services, virtual currency and social media networks.
A network of charities could provide an interactive map where individual donors and beneficiaries are shown by their location, alongside information about their environment and living conditions. The map could also show disaster 'hot spots' to encourage donations.
A donor could exchange their cash for virtual currency, which they could spend on different projects inside this virtual charity village. The virtual currency could then be converted back to real money by charities to benefit real people outside the world of computers and mobile phones.
However, Steven Buckley, Head of Communications at Christian Aid, struck a note of caution. "Technology in developing countries is not quite there yet to make such an idea of a global virtual village reality, but this is where the general trend is going, that's why child sponsorship schemes are so popular. Charities would have to act as mediators to ensure that projects which are not popular but important still receive funding," he said.
It seems that the technology is being forced along at a frantic pace by commercial interest, but charities are the ones that could really benefit by riding the wave of social media.
Source:http://www.alertnet.org/db/blogs/63760/2010/02/24-165046-1.htm
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
Friday, March 12, 2010
A Fresh Innings for the Elderly
Amritha Pillay reports on an NGO that is dedicated to helping senior citizens live and die with dignity
Sailesh Mishra personifies social activism; he gave up a well-paid marketing job to work for Dignity Foundation, an NGO that works with senior citizens (previously featured in these pages). He later set up the Silver Inning Foundation, which he financed and founded a year-and-a-half ago, and dedicated himself completely to the cause of the ageing and elderly.
When one thinks of social work for elders, an old-age home springs to mind, but Mr Mishra thought differently. He first set up a website with a couple of friends, to sensitise people about the issues relating to ageing and elders. While working with Dignity Foundation, he got an opportunity to work at its Neral ( Maharashtra) township for elders. One of the turning points in his life was the death of an inmate who suffered from dementia. “When we called up his son in Canada about his father’s death, he coldly asked us to cremate the body,” said Mr Mishra. That is when Mr Mishra realised that there was a need to sensitise elders and their family members about ageing. The Silver Innings website addresses this need and covers issues relating to health, law, finance, relationships, hobbies and other useful information. “I realised it was difficult to find information related to the elderly from one single source. So we decided to provide this.”
That was the beginning. Soon enough, distress calls from all over the country, and also overseas, made Mr Mishra realise that a lot more needs to be done. So Silver Inning Foundation started conducting workshops, lectures, counselling sessions, pre-retirement sessions, awareness campaigns and inter-generational workshops aimed at bridging the gap between the youth and the elderly. It also runs an activity centre in a Mumbai suburb at Mira Road and provides home-care helpers to attend to the elderly in their own home environment, along with dementia management services. All paid services are provided through ‘Silver Innings’ an social enterprise. While the official fee for dementia management services is around Rs500 for a weekly visit, this service is provided at lower rates for those who cannot afford it. Home-based services involve a nominal travelling allowance fee ranging from Rs50 to Rs100.
Volunteers for these activities are sourced by word-of-mouth, media news and the Internet and trained on various ageing issues. Special care is taken to ensure the security of the senior citizens by verifying the identity of the volunteers through legal documents. One can also volunteer to mobilise people and arrange events for the Foundation.
Computer education for the elderly and annual programmes to showcase the talent of senior citizens are some of the other initiatives of Silver Inning Foundation. Asked how the Foundation reaches senior citizens who have no Internet access, Mr Mishra says “the Foundation is for all (rich & poor) —those living in south Mumbai, as well as those living in Dharavi (one of Asia’s biggest slums); it has programmes for both sets of citizens.” He, however, thinks that NGOs working for the elderly operate in isolation and would like to form a stronger network across the country.
The short-term goals for Silver Innings as a group are unique. Mr Mishra plans to convert the Silver Innings website into an e-commerce portal, with 25% of the earnings diverted towards the Silver Inning Foundation. An interesting aspect is the matrimonial section on the website. “We come across a number of senior citizens looking for companionship due to early death of their spouse; this section would help bring lonely elders together,” says Mr Mishra. A job section to help elders who need to earn or want to be occupied is also on the long-term agenda of Silver Innings which has placed senior citizens as teachers with NGOs in the past. Silver Inning Foundation would welcome any kind of support in their endeavours.
Correspondence address:
Silver Inning Foundation
C/o The Hub,
Candelar Building, 4th Floor,
26, St John Baptist Road,
Near Mount Mary Steps,
Bandra (West), Mumbai 400 050
Website: http://www.silverinnings.com
Email: sailesh2000@gmail.com ; silverinnings@gmail.com
Senior Citizens Day Activity Center :
Silver Inning Active Ageing Center, Shop no. 10, Poonam Sagar Complex CHS LTD,
Bldg.No. J -47/48, Opp.Sector 9, Behind Allahabad Bank, Mira Road – East. India. Pin: 401107.
Donation are welcomed by Silver Inning Foundation, an NGO working with Senior Citizens registered under Society Registration Act of 1860 vide registration number 1300/2008/GBBSD dated 14/07/2008 & Bombay Public Trust Act 1950 vide registration number F- 36344 Mumbai dated 8/12/2008.
Support cause of Senior Citizens, the most ignored and neglected by sending your donation in name of ‘Silver Inning Foundation’.
Source: http://www.moneylife.in/article/78/4043.html
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
