Story begins.
You are a bird. You sing very well. Every bird, worm & bug in the same tree as you are enchanted with your voice. You want to tell the world that you can sing in the sweetest voice imaginable. But try as you might, you can't find anyone who can take your message to the world.
Suddenly, one fine morning you get a call from the most respected bird song writer group. They have heard that you sing well and want to tell the world about your singing.
Also, as a bird, you may be not very prone to excitement. However, the call from the song writing group has left you jumping up and down from every branch of your tree.
Story ends.
Someone from The Hindu contacted us today. They want to write an article on ASHA Hyderabad.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Small step for man
There is still some speculation as to what was said by Mr. Armstrong when he landed on the moon. Whether or not he said the actual phrase is immaterial, in retrospect. What is important is things were never the same again for space travel.
39 years after man set foot on the moon, something equally momentous and paradigm-shifting is about to happen tomorrow morning. Radio City, Hyderabad will announce the Phase Forward ACE 2008 during its morning & evening shows. Also, our promos will be aired between 9.15 am to 9.40 am. One can only hope that things will get bigger from here on. Of course, we need to be mindful on keeping our roots firmly on the ground while we reach for the sky.
One can choose to be cynical and say that we are not talking about the Super Bowl, or that such announcements come dime-a-d0zen. Thats not the point. Credibility for the event is only one side of the story. What's important is that this milestone has been achieved by a group of volunteers & companies who have only 1 thing in common. Which is, the belief that every child is entitled to basic education, food & shelter. That every child irrespective of their background or caste or religion has the right to dream to be a doctor, engineer, pilot or cricketer.*
And it is really heartening to see that as we extend our hands and look for partnerships, corporate India is extending theirs too. We are seeing ample evidence of companies willing to contribute freely towards what they believe is a genuinely good cause. In some cases people are coming on their own and adding to the effort. Then it becomes academic whether you call it Corporate Social Responsibility or simply Do Good.
* I once spoke to a little girl who is living in a residential school for poor children in Bidar, Karnataka. I asked her what she would like to become after growing up. Her answer was simple and straightforward. She wanted to run a school similar to the one she herself was living in. :)
39 years after man set foot on the moon, something equally momentous and paradigm-shifting is about to happen tomorrow morning. Radio City, Hyderabad will announce the Phase Forward ACE 2008 during its morning & evening shows. Also, our promos will be aired between 9.15 am to 9.40 am. One can only hope that things will get bigger from here on. Of course, we need to be mindful on keeping our roots firmly on the ground while we reach for the sky.
One can choose to be cynical and say that we are not talking about the Super Bowl, or that such announcements come dime-a-d0zen. Thats not the point. Credibility for the event is only one side of the story. What's important is that this milestone has been achieved by a group of volunteers & companies who have only 1 thing in common. Which is, the belief that every child is entitled to basic education, food & shelter. That every child irrespective of their background or caste or religion has the right to dream to be a doctor, engineer, pilot or cricketer.*
And it is really heartening to see that as we extend our hands and look for partnerships, corporate India is extending theirs too. We are seeing ample evidence of companies willing to contribute freely towards what they believe is a genuinely good cause. In some cases people are coming on their own and adding to the effort. Then it becomes academic whether you call it Corporate Social Responsibility or simply Do Good.
* I once spoke to a little girl who is living in a residential school for poor children in Bidar, Karnataka. I asked her what she would like to become after growing up. Her answer was simple and straightforward. She wanted to run a school similar to the one she herself was living in. :)
Monday, June 9, 2008
5 days to go
Now that we are within striking distance of the quiz, things have really started hotting up. Along with an clearly upward trend on the participation (more on this below), planning has started for the D-Day. Who's going to man (or person, for gender-neutrality :)) the various desks, who will help check the papers, who does the speeches etc. would need to be sorted out soon.
As you may be aware, this time, we have been very fortunate to have been chosen by our valued sponsors. In addition we have our media partners who will cover the event LIVE. We would surely love to have more folks helping in the arrangements. Just drop an email to ace2008@ashaindia.org with "Wish to volunteer for Phase Forward ACE 2008" as the subject line and we will get back to you at the earliest. Please note that you would need entry passes for the event. So please get in touch early in case you wish to help out.
So far, we have around 45 confirmed teams. These include the who's who of the IT industry (Wipro, Microsoft, Google, SAP, Infosys etc.). NVidia, the brains behind the lush & sharp displays of notebooks worldwide is sending 6 teams (clap, clap). Meanwhile, registrations are still coming in, at a rate of 3-4 per day. Since we allow teams to register on-the-spot, we wouldn't know the final count till after the quiz. We have at least 1 out-station team. NTPC, one of only 10 Navaratnas in the Indian public sector is sending 2 teams all the way from apni Dilli.
We have all the ingredients of a thriller: the best brains pitted against each other in an august setting, live media coverage carrying the emotions to lakhs of listeners across Hyderabad and prizes worth more than Rs. 50,000 at stake. Did I mention the wonderful kids from RUPS who will be there cheering the teams? And you thought IPL was exciting!
P.S. What will it take for Federer to beat Nadal at Roland Garros? An extra "e" in his name? Nadal playing right-handed? More suggestions welcome :)
As you may be aware, this time, we have been very fortunate to have been chosen by our valued sponsors. In addition we have our media partners who will cover the event LIVE. We would surely love to have more folks helping in the arrangements. Just drop an email to ace2008@ashaindia.org with "Wish to volunteer for Phase Forward ACE 2008" as the subject line and we will get back to you at the earliest. Please note that you would need entry passes for the event. So please get in touch early in case you wish to help out.
So far, we have around 45 confirmed teams. These include the who's who of the IT industry (Wipro, Microsoft, Google, SAP, Infosys etc.). NVidia, the brains behind the lush & sharp displays of notebooks worldwide is sending 6 teams (clap, clap). Meanwhile, registrations are still coming in, at a rate of 3-4 per day. Since we allow teams to register on-the-spot, we wouldn't know the final count till after the quiz. We have at least 1 out-station team. NTPC, one of only 10 Navaratnas in the Indian public sector is sending 2 teams all the way from apni Dilli.
We have all the ingredients of a thriller: the best brains pitted against each other in an august setting, live media coverage carrying the emotions to lakhs of listeners across Hyderabad and prizes worth more than Rs. 50,000 at stake. Did I mention the wonderful kids from RUPS who will be there cheering the teams? And you thought IPL was exciting!
P.S. What will it take for Federer to beat Nadal at Roland Garros? An extra "e" in his name? Nadal playing right-handed? More suggestions welcome :)
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Blog trivia
Hey Guys,
Here are some interesting facts about our blog - (all figures courtesy of Google Analytics)
1. We just reached 100 visitors on the blog!!! A sincere thank you to all the readers.
2. The average time being spent on the site is 5 1/2 minutes.
3. As expected Hyderabad tops the list of cities with 29 visits so far.
4. 2nd comes London! It shows 19 visits. Not sure how many are from folks working at our diamond sponsor Phase Forward.
5. There were 3 visits from a town called Fishkill in NY, US :)
6. There was 2 visits from Linux based machines and 1 from a machine with SymbianOS.
7. The split for FireFox vs IE is 33:66. Who knows, maybe this is the same as their market shares. :)
Here are some interesting facts about our blog - (all figures courtesy of Google Analytics)
1. We just reached 100 visitors on the blog!!! A sincere thank you to all the readers.
2. The average time being spent on the site is 5 1/2 minutes.
3. As expected Hyderabad tops the list of cities with 29 visits so far.
4. 2nd comes London! It shows 19 visits. Not sure how many are from folks working at our diamond sponsor Phase Forward.
5. There were 3 visits from a town called Fishkill in NY, US :)
6. There was 2 visits from Linux based machines and 1 from a machine with SymbianOS.
7. The split for FireFox vs IE is 33:66. Who knows, maybe this is the same as their market shares. :)
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Of football and cricket
As we are just coming out of the IPL daze (what else do you call something that keeps men away from news & women away from the daily soaps) and into the European Championship, here are a couple of questions that spring up:
1. Why does it require to re-invent the game of cricket every 5 years or so? The format of football has been a constant for decades now. Were the makers of football exceptionally far-sighted to have invented a timeless game?
2. Both cricket and football came to us via the Brits. So why does cricket occupy such a large part of our psyche while football continues to languish.
Any thoughts?
Note to all Hyderabad-based participants: Please let us know ASAP if you had a holiday on Friday because of the bandh etc. and expect to work on the 14th.
1. Why does it require to re-invent the game of cricket every 5 years or so? The format of football has been a constant for decades now. Were the makers of football exceptionally far-sighted to have invented a timeless game?
2. Both cricket and football came to us via the Brits. So why does cricket occupy such a large part of our psyche while football continues to languish.
Any thoughts?
Note to all Hyderabad-based participants: Please let us know ASAP if you had a holiday on Friday because of the bandh etc. and expect to work on the 14th.
Friday, June 6, 2008
whatte Fun!
Here's a Friday teaser to all those quizzers out there. Which brand connects the US Emergency phone number, the first private version of its kind in India and the company Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd.
If it helps, this brand is present in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vizag, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Sholapur, Sangli, Pune, Ahmednagar and Akola (phew!)
Give up? - why, its our esteemed media partner Radio City!
Radio City rules the airwaves on 91.1 MHz, it started the first private FM station in Bangalore on July 3 (just 2 days after my birthday, he he) 2001 and is owned by the company Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd. What truly sets the channel apart from other run-of-the mill stations is that it has more than song & dance in store for listeners. For e.g. programs like City Spice & Meeru Nanu help women achieve their full potential, both at work and home. Of course, when people just want to unwind, Radio City Joyride makes a hard day's night as pleasurable as a Whatte Fun Morning.
It is really great to see the channel willing to publicize Phase Forward ACE 2008 on their shows. They have even agreed to cover the event live. That's surely a FIRST for us.
Echoing Ludwig's sentiments, hope this is the start of another beautiful friendship. :)
If it helps, this brand is present in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vizag, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Sholapur, Sangli, Pune, Ahmednagar and Akola (phew!)
Give up? - why, its our esteemed media partner Radio City!
Radio City rules the airwaves on 91.1 MHz, it started the first private FM station in Bangalore on July 3 (just 2 days after my birthday, he he) 2001 and is owned by the company Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd. What truly sets the channel apart from other run-of-the mill stations is that it has more than song & dance in store for listeners. For e.g. programs like City Spice & Meeru Nanu help women achieve their full potential, both at work and home. Of course, when people just want to unwind, Radio City Joyride makes a hard day's night as pleasurable as a Whatte Fun Morning.
It is really great to see the channel willing to publicize Phase Forward ACE 2008 on their shows. They have even agreed to cover the event live. That's surely a FIRST for us.
Echoing Ludwig's sentiments, hope this is the start of another beautiful friendship. :)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tackling child labor
From http://blackboxes.odeum.com/en/asia_in_school/labour/facts_about_child_labour.htm
Half of the world's child workers live in Asia.
According to UNICEF, in India alone there are 44 million children working.
Children are forced to work because of poverty, local customs and lack of schools.
Child workers are often working under dangerous conditions. Especially girls are more exposed to dangerous working conditions because they begin to work at an earlier age than boys. Moreover girls tend to have longer working days than boys.
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One of ASHA Hyderabad's projects is NICE (Needy Illiterate Children's Education). The aim of NICE is to provide Food, Shelter, Health and Career path of children presently being employed as child labor, orphans, etc. One of the most common reasons parents push children into labor is because they cant afford the education expenses. However, projects like NICE ensure that children get access to education free of cost. That way, they can rid themselves of the vicious cycle of proverty and look to a better future. You can read more about NICE here.
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