Celebrating International Women’s Day |
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International Women’s Day- 8th March, was the symbolic occasion for Women Empowerment. Oasis has celebrated this day in its own way- making slum women shout “I will fight the injustice” and making other women to commit “I will always be happy and never sacrifice life for others…”, “I will not restrict myself only as housewife and mother, but will explore my talents and potentials to make this world a better place.” On this occasion Oasis also launched Oasis Women Development Circle at Rajkot, Surat and Mumbai. For report read further-
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“I Promise to Fight Injustice” Oasis, at Bangalore in association with FEDINA and women of Koramangala slum celebrated International Women’s Day. “I promise that I will not give or take dowry. I will raise my voice against injustice.” The ambiance of the Koramangala slum resonated with the promises made by about 125 women residents of the area. The occasion was the celebration of womanhood on the eve of International Women’s Day on March 7, 2008. Oasis, a Selfless International Society, and FEDINA (Federation for Educational Innovations in Asia) took this opportunity to spread awareness about the rights of women amongst the slum women residents. The event was kick started with a rally by the participants within the slum area and parts of 80 feet road in Koramangala. A large number of women congregating for a common cause, walking down the streets of Koramangala slum with placards and shouting slogans against injustice on women was a very motivating sight which also ignited the a lot of curiosity amongst the passersby. The rally was followed by a very informative talk by Mrs. Sheela Ramanathan, Director, Human Rights Law Network. Mrs. Sheela, a lawyer fighting |
for the rights of the underprivileged, spoke about the rights of women. Women are often trapped in a situation where they face the worst form of physical and mental abuse and the perpetrators of this violence are their own family members. It is at this time that they do not know where to look for help. In this context Mrs. Sheela promised free legal service for slum women in distress.
The participants then took a pledge, committing to themselves that they will fight against any kind of injustice against women. The celebrations ended with the screening of the movie “Burnt Not Defeated”. This movie is about the women who have been victims of acid attacks. Indeed a very inspiring movie for a very motivated group of women, it is truly a tribute to the |
determination of women who choose the path of struggle to live life on their own terms. At Rajkot, Oasis representative Pallavi Raulji addressed approximately 400 girl students and teachers of different school, college and hostel and tried to make them commit to themselves for their betterment. Some of them came forward and signed the commitment form stating- “I will always be happy and never sacrifice life for others, because if I am not happy, ultimately I wouldn’t be able to help others tomorrow.”, “I will not restrict myself only as housewife and mother, but will explore my talents and potentials to make this world a better place.” Oasis Women Development Circle also launched at Rajkot to strengthen their commitment and to help them on regular basis. Talks were organized for 200 college girls and around 50 housewives at Surat also. Oasis representative Dr. Ami Desai floated Oasis Women Development Circle where approx. 50 women got themselves registered. Recently, Oasis has initiated its activities at Mumbai also. To celebrate IWD, a small session was organized, where approx. 17 girls/women participated. Sheeba Nair, Oasis Facilitator conducted the session. Inputs from Oasis- Bangalore, Rajkot, Surat and Mumbai. Compiled by: Kshama Kataria |
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Our adolescents today need health educators more than doctors |
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Oasis, Bangalore initiated a synergy between Education Department, Government of Karnataka, Doctors, Teachers and NGOs to deliberate on the “Role of Preventive Health Education in Schools for Solving National Health Problem”. In a humble beginning, first of its kind, towards understanding the significance of preventive health education in schools, Oasis, Bangalore organized a seminar on the “Role of Preventive Health Education in Schools for Solving National Health Problem” on February 22, 2008 in Bangalore. Presenting their views during the seminar were Dr Vinay Viswanatha of the Community Health Cell, Dr Shalini S, Assistant Professor- Community Medicine, M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore, Mr. Kempaiah, Block Education Officer, Department of Public Instructions, Dr Ali Khwaja, Chairman, Banjara Group specializing in counseling, training, career guidance and life skills coaching, Dr. Preeti Galagali, Consultant Adolescent Pediatrician and Chief of the Bangalore Adolescent Care & Counseling Center and Dr Neha Vakharia, Trustee Secretary and Project Coordinator of Oasis in Bangalore. Also present during the seminar were schoolteachers and health education teachers of Oasis. The seminar was an attempt to provide a platform to schools, NGOs, Government representatives and experts working in the area of health and general well being to discuss and understand the significance of preventive health education at an early age. During their talks, each of the speaker threw light on how essential it is to first understand that health means not only physical but also mental well being. The common message that came through during all the talks was that parents and teachers have the utmost responsibility in inculcating healthy lifestyle amongst children. And the sooner we start in terms of age the better it is. Dr. Vinay asserted that with changing lifestyles which includes exposure to media, Internet and competition, children now enter adolescence at an early age of 9-10 years as compared to the earlier average age of adolescence at 13-14 years. Dr. Vinay and Dr. Shalini emphasized since children spend a lot of time in school, inculcating healthy and hygienic habits is a crucial area of responsibility for teachers. Giving the Government’s perspective was Mr. Kempaiah who stated that we all have the right to environmental health. We must take utmost care for not to pollute our environment. |
And since teachers have the ability to change the system itself, they are the best persons who can give value education to the children. He informed the audience that in government schools regular health check ups are done for the children and incase of acute diseases they are referred to specialists. Dr. Ali Khawaja very effectively explained that the general understanding of the term health is flawed since it refers to only physical well being while mental health is considered a stigma and no one wants to even acknowledge it leave alone curing it. Studies showing a large number of adolescents suffer from mental health issues. This is because they cannot express themselves freely due to the fear of being judged all the time. Dr Preeti also stressed on the issue of non-judgmental explanation to the queries of adolescents. With Bangalore reporting the highest number of suicides amongst youth, she alerted that it is time to be proactive and catch them at a young age. She further emphasized on the role of teachers and parents as the most effective health educators and role models for their children. The last speaker, Dr. Neha Vakharia called for a synergy between all the efforts that are being conducted in the area of preventive health education and making Bangalore a role model for the rest of the country. She highlighted that belief behind Oasis- ASHA (Adolescent Students’ Health Alternative) project is that our adolescents today need health educators more than doctors. To this end, Oasis, under its project ASHA, has been conducting health education classes in about 16 schools for the last four years. The concluding part of the seminar was the question answer session. This was followed by a pledge taken by all those present, that for a healthy future, as teachers and parents each one would work towards giving health education to the children. Romica Vasudev asha_oasis@yahoo.co.in |
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Photo
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Little girls to aged women- all taking pledge to fight injustice at Kormangala slum, Bangalore on the occasion of International Women's Day |
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Symbolic celebration of IWD: Slum Women marching at their place with placards with Oasis-ASHA and FEDINA representatives |
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Farmers from central Gujarat of 'Madhya Gujarat Sajiv Kheti Mandal' discussing organic farming at Oasis Valleys |
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Mandva Village Farmers watching video show organized by Oasis |
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Oasis Publication stall at Rajkot National Book Fair during 15 to 24 February, 2008 |
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Creating planned jungles - Plantation work at Oasis Valleys. |
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Adding more greenery to Oasis Valleys |
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We have taken up Land development work at Oasis Valleys. As readers know, many check-dams were created to prevent soil erosion in last months. Now in March, we have started adding some more greenery to Oasis Valleys. At Oasis Valleys, we want to create planned forests, so as to mitigate human energy for its maintenance in the future. Instead of planned landscapes, it will serve better for bringing human nearer to nature. So with this value, we have started plantation work at Oasis Valleys. March is the best season for planting. To save time and to increase survival rate of |
plants, we brought quite grown up plants from various nurseries. The plants are of almost 6 to 10 ft height & 2 to 4 years old. Most of the plants will become almost full grown trees at the end of monsoon.
Plantation is taking place at various areas of Oasis Valleys including hills, slopes and valleys. It will also be helpful to prevent soil erosion on slopes as well as valleys.
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There were already 1100 forest trees and 1000 fruit trees on the land when we started plantation. In this phase, we have planted approximately 400 plants to create planned forest. Most of the plants are forest trees, flowering trees or roadside trees. Moreover, we have also planted some indigenous spices and vanishing spices for nature conservation. Slowly and steadily we have also started Infrastructure Development at Oasis Valleys. Right now the construction work of Over-head tank, Store room and Expansion of Co-ordination Centre has been initiated. Alkesh Raval alkeshoasis@yahoo.co.in |
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Spreading Organic Farming from Oasis Valleys |
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“Every farmer on this earth does only Sustainable Agriculture and the option is Organic Farming.”- With this mission Oasis puts its efforts to spread Organic Farming more and more. On 2nd of March, we had organized a video show for the farmers of village Mandva. In that show two short films were shown to a group of 25-30 farmers. 1st film was on ILL EFFECTS of PESTICIDES used heavily by Banana Growers and Floriculturists. The film showed How Workers on such farms are risking their Health and Life when they come in contact with Heavy Poisons names as Pesticides and they are not being warned by the farm owners, who expect the workers to work without any precautionary measures against the dangerous effects of Poisonous Pesticides. |
These Pesticides persist in fruits and we think eating Fruits is so healthy!!! 2nd film was on a well developed Organic Farm of Shri Sarvadaman Patel, Bhaikaka Krishi Kendra, Near
Anand, Gujarat. The film showed features of an Ideal Organic Farm, various techniques of growing Vegetables, Fruits and Grains and creating a complete farm Ecology. Both the films created quite an impact upon the villagers and |
they appreciated the Organic Concept. This month on 9th of March, Oasis Valleys also hosted a meeting of Madhya Gujarat Sajiv Kheti Mandal. 17 Organic farmers and related people from Central Gujarat attended the meeting. All were happy to see the development of Ravine contour land. One of them said, “I have traveled to many Organic Farms in Gujarat. But this is a unique farm in the sense the type of Land, shape of land and fertility of soil. If this land can be productive, any land can be productive”. There are many concepts and small models, useful in developing farm organically, created at Oasis Valleys. All the concepts and models will be discussed in coming time in Alive.. Mehul Panchal mehul_oasis@yahoo.co.in |
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| Editor's Note |
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With this issue we are starting one brief column entitled ‘Growing Valleys’ which will keep you updated about the progress at Oasis Valleys. Apart from this column, the issue contains detailed report of IWD celebration, other activities of the Oasis and the media reports. Kindly note the correct email address of Sanjiv Shah- sanjivoasis@yahoo.co.in which was mentioned incorrect at the end of the column ‘right angle’ of the last issue. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by it. Again responses from readers are eagerly awaited to make alive more better and useful. -Team Alive
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Sanjiv Shah
Workshop Reflections |
As a part of ongoing Village Development Project, a concluding workshop of third phase held on 4th-5th March for the villagers of Limodra and Karanj. Total 18 villagers were present and shared how the process has helped them so far (about three and half year). "Before joining this process I was not able to speak when I felt that this is injustice and it should not happen. Now I have courage and I am confronting in such situations. In a process I left my job also while applying courage but I am happy, no regret while living for truth. We were like stone, I was not knowing that diamond is there in me. Today I found the same and I am thankful to oasis for the same. For village – I was not interested in any activity at village level before, I and my job, plus my farm. Now I am involved in almost all activities of village and we dream that people remember us through our work." - Bharat Patel "Before workshop – my image was very bad. I was not able to control my language and anger, was behaving rudely with people and even family members. Now I have started understanding how the opposite person will feel. We did not had any idea about what Gramsabha is? What should we do there? We came to know the importance of the same here. Then when we went in the Gramsabha for the first time – elder of the village told us – why you came here? This is for men. We did not reply, but all discussed and decided to be there in last row. Then we asked questions also. Now we call all the women to participate in GS while it is announced. And so many women come for the same." - Padma "Now a days one circular came from government which tells – 1. Carry out cleanliness campaign, to do rallies and make villager aware about the cleanliness. 2. Plantation should be done in the village in Panchayat property. 3. All villages must have a board/ hoarding at the entrance of the village where they should explain what work done and what they are planning further – schemes etc. We felt that we have already learnt all this things, some already done – like cleanliness campaign and we are in the process of doing something. We are ahead of the government plans." - Narendrabhai "I did work or approved different Grants of more than Rs 40 Lakh during my tenure, term. Now Rajeshbhai is Sarpanch and we are aiming that we will bring grant or do work worth Rs. 1 crore for Limodra, and it doesn’t make any difference to me that I am sarpanch or not. If my village is benefited through me than I am always ready to contribute." - Jagdishbhai (Ex. Sarpanch) |
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