An award for a woman extraordinaire

President Pranab Mukherjee presenting the award to Bandari Jayamma as Naushad Forbes, President CII(left),Shobana Kamineni, President Designate look on

Orphaned at the age of 3, Jayamma’s poverty forced her out of school. Later, domestic violence pushed her into flesh trade. Undeterred, she fought against all odds to launch an NGO in Hyderabad with the help of some social activists

HYDERABAD, APRIL 28:

The name Bandari Jayamma might not ring a bell. This school dropout from Telangana took up the daunting task of providing education to children of sex workers nearly two decades ago.

She established Chaithanya Mahila Mandali (CMM), a non-governmental organisation focussed on empowerment of sex workers and their children.

CII award

Her tireless but low-profile contribution was recognised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Foundation by bestowing on her the Woman Exemplar Award. The award was presented to the unassuming, 39-year-old social worker by President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi today.

Jayamma is credited with directly impacting the lives of 4,428 women in sex work. Nearly a thousand of them are now engaged in alternative livelihoods. Orphaned at the tender age of 3, Jayamma’s poverty forced her out of school. Later, domestic violence pushed her into flesh trade.

Undeterred, she fought against all odds to launch the NGO in Hyderabad with the help of some social activists.

At the NGO, the emphasis is on teaching the children of sex workers life skills and putting them through formal education. The idea is to shield the vulnerable children from trafficking and violence.

Ray of hope

CMM gets the children of sex workers enrolled in government schools and monitors their progress closely. Jayamma also runs a home for 43 extremely vulnerable children to ensure their safety.

CMM has so far rescued 3,500 children from a wretched life,, CII said in a citation.

Jayamma works actively with women in sex work and connects them to childcare facilities, child protection schemes, skill training programmes and alternative livelihood projects.

Along with her, the CII Foundation also honoured Monika Majumdar of West Bengal and Kamal Kumbhar of Maharashtra, with the President giving away the awards.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/an-award-for-a-woman-extraordinaire/article9672317.ece

Agape, 356 other NGOs in Telangana have no license

HYDERABAD: AGAPE, the orphanage that forced two of its HIV positive children clean a drain recently, does not have a license. What more! There are as many as 356 NGOs that have applied for license and only 50 have received the same.

Though the NGO failed to protect the inmates, the department of Women and Child Welfare is skeptical about shifting them as the NGO has been doing a fair job in providing them care.

On Friday, an emergency meeting was called by Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of Rangareddy district to look into the case of AGAPE. Lynne Guhman, Voggu, founder and managing director of the orphanage that takes care of close to 230 HIV positive children, submitted in writing that such activities will never be repeated. “It is a serious violation. The written confirmation does not guarantee protection of the children. For that, an officer from the District Child Protection Unit will be present at all times,” informed V Padmavathi, CWC member, RR district. The CWC has ordered the NGO head to speed up the process of getting a license.

“They have been trying for a license since 2007 but due to various reasons, it has been stalled,” Padmavathi informed.

Meanwhile, orders have been given to relieve warden and supervisor from services.

Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/2017/apr/29/agape-356-other-ngos-in-telangana-have-no-license-1599021.html

Government takes over British-era juvenile home

COIMBATORE: That given the chance and proper guidance, a convicted offender can make a mark in life has been proved over and over again by this unique home that was started by the British government in 1938. Many boys who have spent their days in the 'Observation Home' have gone on to occupy posts in the judiciary, police and other departments.

Taken over by the government this year, the institution has come a long way since it was started as 'Reception Home' in September 1938 at Lakshmi Mills junction in Coimbatore city by the British government. It was run by an NGO named Discharged Prisoners Aid Society, founded on June 1, 1921 to reform juvenile offenders and prisoners who have served their sentences.

Freedom fighter V O Chidambaram Pillai, scientist G D Naidu and many other stalwarts have been part of the NGO.

In 1983, the institution was renamed 'Observation Home'.

This was the only home in the state run by an NGO. The government took over after the NGO was not able to generate enough funds to maintain the home.

"Various vocational courses were conducted for the juvenile offenders to reform them," said C M Manickam, honorary secretary, Discharged Prisoners Aid Society.

"We brought experts to provide counselling to the inmates. Many boys have made it to the judiciary, police department and other departments. The home generated funds from its members and got donations from the public for the welfare of the juvenile offenders," said Na Manoharan, vice-president, Discharged Prisoners Aid Society.

After 2010, a few incidents were reported in the home and this prompted probation officials from the social defence department to request the state government to take over the home.

In April 2012, a 17-year-old boy attempted suicide in the home; in August 2012, another 17-year-old committed suicide; in November 2011, 16 boys assaulted the warden of the home and escaped. A murder was reported in May 2008.

The home functions on a 68-cent land on Avinashi Road that is estimated to be worth over 68 crore.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/government-takes-over-british-era-juvenile-home/articleshow/58428602.cms

Five Practical Ways for Government and Civil Society Partnership

On January 10 this year, the Supreme Court (SC) directed the Government of India (GoI) to audit 32 lakh+ NGOs in the country and submit a report on the same. On April 26, the SC requested the GoI to consider rigorously systematising the regulation of fund disbursal to NGOs in the country.

For a long time now, the relationship between the Indian government and the country's civil society organisations has been fraught with friction and conflict. PRIA ngo has been involved in conversations about the nature of this relationship for many years now, and the conversation is still very relevant.

We believe that the push should be towards a better framework within which the government and civil society can cooperate to address the socioeconomic needs of the country. The NITI Aayog held a consultation meeting on March 1 regarding the same, which PRIA President Rajesh Tandon was unable to attend. He did write in suggesting 5 ways of building a meaningful partnership, however. Here they are

Five Practical Ways for Government and Civil Society Partnership

The nature of the relationship between government and civil society continues to be of relevant concern in India. Contributions of civil society in addressing socio-economic issues is recognised; yet, there remains a perception that civil society is responsible for holding back the economic development of India. Can civil society and government work together? PRIA, over 35 years, has consistently supported government’s efforts to engage with civil society, and has advocated for a robust relationship of trust and mutual cooperation. In response to the discussion organised by Niti Aayog (on 1 March 2017) on strengthening partnerships between government and civil society, PRIA suggested 5 practical ways to Niti Aayog in which it can take this forward. It is hoped that this fresh initiative by Niti Aayog will not remain a mere ‘record of discussion’.

1. What is the USP of civil society?

Voluntary development organisations share with the government its vision of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’. With this shared agenda, it is important to clarify what is unique about their contribution to the partnership. In respect of such organisations, the Planning Commission dialogue in 2002, chaired by then Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, agreed upon three distinctive contributions of such development organisations :

• Making weaker sections aware of their rights and entitlements in different programmes of the government – generating demand.
• Acting as a facilitative bridge between delivery machinery/officials and such excluded communities – last mile connectivity.
• Providing regular field-based feedback to district, state and national departments and ministries.

2. What are the instruments of this partnership?

The National Policy on Voluntary Organisations 2007 identified several practical instruments. At this juncture, there are no clear instruments of cooperation other than certain ‘funding’ schemes for performing small, occasional functions in a location for a given scheme. The criteria for selection are vague and the ‘providers’ database is confusing.

Each of the three contributions of voluntary organisations mentioned in the previous point requires different arrangements.

• Awareness generation and demand creation efforts should be seen as necessary for promoting the participation of weaker sections. A location- and focal community-specific (typically at district or city level) collaboration is most useful in this regard.
• The function of facilitation needs to be programme-focused, for which state-level collaboration may be the most appropriate.
• For an independent and regular feedback mechanism to work effectively, the NITI Aayog should take the initiative to develop such a partnership.

3. What does the the government bring to the partnership?

No meaningful partnership works until both parties clarify what they bring to the partnership and the government is no exception. The most crucial contribution of the government in respect of such a partnership is regular, authentic and updated information about policies, programmes, schemes, status of implementation, etc. There should be no need to use the Right to Information to get such information.

With modern digital technology, it is possible for the government to do so, especially vis a vis those policies and programmes involving partnerships with voluntary organisations.

4. Should the the government fund such partnerships?

Voluntary organisations need reliable funds to continue to perform their functions effectively. However, certain types of funding arrangements can be more productive than others in this partnership.

For awareness generation and demand mobilisation, the government must provide funds with clear and transparent criteria. The current procedure of tendering does not work to attract those with integrity and professionalism.

For facilitation, the government should create a jointly managed public fund for each major development programme. Medium term (3 years, say) contracting can be undertaken through this fund.

For independent feedback, the government should not fund, but should enable such organisations to be funded by private sources. NITI Aayog can create frameworks for this, and the government can acknowledge the contributions of such donors publicly.

5. How can the eco-system for partnership be improved?

Authentic understanding of voluntary organisations in the country is very inadequate. Multitudes of outdated laws and procedures have confounded the field. NITI Aayog must apply itself to the task of modernising and digitalising regulations and databases pertaining to the non-profit sector.

More importantly, public trust in the value of such partnerships needs to be inculcated and articulated. Political and official leaderships of national and state governments must publicly invite and acknowledge the value of such a partnership.

Source: http://pria.org/featuredstory-five-practical-ways-for-government-and-civil-society-partnership-44-94

11 countries where you're most likely to get a job in 2017

Companies across the globe are starting to ramp up their hiring after a year of political uncertainty and upheaval.

Over the last year, Britain voted to leave the European Union, Donald Trump became the new US President, and populism has been spreading across Europe. It has caused great uncertainty for companies and many have held off on expansion plans until now.

Brexit caused companies in London and Scotland to hire people at a much slower rate than other major cities around the world, for example.

But the tide is turning. According to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released this month, companies from 39 of 43 countries surveyed said they anticipate increasing their headcounts, with the strongest hiring intentions coming out of Asia and Eastern Europe.

Business Insider decided to take a look at net employment outlooks for each country surveyed and run down which nations boasted the greatest anticipated growth in hiring.

Take a look at the top 11 countries with the most companies actively looking to expand their workforces:

T=9. New Zealand: +13%.The country tops many rankings for quality of life and has become a draw for families over recent years.

T=9. Guatemala: +13%. The country's economy is dominated by the private sector, which generates about 85% of GDP, and companies are looking at rapidly expanding headcount over the next quarter.

T=9. Bulgaria: +13%. The country has experienced rapid economic growth over the last few years and companies are now looking at expanding their workforces across various sectors such as professional services, as well as mining.RossHelen/Shutterstock

8. Hong Kong: +14%. The country may be one of the most expensive places to live in the world but it is a financial hub for Asia and seen as a gateway for financial services in mainland China.

7. Romania: +16%. The country is becoming a draw for companies looking to expand in Europe as cost of living is very low and wages are comparatively low and quality of living is meant to be ample.

T=5. United States: +17%. Now the US elections are over, companies in the US are looking to start rapidly hiring again.

T=5. Hungary: +17%. The country has one of the lowest cost of living in Europe and is also a place where the jobs market is buoyant.

4. India: +18%. The country is one of the fastest growing developing countries in the world and it is continuing to hire more staff across a range of sectors such as professional services and manufacturing.

3. Slovenia: +22%. While Western Europe employers are less confident about hiring intentions than the rest of the region, in Eastern Europe, companies are looking to expand in fields such as technology.

2. Japan: +23%. The country ranks as having on of the strongest levels of hiring confidence amongst businesses, thanks to its vibrant corporate culture in places such as Tokyo.

1. Taiwan: +24%. The Asian country is seen as one of the best places in the world for expats looking to grow their careers and is fast becoming a hub in the continent for tech and finance jobs.

Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/03/looking-for-a-job-these-are-the-countries-to-head-to?utm_content=buffer4c3b4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service NGLS

Civil society & social entrepreneurs: Apply to attend the President of the United Nations General Assembly's High-Level SDG Action Event on Innovation and Connectivity.

Giant leaps in technological advances are converging to make the unthinkable possible. These advances are also raising questions on societal impact. Recognizing the need to support UN Member States and the UN System to adapt to this rapidly changing landscape, the President of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Peter Thomson, will convene a one-day SDG Action Event on Innovation and Connectivity. The Event will be held on 17 May 2017 at UN Headquarters in New York.

During the event, leading innovators from the major corporations of the world will interact with Member States on how emerging technologies can transform efforts aimed at the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals.

At the request of the Office of the President of the General Assembly (OPGA), the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) is facilitating a process to enable stakeholders to apply to attend the event as observers.

Apply to attend the event as an observer here: 
http://bit.ly/17-May-PGA-Innovation-Apply
DEADLINE: 9 May 2017

Please note that travel funding is not available for observers for this meeting.

More information about the event can be found here: http://www.un.org/…/event-l…/high-level-event-on-innovation/

How the home ministry is imperilling India’s health

The government is acting against national interest by hounding health advocacies.

It takes a special kind of person, endowed with skill and perseverance, to work with prickly government agencies in fields where governance is in a state of collapse and to hold close to his or her heart the interests of India and its people.

Two of those people are K Srinath Reddy and N Devadasan, both doctors who redirected their professional skills to set up health advocacies that work closely with government agencies in finding ways to end a hazard that costs India crores of rupees and millions of lives every year. Yet, Devadasan’s Institute of Public Health had its licence to receive foreign donations revoked in October and Reddy’s Public Health Foundation of India last week, both on fiddly grounds of regulatory compliance and disclosure. Foreign donations are important because Indians are notoriously reluctant to donate money to fuzzy issues like health, however important these might be to national wellbeing.

The issue that appears to have – unofficially – riled the government is anti-tobacco advocacy, and there is some truth to that, but the scale and pettiness of the action betrays the government’s larger ideological weaknesses, which now seem inimical to India’s national interests.

First, let us consider how hobbling anti-smoking campaigns cripples Indians.

If you want to kill yourself, there are few better ways to ensure success than to smoke. About a million Indians die from smoking-related causes every year – or about 114 every hour. “Tobacco use, and in particular smoking, is the largest cause of preventable death among adults in India,” observed a 2012 study in the journal Current Science. Smoking has strong associations to cardiovascular disease, cancer, tuberculosis and respiratory diseases. The health ministry reported in 2011 that Indians aged 35 to 69 spent Rs 1 lakh crore on smoking-related diseases, or about six times the amount the government received as tax from tobacco products the same year.

Anti-smoking campaigns and taxes appear no brainers, but India’s tobacco lobby clearly has an influence on government. Industry lobbying against pictorial warnings on bidi and cigarette packs was revealed when a parliamentary committee managed to stall an increase in the size of the warnings for a year to 2016. Cigarette smoking can be cut by 54% if excise is increased by 370% from present levels, and bidi use by 40% if excise is raised 100%, according to a Public Health Foundation of India policy brief. The government knows this: the Union health secretary is a member of the Public Health Foundation of India’s executive committee. The Institute of Public Health, a much smaller organisation, is the Karnataka government’s anti-tobacco implementing agency, working closely with a host of state departments.
Not in India’s interest

Since both organisations perform quasi-government functions, no tobacco lobby could be strong enough to hobble them so deeply as to set the home ministry – which revoked their foreign donation licences – against the health ministry. That action flows from a stronger lobby, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, whose economic affiliate, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, has acknowledged efforts to rid India of one of its strongest global supporters in improving national health, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is one of the funding agencies of the Public Health Foundation of India. “We have met the Union health minister and raised the matter regarding funding of PHFI by BMGF,” Manch co-convenor Ashwini Mahajan told the Indian Express.

The Manch undoubtedly sees the Gates Foundation as an organisation working against Indian interests (it has alleged a nexus between the Gates Foundation and pharmaceutical majors and accused it of influencing health policy-making). It would like Indians to do the work the Gates Foundation does, but there is no Indian organisation currently capable of deploying such finances, expertise and long-term resolve. Unlike other non-governmental organisations that have been hounded, the Public Health Foundation of India and the Institute of Public Health are not even involved in helping victims of the 2002 Gujarat communal riots that left over 1,000 people dead, or those displaced by mining and factories – particular bugbears for this government.

Using the bogey of public or national interest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allowed his officials a free hand against non-governmental organisations inconvenient to the government’s policies and ideology, even if these help implement the state’s own laws, fill in for governance failures and assist the most vulnerable. In so doing, it is the government that is acting against national interest.

Source: https://scroll.in/article/835770/how-the-home-ministry-is-imperiling-indias-health

Regulate NGOs Subprime court of India

Regulate NGOs Subprime court of India

Regulating funds

I wish to draw a parallel between the role of political parties and that of non-governmental and religious organisations, now that the Supreme Court has suggested that the government frame a statutory law to regulate the flow of public money to NGOs (“SC seeks law to regulate NGO funds”, April 27). All NGOs and religious organisations work for some cause; similarly, political parties have an ideology. Just as there is a need to monitor the sources of funds for NGOs, the funds of parties should also be scrutinised. The government gives approval to NGOs and religious organisations after ensuring the legitimacy of the cause. At the time of registration, the government could provide a seed fund, open the NGO’s account in a chosen bank, and announce that the NGO is free to seek funds from anyone who wishes to support the cause. Funds would be routed only through this account. Can’t transparency be ensured this way? The Finance Minister recently said that he supports crowdfunding of parties. It is high time political parties, NGOs and religious organisations were made accountable.

R. Swarnalatha,

New Delhi

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/letters/no-grace-marks/article18261209.ece