Not really sure what they are? Well this post will serve as a primer.
The Millennium Development Goals are eight goals that were jointly formulated at the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000 where 189 member nations came together to make the elimination of poverty and the fulfillment of human rights their highest priorities.
These goals hope to accelerate human development, achieve universal equality, and attain a more peaceful world by 2015.
Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality
Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases
Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
We are already more than half way to 2015. Do you think we're closer to achieving any of these goals?
Tarika Vaswani a GiveIndia team member is working with MoneyLIFE magazine on their Beyond Money column.
In this article, Tarika profiles Ananya Trust, a NGO that works with street children. Ananya Trust is compliant with GiveIndia’s rigorous due diligence and Credibility Alliance’s norms for NGOs.
At the age of nine, Nisar ran away from home, boarded a wrong bus, fell asleep and found himself in Bengaluru. Unable to communicate about where he came from, he ended up on the streets and was ‘adopted’ by a gang of beggars. A shelter for street-children took him under their wings for a few days; then for a while he stayed in remand homes. But things took a turn for the worse when, because of police harassment, he ran away once again. He took to drugs and ended up rag-picking and begging. Until a trust, based in Bengaluru, came to his rescue.
school, aptly named ASK or Ananya Shikshana Kendra. It brings in children like Nisar, victims of difficult circumstances, and provides them good-quality education so that they are equipped for the future. The school offers a curriculum tailored to the needs of these ‘special’ students and uses informal teaching techniques to make learning interesting and fun.Nisar is one of the 62 students who have been educated -- and trained -- by a dedicated team of just eight full-time staff members and one volunteer. Most of the children come from very poor social and economic backgrounds. They are children of vegetable vendors, flower sellers, domestic servants, construction workers, petty traders, carpenters and watchmen. Most of the children are first-generation learners of illiterate parents who earn an average income of Rs2,000 per month, live in makeshift homes or small huts with no toilet facilities or water and electricity.
Sponsor vocational training for a destitute adolescent for 1 month for Rs1250 (appx US$30).
Since we got a positive response to our recent post on how long it takes for donors to receive their feedback reports, we thought that from time to time, we'll write posts about questions that donors frequently ask us.
Muhammad Yunus life’s work, has been to prove that the poor are credit-worthy. His revolutionary Grameen Bank is estimated to have extended credit to more than seven million of the world's poor, the vast majority women in Bangladesh.
In 2006, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Nobel committee chairman, Ole Danbolt Mjoes said Mr Yunus had shown himself to be a leader who had managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people.
At GiveIndia, we found the story of how he set up the bank, told in the book “Banker to the Poor” co-authored by him and Alan Jolis, very moving. The following paragraphs are taken from the website of the PBS New Heroes series that profiles leading social entrepreneurs.
In the book, Yunus recalls that in 1974 he was teaching economics at a Chittagong University in southern Bangladesh, when the country experienced a terrible famine in which thousands starved to death.
"We tried to ignore it," he says. "But then skeleton-like people began showing up in the capital, Dhaka. Soon the trickle became a flood. Hungry people were everywhere. Often they sat so still that one could not be sure whether they were alive or dead. They all looked alike: men, women, children. Old people looked like children, and children looked like old people.”
Lately we’ve gotten some great emails from our Payroll Giving donors that we wanted to share.
Shashank C. of Piramal wrote:
“Thanks for the information on the utilisation of the donation. GiveIndia's approach, as a facilitator for charity is novel and unique in two respects:
* the donor need not bother validating the credentials of
the NGO before donating. 90% of our apprehensions are on the locus standi of the NGO receiving the money.
* whatever doubts may still persist, get put to rest on receiving feedback reports, like the one I received with this mail. May people have a major concern about money actually reaching the needy and that concern prevents them from donating. But this is quite admiringly taken care of at GiveIndia.”
“Every morning when you are going to office and you look around, you will find so many people who are in need of help and you keep on moving with your daily routine. The reason being you don't know how to help and you also don't have the time to get involved. Payroll Giving is an opportunity to fulfill my dream to do something for people in need.When I received my feedback report, I was glad to learn that the money was utilised for health and education of the child. I would call upon everyone reading this to be part of Payroll Giving.”
Tarika Vaswani a GiveIndia team member is working with MoneyLIFE magazine on their Beyond Money column.
In this article, Tarika profiles Sense International (India), a NGO that works with the deafblind. Sense International (India) is compliant with GiveIndia’s rigorous due diligence and Credibility Alliance’s norms for NGOs.
Donate a rainbow, donate a song, donate the words ‘I love you’.
Donate a starry night, donate a sunset, donate the sound of rain on a tin roof.
Donate a hearty laugh, donate a whisper.
Donate the rustle of leaves.
Donate the sound of waves crashing against the shore.
Donate a bark. Donate a meow.
Donate the face of a loved one.
Donate the Mona Lisa. Donate the Taj Mahal.
Donate the latest Bollywood block-buster.
Donate the new hit tune.
When you give towards the cause of the blind, deaf and mute, you donate a lot more than money. Sense International (India) is a non-profit organisation through which you can support the deafblind.
Community-based rehabilitation is another area which aims to integrate disabled persons into communities by teaching families to communicate with them by making them aware of their special needs. The focus is on empowering families to take responsibility. This is possible only when they are involved in direct delivery of services right from the beginning.
How can you help?
There are so many special days in August and so many ways to make a difference. Which of these days has special meaning for you?
August 12 - International Youth Day
You can help a destitute youth have a better future by sponsoring a vocational training and personality development course for Rs4200 (appx US$100).
August 15 - Independence Day
On India's Independence Day, you can save the girl child by sponsoring a 1 day campaign against female foeticide in a village in Tamil Nadu for just Rs1850 (appx US$45).
August 16 - Raksha Bandhan
Think of how education has improved the lives of millions of Indian women. So on Raksha Bandhan why don't you educate an illiterate woman for only Rs628 (appx US$15)
