The other day, I attended a campaign launch function organised by Save the Children Fund (SCF). The campaign was called "Everyone".
The campaign is about the children of our country and the dire straits they are in. I learnt that 4 lakh children born in India do not make it past 24 hrs, 1 million children do not make it past their 1st birthday and 2 million children do not make it past their 5th birthday. This is indeed shocking. The tragedy is that most of these infant deaths are due to mal nutrition, diarrhoea, poor drinking water and highly inadequate public health services.
What can we do about this problem, beyond just creating awareness?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Commonwealth Games, A Waste of Tax Payers Money?
October, 2010 will see the Commonwealth Games take place in New Delhi. It surely would be a spectacular event with very grand openning and closing ceremonies and dazzling sporting action . But the big question is whether our country can afford such an extravagant venture and how the event is going to affect the sporting scene of the country.
In 1982, we proudly hosted the Asian Games. The event was considered by many as a huge success. Huge money was spent on sporting infra structure and other facilities. Does the average sporting loving Indian have access to any of those facilities? Have the Sport Authority of India done anything to maximise the utility of the facilities? Did the holding of the events throw up fresh enthusiasm for athletics and other such sporting disciplines?
We have had a few great sporting icons like Milkha Singh, P T Usha, Shiny Abraham Anju Bobby George, Prakash Padukone, Gopichand and more recently Abhinav Bindra and the boxers . All these champions have come through inspite of the system.
Sad to say that Milkha Singh's record of the1960 still stands for the 400 meters. While World Records are tumbling all the time, Indian athletics records have not changed very much. How do we justify the fact that Suresh Kalmadi has been at the helm of affairs for nearly 3 decades. It is obvious that he has done precious little to raise the standard of Indian sport. I am sure that there is someone else in our vast country who can do better.
If Abhinav Bindra, Prakash Padukone and others can be World Class, there should be plenty more talent around who can be coached and developed to be World Champions. I think as a country we should focus on creating World Class sportsman and women rather than wasting money on big events that do not benefit anyone.
In 1982, we proudly hosted the Asian Games. The event was considered by many as a huge success. Huge money was spent on sporting infra structure and other facilities. Does the average sporting loving Indian have access to any of those facilities? Have the Sport Authority of India done anything to maximise the utility of the facilities? Did the holding of the events throw up fresh enthusiasm for athletics and other such sporting disciplines?
We have had a few great sporting icons like Milkha Singh, P T Usha, Shiny Abraham Anju Bobby George, Prakash Padukone, Gopichand and more recently Abhinav Bindra and the boxers . All these champions have come through inspite of the system.
Sad to say that Milkha Singh's record of the1960 still stands for the 400 meters. While World Records are tumbling all the time, Indian athletics records have not changed very much. How do we justify the fact that Suresh Kalmadi has been at the helm of affairs for nearly 3 decades. It is obvious that he has done precious little to raise the standard of Indian sport. I am sure that there is someone else in our vast country who can do better.
If Abhinav Bindra, Prakash Padukone and others can be World Class, there should be plenty more talent around who can be coached and developed to be World Champions. I think as a country we should focus on creating World Class sportsman and women rather than wasting money on big events that do not benefit anyone.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Running because I care...
Hi,
This year, I am running 21 kms at the Delhi half Marathon on 1st November to raise money for
1. The Eyeway Scholarship fund for under privileged blind students wishing to pursue college and university education. The scholarship will be looking at funding tuition fees, hostel accommodation, assistive technology, books and so on. The scholarship will be an All India one and will be given on merit and need base.
2. The Eyeway talking book service which is an endeavour to make reading material accessible for the blind and visually impaired people.
3. The IPL for the blind. In February, 2010, we plan to organise the first Indian Premier League cricket for the blind at New Delhi. 112 players from all over India would be participating The players will be selected through 16 Talent Scouting Camps across India.I would urge you to support our effort by making a donation.Your donation would be exempt of Income Tax under section 80G of the IT Act.
Your cheque should be made out favouring "Concern India Foundation" and sent to us at Score Foundation.
Thanks,George
George Abraham
CEO
Score Foundation
Y-70, LGF,Hauz Khas,
New Delhi 110016
India
Ph: 91 11 26852581
Telefax: 91 11 26852559
Mob: 91 9810934040/91 9810001181
Email: george@eyeway.org
Skype: georgeabraham13
This year, I am running 21 kms at the Delhi half Marathon on 1st November to raise money for
1. The Eyeway Scholarship fund for under privileged blind students wishing to pursue college and university education. The scholarship will be looking at funding tuition fees, hostel accommodation, assistive technology, books and so on. The scholarship will be an All India one and will be given on merit and need base.
2. The Eyeway talking book service which is an endeavour to make reading material accessible for the blind and visually impaired people.
3. The IPL for the blind. In February, 2010, we plan to organise the first Indian Premier League cricket for the blind at New Delhi. 112 players from all over India would be participating The players will be selected through 16 Talent Scouting Camps across India.I would urge you to support our effort by making a donation.Your donation would be exempt of Income Tax under section 80G of the IT Act.
Your cheque should be made out favouring "Concern India Foundation" and sent to us at Score Foundation.
Thanks,George
George Abraham
CEO
Score Foundation
Y-70, LGF,Hauz Khas,
New Delhi 110016
India
Ph: 91 11 26852581
Telefax: 91 11 26852559
Mob: 91 9810934040/91 9810001181
Email: george@eyeway.org
Skype: georgeabraham13
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Times they are a changing...
Ramakrishna today is General Manager, Finance with IDBI, He is totally blind. He is the first blind person to successfully complete an MBA degree. Geetha Shamana is a German translator working out of Bangalore. Sanjay Dang owns and manages a Rs.1.5 crore Travel Company in Deli. Charudatta Jhadav, a software Engineer is a Project Goup Leader aTata Consultancy Services. Sidhdharth Sharma runs a PR company, while Vikram Dalmia runs his own Industry. Kanchan Pamnani, Kanchan Gaba and Deepak Motivala are thriving lawyers. Sameer Late, Dilip Loyolka and Rajni Gapalakrishnan are CAs doing wonderfully well. To add to this L Subramani, Garimella Subramanium and Rajesh Kumar are journalists with leading Newspapers of the country. These are just a few names of individuals who are doing extremely well in the mainstream and happen to be totally blind.
The last couple of decades have witnessed tremendous changes as far as living with blindness is concerned. In the 1960s and 1970s, educated blind people could aspire to get into the teaching profession or take up music at best When it came to the less educated or the uneducated blind person, they would be lucky if they could sell candles, cane chairs or at best be part of an industrial assembly line.
The opening up of the media in the 1990s, the coming of age of assistive technology for the blind, the increasing opportunities for education for blind persons and the steadily rising recognition of the ability of blind persons slowly but gradually has started opening up a wide range of avenues.
T: Technology
E: Education
A: Ability
M: Media
Indeed a formidable TEAM that promises to put the blind people of this country onto an equal footing. Surely the potential is there and now the TEAM tools are available, what is needed are the inclusive policies, universal designs and a determined and discipline effort on the part of the blind persons.
The 1990s saw the emergence of Personal Computers, Mobile Phones, Scanners and so on and along with it saw the advent of screen readers, OCR software and the internet. This has opened up a whole newn World of Knowledge that has become accessible to the blind persons of the country. This revolutionary access to the World of knowledge has created a vast variety of opportunity both in terms of education and also in terms of employment.
The 1990s also has seen several mainstream schools opening their doors to blind and visually impaired students. Today, in the big cities, inclusive education is catching on where blind students are learning side by side with their sighted peers. Hence the blind persons are beginning to be included into the mainstream from an earlier age and this truly is progressive.
Further the media has since the past decade and half have told many a stories about blind persons that has informed, inspired and empowered not only blind and visually impaired persons, but also their families and the society at large. With stories of people like Erik Waheinmayer, the blind mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest, David Blunkett- the former Secretary of Home in the UK, Miles Hilton Barbar- the blind Pilot who flew a twin seater aircraft from London to Sidney, Dr.Geeratt Wermaij- a totally blind professor of Marine Biology, Shasha Wanlu- a totally blind detective, there is no doubting the times that are changing .
George Abraham
The last couple of decades have witnessed tremendous changes as far as living with blindness is concerned. In the 1960s and 1970s, educated blind people could aspire to get into the teaching profession or take up music at best When it came to the less educated or the uneducated blind person, they would be lucky if they could sell candles, cane chairs or at best be part of an industrial assembly line.
The opening up of the media in the 1990s, the coming of age of assistive technology for the blind, the increasing opportunities for education for blind persons and the steadily rising recognition of the ability of blind persons slowly but gradually has started opening up a wide range of avenues.
T: Technology
E: Education
A: Ability
M: Media
Indeed a formidable TEAM that promises to put the blind people of this country onto an equal footing. Surely the potential is there and now the TEAM tools are available, what is needed are the inclusive policies, universal designs and a determined and discipline effort on the part of the blind persons.
The 1990s saw the emergence of Personal Computers, Mobile Phones, Scanners and so on and along with it saw the advent of screen readers, OCR software and the internet. This has opened up a whole newn World of Knowledge that has become accessible to the blind persons of the country. This revolutionary access to the World of knowledge has created a vast variety of opportunity both in terms of education and also in terms of employment.
The 1990s also has seen several mainstream schools opening their doors to blind and visually impaired students. Today, in the big cities, inclusive education is catching on where blind students are learning side by side with their sighted peers. Hence the blind persons are beginning to be included into the mainstream from an earlier age and this truly is progressive.
Further the media has since the past decade and half have told many a stories about blind persons that has informed, inspired and empowered not only blind and visually impaired persons, but also their families and the society at large. With stories of people like Erik Waheinmayer, the blind mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest, David Blunkett- the former Secretary of Home in the UK, Miles Hilton Barbar- the blind Pilot who flew a twin seater aircraft from London to Sidney, Dr.Geeratt Wermaij- a totally blind professor of Marine Biology, Shasha Wanlu- a totally blind detective, there is no doubting the times that are changing .
George Abraham
Saturday, November 29, 2008
We want to know!
Dear Friends who care!
What happened in Mumbai is terrible. It is really heartening to see the overwhelming responses from the citizens of the country. Terror should not be tollerated at any cost whether it is from outside our cuntry or from within. We have to get to the root of things and address the issues decisively. We need to look at strengthening our systems , border protection and our security forces.While we do all this , I would also like to askWhat are the citizens of the country going to be doing about the butchers who killed hundreds of Christians in Orissa? What are the citizens of the country going to do with the cowards who massacred hundreds of Muslims in Gujarat? Shouldnt we call for action? Shouldnt we bring the people behind this dastardly acts also to book?Terror inflicted on the elite or for that matter unleashed on tribals and the poor in my book is the same. Terror sponsored by a foreign organisation or sponsored by an Indian outfit is again the same.What are the citizens of India going to do about this?Are we going to allow political parties to take up issues that pit people against people to fight elections? Are we going to tollerate hate merchants like Tugadia and Raj Thackaray?Oh citizens of the country, can we come together and fight hate, corruption and unnecessary violence?Can we start afresh today and work towards an India where our children can live in confidence and without fear? Can we stop thinking just about ourselves and start thinking about our Nation? Without our Nation, we are no where. We need to preserve our Nation.
George Abraham
What happened in Mumbai is terrible. It is really heartening to see the overwhelming responses from the citizens of the country. Terror should not be tollerated at any cost whether it is from outside our cuntry or from within. We have to get to the root of things and address the issues decisively. We need to look at strengthening our systems , border protection and our security forces.While we do all this , I would also like to askWhat are the citizens of the country going to be doing about the butchers who killed hundreds of Christians in Orissa? What are the citizens of the country going to do with the cowards who massacred hundreds of Muslims in Gujarat? Shouldnt we call for action? Shouldnt we bring the people behind this dastardly acts also to book?Terror inflicted on the elite or for that matter unleashed on tribals and the poor in my book is the same. Terror sponsored by a foreign organisation or sponsored by an Indian outfit is again the same.What are the citizens of India going to do about this?Are we going to allow political parties to take up issues that pit people against people to fight elections? Are we going to tollerate hate merchants like Tugadia and Raj Thackaray?Oh citizens of the country, can we come together and fight hate, corruption and unnecessary violence?Can we start afresh today and work towards an India where our children can live in confidence and without fear? Can we stop thinking just about ourselves and start thinking about our Nation? Without our Nation, we are no where. We need to preserve our Nation.
George Abraham
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Worrying for India
Dear fellow Indians,
To begin with, what happened last night at Mumbai is unacceptable. In fact this recent rise in terror attacks across the country is truly worrying. It is time that the educated concerned citizens of the country come together to do something about this.
To start with the politics of hate and communalism has to end. I am aChristian and an Indian. I will stick my neck out and say that ever sincethe Communal brand of politics has come to stay, communal hatred and intolerance has increased and the cosmopolitan fabric of the Indian society has become frail.
I think the current form in the way in which our country is governed needsto be reviewed. The electoral process has become a hypocritical routine which we follow session after session without questioning.
I do think something needs to be done before we Indians kill and destroy each other and our beloved country fragments.
All the economic development is of no meaning, if the average Indian cannot live with dignity and confidence.
It is time to say "Enough is enough" It is time for the average citizen to play a more active role in determining how our country is managed.
I would appeal to every Indian to rise above political allegiances and think and do something positive to save our country.
Worrying for India
George
George Abraham
Monday, November 3, 2008
Turning 50
Hi,I turned 50 today. It has been 5 decades of wonderful living. There
have been moments of fun, excitement and challenges.To begin with , I was blessed with wonderful parents who taught me how to dream and the art of positive thinking. They sowed in me the seeds of courage and enterprise to face the World with confidence and faith.Then my visual impairment which provided me with the opportunity to know and understand my God who has been an integral part of my life. He has run the journey of life with me, some time jogging beside me and other times carrying me in His arms. Life has certainly been a walk in Faith.Not to be forgotten, my dear wife Rupa, the rock of Gibraltar. She has stood beside me through thick and thin. She has not only been my support, but also my conscience. She has had the energy and courage to put up with me and also share my wild dreams.How can I forget my two lovely daughters Neha and Tara who have kept me honest and on my toes. They are simply delightful.And finally my friends. There are many who have come and played significant roles in my various ventures.Life has truly been fun and I have enjoyed it.Today is a day when I take fresh guard and take strike to start a new innings, if I may borrow a cricketing expression.Love you all.
George Abraham
31st October, 1958
have been moments of fun, excitement and challenges.To begin with , I was blessed with wonderful parents who taught me how to dream and the art of positive thinking. They sowed in me the seeds of courage and enterprise to face the World with confidence and faith.Then my visual impairment which provided me with the opportunity to know and understand my God who has been an integral part of my life. He has run the journey of life with me, some time jogging beside me and other times carrying me in His arms. Life has certainly been a walk in Faith.Not to be forgotten, my dear wife Rupa, the rock of Gibraltar. She has stood beside me through thick and thin. She has not only been my support, but also my conscience. She has had the energy and courage to put up with me and also share my wild dreams.How can I forget my two lovely daughters Neha and Tara who have kept me honest and on my toes. They are simply delightful.And finally my friends. There are many who have come and played significant roles in my various ventures.Life has truly been fun and I have enjoyed it.Today is a day when I take fresh guard and take strike to start a new innings, if I may borrow a cricketing expression.Love you all.
George Abraham
31st October, 1958
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