Category: Happy to Report

  • Saathi Re, an information and insights platform for nonprofits in India, is now part of Give

    Saathi Re, an information and insights platform for nonprofits in India, is now part of Give

    Give exists to alleviate poverty by harnessing the power of collective giving. Our mission is to bridge the gap between the people who want to make a difference through giving back and those who are doing phenomenal work but need more support.  In order to make giving bigger and better, solving for trust, choice, and…

  • Animal Response To A Bushfire Is Astounding

    HAVE you ever wondered how wildlife manage to stay alive when an inferno is ripping through their homes, and afterwards when there is little to eat and nowhere to hide? The answer is adaptation and old-fashioned ingenuity. Australia’s bushfire season is far from over, and the cost to wildlife has been epic. A sobering estimate…

  • 2019 Saw Happy Outcomes Of Conservation Efforts

    LAST year on March 21st, a group of volunteers engaged in the Versova beach clean up in Mumbai stumbled upon at least 80 olive ridley sea turtle hatchlings for the first time in 20 years!  Many attributed this comeback to the sustained efforts of lawyer-activist Afroz Shah. Versova had been known as one of the…

  • Mumbai Takes Steps To Clear The Air

    COUGH, cough, cough. Achoo. Those were the sounds on my flight back from celebrating Diwali in Delhi. The air quality was so poor, it was just a film of haze over the city as we took off.  While many of us are generally aware of the worsening outdoor air quality during Diwali, crop burning, and…

  • Mental Health On Instagram

    MENTAL health is an invisible health concern that affects millions of people yet is frequently overlooked and underacknowledged. Did you know that mental health disorders make up 15% of total diseases globally? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at…

  • Teaching Children, Cop Uncle Style

    On Teacher’s Day, nostalgia hits us and takes us back to school and college days. In between the laughs and learning, we remember the teachers who have probably played the most influential part in our growing years. Often it’s their voice in our head, telling us right from wrong. Today, we celebrate them, their effort…

  • New Schools Of Thought On Climate Crisis

    CLIMATE change became a talking point nearly 30 years ago. So why are we still arguing whether it’s real or not? The evidence is pretty irrefutable, see NASA’s temperature graph below. Yet, people still seem to think this is a political talking point that they can choose not to acknowledge as an emergency, calling it one…

  • Take Pride In Inclusive India

    YOU may be aware that June was Pride month. Originating in the US, the month not only stands as a time to promote awareness and acceptance of people who identify as LGBTIQ+, but also commemorates the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, demonstrations in New York City in June 1969 that are considered to be the…

  • Safe Spaces To Talk About Taboo Topics

    GOOGLE gender, sexuality, violence, and harassment. What you’ll find is a shocking number of articles and figures about these disturbingly commonplace issues. Last year, the global #MeToo movement shook India too and created a sense of community – especially among women – to break the silence around these socially uncomfortable subjects. According to UN Women,…

  • Odisha: The Balm Before The Storm

    WHEN the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani hit coastal Odisha on May 3 – with a wind speed of more than 200km per hour and gusting speed of 240km per hour – it was a déjà vu moment for the state and its people. But, with a critical difference. On October 29, 1999, when the…

  • The Rise Of The Ethical Indian Consumer

    HAVE you heard of ethically sourced, fair trade products? Conflict free diamonds? Or cruelty free makeup? Consumers have been using boycotts and flexing their purchase power for years to achieve change and force political transformation. Behind this seemingly modern movement of ethical consumption lies India’s forward-thinking Bapu who touted the ideals of homespun clothing and…

  • Indian Weddings Break Traditional Customs

    WHEN we think about weddings, we often think about traditions – many of which could do with a reboot in this day and age of women’s equality.   We’re happy to report how some Indians are smashing the patriarchy while continuing to celebrate their love, traditions and cultural heritages. Just a couple of months ago,…

  • Develop The Reading Habit, Develop The Nation

    “A book is a dream that you hold in your hand.” – Neil Gaiman EDUCATION is arguably one of the most important things you can give a child – it not only benefits them and can change the trajectory of one’s life, but it also promotes socio-economic development within societies. Which is why the UN…

  • Art And Food Are Ingredients For Peace

    ART has long connected us to one another and been used to strengthen communities across cultures and the globe. As, Alberto Ibargüen, the president of  Knight Foundation explained at a 2018 symposium on philanthropy, culture and the arts: “Art binds. Culture generates social capital and strengthens a community’s character. Art brings people together physically – at…

  • India Is Now A Plastic Warrior

    PLASTIC. Designed to be an inexpensive, durable alternative to other materials, such as pewter, glass or ceramics that dent or break. No one anticipated the ramifications of a synthetic material that could seemingly last forever, would actually last forever. As scientists innovated the composition and society found more and more uses for the material, its…

  • King of Kindness

    NOVEMBER 20th was Universal Children’s Day, a day set aside by the United Nations to promote the welfare of children globally, established with the adoption of the transformative doctrine on childhood rights, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959. India celebrated the day together with the rest of the world until Nehru’s…

  • India’s Growing Sustainable Food Movement

    SUSTAINABILITY. It’s a popular catchphrase these days in the development sector that now includes food and agriculture. But what does it really mean? According to the American Public Health Association, a sustainable food system is one that “provides healthy food to meet current food needs while maintaining healthy ecosystems that can also provide food for…

  • Don’t Stare: Breast Is Best!

    WHAT do you think when you see a woman feeding a child? Disgust, contempt, lustfulness? No? Then why does breastfeeding remain so controversial in many parts of the world, including here in India? Breastfeeding is nature’s way of providing infants with the necessary nutrients and antibodies. World Health Organization advocates for women to breastfeed exclusively…

  • ‘Bridge From Misery To Hope’

    IN a country which is home to the largest number of illiterate adults in the world, the story of a 96-year-old grandmother sitting for the first exam of her life earlier this month warmed the cockles of many hearts. Karthyayani Amma of Cheppad, in Kerala’s Alappuzha district was one of 40,440 people to take a…

  • Bollywood Stars Are Turning Green

    WE all love to read about what our favourite celebrities are up to, but it’s always nice to hear that they’re doing more than going to yet another party, shopping or travelling. Stars supporting charitable causes isn’t a new concept, but once Angelina Jolie and George Clooney made it cool to support social activism, the…

  • The Princess Of Charity

    MEGHAN MARKLE, actress, philanthropist, activist, humanitarian, World Vision ambassador, UN Women’s advocate for political participation and leadership, now has another title: princess. Meghan married Prince Harry of Wales last Saturday, a royal event that had all of the world chattering. An American, an actress, in the British royal family? But Meghan is much more than just a…

  • Cops Are Tops On Social Media

    POLICE have always been associated with a certain seriousness and their constant alerts about safety, traffic rules and drunken driving in the newspapers and billboards sound like the warnings on cigarette packs about smoking being injurious to health which we ignore, of course. But we are happy to report that, of late, the Indian police have figured the perfect way…

  • Poet Put His Stamp On The Subcontinent

    THE humanist spirit of Kazi Nazrul Islam, known as the “rebel” poet is alive and strong. Despite religious strife still common in our news, Nazrul remains a popular literary figure in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Revered for his words and fight for social justice, this is how these three countries, divided so many years ago…

  • Many Firsts For India’s Third Gender

    INDIA is one of the most forward-thinking countries when it comes to recognising non-binary genders, especially compared to many ‘progressive’ Western nations. Prior to colonial rule, mainstream society and religion accepted hijras, the term commonly used in South Asia to describe intersex or transgender individuals, as normal for centuries. Steps taken India’s constitution, in theory, protects…

  • The Oceans’ Speedo-ed Superhero

    LEWIS PUGH, a name you’ve probably never heard, is one of the most important unsung heroes of our planet. Gifted with the ability to raise his natural body heat prior to jumping into freezing waters, he uses his superpower to draw attention to looming environmental crises. At just 17 years old, he began his quest…