NGOs from India and Nepal make an exposure visit to red light areas

VARANASI: Under the India-Nepal Human Liberty Initiative, the NGOs from India and Nepal made an exposure visit to the Shivdaspur red light areas to know the plight of sex workers on Wednesday.

Before the exposure visit, a two-day workshop was organized on October 8 and 9 by Geneva Global and sponsored by Legatum Foundation to control human trafficking and slavery.

The initiative started in 2010 to combat local and cross-border trafficking of human beings for sex trade, exploitation, and slavery brought together 18 NGOs from India and nine from Nepal. It focuses 13 districts in Nepal, and 23 districts in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh where communities lack the capacity to withstand trafficking and slavery.

Addressing the workshop, Gene White, Asia Director, Geneva Global said, "it was encouraging to see partner organization come together to share knowledge and experience on issues of trafficking, exploitation and slavery. The objective is to reduce the risks and incidences of trafficking, exploitation and slavery in the areas covered by the programme partners."

Ajeet Singh of Varanasi-based organization-Guria, one of the partners of Geneva Global, emphasized on the need for a strong step to prosecute the traffickers, slave owners, and brothel owners. Charimaya Tamang from Shakti Samuha, Geneva Global partners from Nepal shared the difficulties of repatriation of trafficked Nepalese victims from India.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/NGOs-from-India-and-Nepal-make-an-exposure-visit-to-red-light-areas/articleshow/16762135.cms

Tailored for Nepal

Roshan Sedhai

OCT 09 -

In the last two decades, Nepal, and especially Kathmandu, has seen unprecedented urbanisation and industrialisation. As demands for power and energy grow proportionally to the rise in urbanisation , our resource and infrastructure strapped country has been forced to experiment with alternative energy, in the face of crippling power, petrol and fuel shortages. Among the various kinds of renewable energy wrestling for space in the Nepali market, biogas has managed to establish itself as an energy source tailored to our needs and resources.

Biogas as an alternative resource was introduced early in Nepal and its easy availability in all topographical regions, except for the upper mountains, along with abundant farming communities and relatively low construction and operation costs are cited as the reasons biogas has surpassed wind and solar energies in such a short period of time. Supplemented by government and stakeholder priorities, subsidies in construction and new income from carbon trading, biogas has managed to increasingly win over the public.

Since 1992, when SNV Netherlands first funded the development and promotion of biogas, over 270,000 households have built biogas plants to meet energy requirements. Around 20,000 households are making biogas plants on a yearly basis and feasibility studies show that biogas could be extended to 1.1 million households across the country.

Samir Thapa, Senior Energy Officer for Biogas Promotion from the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, said that while biogas is popular among relatively well-off farming families, that it could be extended to another million households. “Stakeholders have failed to reach the poorer section of the community,” said Thapa.

Following the success of biogas in Nepal, SNV has spread the same model to 21 different countries including Vietnam, India and Bangladesh. Sanjib Chaudhary, communication officer of SNV Netherlands, claimed that biogas and improved stoves are one of their most successful programmes. “SNV has assisted the construction of around 200,000 biogas plants and gives priority to the poorer population,” said Chaudhary.  

Biogas as an alternative resource is more useful in rural areas, where livestock and farming are still largely practiced. Farmers can meet energy demands through cattle dung and the dung itself can be used later as manure. Even as a majority of Nepal’s population rely on firewood for energy, the use of biogas for cooking and electricity can ultimately lead to a sharp decline in deforestation. Over 70 percent of households that have biogas plants have attached their toilets to the plants, greatly improving their impacts on health, sanitation and hygiene. “On one hand, deforestation declines and on the other, kitchens, sanitation, health and hygiene in households are greatly improved,” said Thapa. Besides benefits on a local level, the government has also managed to cash in on the carbon-trade, earning $2.1 million for curtailing carbon emissions in the last four years alone.

However, much remains to be done. So far, biogas is mostly being utilised as a replacement for firewood. The focus should be on encouraging the creative and manifold application of biogas, including the use of biogas-powered electronic appliances. Public spaces like parks, schools, bus stops, health posts and hospitals should use waste materials for biogas as a self-sustaining form of energy. “Large-scale animal husbandry and poultry farming can produce the required energy themselves. We can tackle the current power crisis through such approaches,” said Thapa. Pilot projects are being carried out in three municipalities to gauge biogas production, said Thapa.

However, Bishnu Belbase, officiating executive director of the Nepal Biogas Promotion Association, claimed that they had failed to spread biogas proportionally to all parts of the country. “While biogas has seen overwhelming success in districts like Jhapa and Chitwan, stakeholders have failed to develop other districts with similarly great potential,” said Belbase.

Biogas plants have slowed recently due to the skyrocketing costs of raw materials, making it even more challenging for the poor population to gain access to biogas. Additional costs involved in transportation and manpower have increased the costs of constructing biogas plants. The forty percent subsidy that the government provides is not enough, especially in remote areas.

Posted on: 2012-10-09 08:12 

source:ekantipur

Greece

Demonstrators clash with anti-riot police near the House of Parliament, central Athens, Greece, on Tuesday.

Photographer: Xinhua /Marios Lolos

Taiwan's National Day

A dancer adorned with flowers performs during Taiwan's National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei on Wednesday.

Photographer: REUTERS /Pichi Chuang

RAJYOGI BRAHMAKUMAR NIKUNJ JI

Why do we feel afraid to open our hearts? Probably because we don’t want to be hurt, or look foolish, or we feel that others would abuse our trust.

Opening the heart is to be able to have trust for yourself and also to understand that there is a higher being than myself looking after me so that I

can feel safe.

What does it mean to have an open heart?

To have an open heart is to feel contentment and happiness, to be free and peaceful — not hiding nor pretending. You are then open to experiences and can become really adventurous. If my connection is with Supreme, then it is easier to have good relationships with others. When you open your heart, you are able to communicate with others openly.

How do we begin to open our heart?

One way to open the heart is to develop

the nature of having good wishes for others. To become an easy person to be with is to create a space within ourselves to have good wishes.

It is important to start thinking differently about ourselves.

To create good wishes for others and for the self is the starting point of being able to create changes in the world around you.

We can create positive and empowering

atmosphere when we have a connection

with each other that is positive and meaningful. When we feed our mind with good

thoughts, then we begin to feel content

and happy.

Un cocktail d'Asie et de musique celte

AFP / Damien Meyer

RENNES (France) - Des musiciens bretons qui se mettent aux œuvres chinoises. Une star russe du violon. Un chef d'orchestre singapourien qui découvre les sons folkloriques celtes: l'Orchestre symphonique de Bretagne (OSB) se plonge avec délice dans l'éclectisme, tout en cultivant ses racines.

Darrell Ang, directeur musical depuis moins d'un an, a prévu de mettre "une touche de Chine à Rennes" en février, à l'occasion du Nouvel an lunaire: il a invité des musiciens chinois et singapouriens à jouer de leurs instruments traditionnels aux côtés des interprètes locaux. "Le public est très réceptif à la nouveauté ici", assure le jeune chef singapourien (33 ans), qui a eu pour maîtres rien moins que Lorin Maazel et Sir Colin Davis et ne redoute pas la cohabitation entre musiciens de cultures différentes. Ceux de l'OSB "sont très adaptables", assure-t-il.

Darrell Ang ne parlait pas un mot de français quand il a remporté le concours des jeunes chefs d'orchestre à Besançon en 2007, mais se débrouille désormais fort bien. Il apprécie le son "léger" des musiciens hexagonaux. "En Allemagne ou aux Etats-Unis, les orchestres aiment à montrer leur puissance, alors que les musiciens français essayent de mettre du beau dans tout. C'est ça que j'apprécie", assure-t-il.

L'orchestre, qui se déplace dans toute la Bretagne, cultive aussi sa fibre celtique. "Un orchestre symphonique doit refléter sa ville, sa région. On est dans une région avec une culture très forte", observe Marc Feldman, l'Américain qui a pris les rênes de l'OSB l'an dernier et tisse des liens avec d'autres centres de culture celtique, de l'Espagne à l'Irlande.

Là, c'est plutôt le Singapourien qui va devoir s'adapter. "Je ne connais pas bien la musique celtique, mais c'est quelque chose que je suis prêt à explorer", assure-t-il.

Darrell Ang a mis à son programme de la saison 2012-13 des musiciens bretons comme Jean Cras (1879-1932) et Maurice Duhamel (1884-1940) autour du thème de la mer. "Je souhaite présenter davantage de compositeurs bretons que l'on a jamais joués ici à Rennes", explique-t-il.

La formation classique se rapproche de la musique folklorique et a prévu pour la fin de l'année une soirée "Bach en Breizh" qui rapprochera l'oratorio de Noël de Bach et des chants de Noël bretons interprétés par la soliste Marthe Vassallo. "A première vue, ce sont des choses qui n'ont rien de commun", observe la chanteuse, qui s'est spécialisée à la fois dans la musique classique et le chant folklorique et se réjouit du décloisonnement entre ces deux mondes qui s'ignoraient.

AFP / Damien Meyer

Pour ouvrir la saison, l'OSB a invité Mikhaïl Simonyan, prodige du violon qui s'est produit à l'âge de 13 ans au prestigieux Carnegie Hall de New York. Le jeune Russe a choisi Rennes pour sa première prestation en France avec un orchestre, en l'occurrence le concerto pour violon d'Aram Katchatourian (1903-78). "Il le joue de façon folklorique, pas classique", note Marc Feldman. Aujourd'hui âgé de 27 ans, Simonyan a été acclamé à tout rompre lors de son passage pour deux soirs à l'opéra de Rennes, improvisant un dernier rappel pour le plus grand plaisir du public.

"C'est ça qui est magique avec la musique", s'enthousiasme ce magicien de l'archet, qui se décrit comme "un nomade". "La nationalité et la langue n'existent pas. C'est comme moi: je suis né en Russie, mais je suis à moitié Arménien, j'ai grandi aux Etats-Unis... La seule chose qui compte c'est la musique".

Ses années de formation aux Etats-Unis, Mikhaïl Simonyan s'en souvient comme d'une galère. Pour survivre, il a dû se transformer en chauffeur de limousines la nuit avant de rejoindre au matin le banc des répétitions. Quant à son violon, il lui a été offert à New York par le luthier français Christophe Landon. "Il est l'un des plus doués que j'ai jamais vus", assure le violoniste, qui préfère jouer avec un instrument neuf d'une valeur de 80.000 dollars qu'avec un stradivarius qui en coûte au bas mot le centuple.

Séduit par son expérience bretonne, le jeune Russe espère partir en tournée autour du monde avec l'orchestre de Rennes. "Je les adore, c'est un très bon groupe, ils sont désireux d'apprendre de nouvelles choses", commente le violoniste.

"Normalement on commence par Paris...", reconnaît-il à propos de sa carrière française. Paris, Mikhaïl Simonyan s'y produira en janvier à l'auditorium du Louvre pour un récital de musique de chambre. Auparavant, il retournera en Afghanistan où sa fondation "Beethoven, not bullets" (Beethoven, pas les balles) aide à former de jeunes musiciens après l'ère des talibans, lorsque la musique était interdite.

Source:afp.com/

Trip to Lumbini

BHUMIKA SHREE BAJRACHARYA

On April 7, 2012, I got an opportunity to visit Lumbini. It is the place where I had always wanted to go. Lumbini, the birth place of Lord Buddha, is situated about 22 km from Bhairahawa. It is about 300 km west of Kathmandu and is situated in Lumbini zone where other districts like Kapilvastu, Rupandehi and Nawalparasi are also located.

I was going to this tour along with my mother and some of my relatives. We woke up early and started the most memorable trip. We reached to Narayanghat, stopped there for sometime and visited a bihar. Then we went straight to Lumbini and reached there are 6:00 pm. Then we went for an evening walk around Lumbini where there was a mela going on.

The next day, we visited the Lumbini garden. We also visited monasteries built by different countries such as Germany, USA, China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, et cetera. Each monastery had some unique featured buildings. The best one was the German style. Then we went to the Shanti Deep (International Peace Lamp) which is situated in front of the lake. Then we walked to the amazing Mayadevi temple but sadly the terrace was closed. Then we went to Kapilvastu and Tilaurakot where Gautam Buddha lived as a child where we saw the remains of the place. After all this travelling, we went to stay in a guest house .

Next day, early in the morning, we went to Ramgram, the stupa which contains Lord Buddha’s asti (relics). And then, after a long ride singing and making jokes on the way, we journey out way back to Kathmandu. Thus, ended my most memorable journey to Lumbini.

— Bhumika Shree

Bajracharya,

Class IX, St Mary’s High School