Dear Friends
As India stands at the threshold of being an economic superpower, it is certainly time to dream many a dream for our country. But can we truly reap the benefits of our ‘demographic dividend’ or are we looking at a potentially more divisive country?
· 43% of our youth believe that it is alright to flout rules because the penalty is low
· 41% believe that girls have no option, but to accept a certain degree of violence.
· 65% students believed that boys & girls of different religions should not be encouraged to meet
· 49% college students believe that domestic workers cannot demand basic minimum wages and other facilities
Clearly, no country can be a truly developed country, if this is what the youth believes!
An attitudinal shift is the need of the hour and that is the work that CMCA does in over 300 schools in India, impacting over 17,000 children.
CMCA's unique, year-long programme sows the seeds of 4 basic democratic values needed for every citizen –
Concern
Cooperation
Coexistence
Confrontation
We encourage children to BELIEVE that change is possible, to ACT upon it and then INFLUENCE others to change too!
Have we succeeded? Here are some examples:
· Over 300 children have called up the Municipal helplines and got civic problems fixed - from potholes on roads, to broken pipes, to open manholes, etc.
· For the last 8 years CMCA children have participated in the beach clean up after Ganpati Visarjan in Mumbai & saved our beaches.
· Laavanya from Tumkur District encouraged her parents to build a toilet in their home, with the help of the Gram Panchayat. This inspired 60 others too, to build toilets!
These are just a fraction of the inspirational stories that I have shared. The heartening fact is that all these changes were made by CHILDREN.
If only we can reach this Citizenship & Democracy Education that we do, to millions more in our country, surely, we will be able to see the magic that children can create, to make India a truly developed country!
Our efforts of building a stronger nation need the support of people like you. Donating is easy, as I am participating in the Mumbai Marathon of Jan 17, 2016 to raise funds for our cause.
You may donate online on the following link
http://www.unitedwaymumbai.org/scmm-fundraiser-4075
Alternately, you may send a cheque in the name of United Way of Mumbai and send it to me at my address below.
With every stride that I take in the Marathon, I am sure you will have a sense of pride that you are contributing towards the creation of a greater nation!
If you wish to know more about CMCA, please visit www.cmcaindia.org
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