twestival local - Tweet.Meet.Give. - March 24, 2011

While you are busy in office, getting bored, let me take your mind off official atyachaar.

Supporting us with merchandise for raffle, we have *wait for it*  : Tungs10!!

Have a look at their vivid, lively and experimental designs for those who dare to look different n want to create a statement here.

A huge shoutout for Kani and Kunal of Tungs10 for the support and awesome designs!

Show some love people, connect with Tungs 10 http://tungs10.wordpress.com/

Twitter : http://twitter.com/#!/tungs10

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tungs10/147584085277724

Disclaimer: The pictures are representative of Tungs10 designs and not the actual goodies up for grabs.

And to reach us you can always contact:

Design by Aarti Verma 

-Pallavi Chaturvedi (+91-9911370777) : Feel free to call/text me
Regional Co-ordinator,Delhi Twestival
Twitter | @cherub_pallavi

Mark your calendars, clear your evenings of all other engagements folks, come Thursday, March 24, all roads lead to Ramada Plaza!

Chill out at a poolside, catch the India Australia World cup quarter final match with a complimentary beer, have a side dish of intense conversations with social media enthusiasts, watch Rajneesh Kapoor – the widely acclaimed English comedy artist- at his best , while also bringing a smile on the face of Protsahan kid’s.

We shall also have a raffle with interesting goodies up for grabs. The mandatory contribution is only Rs. 200 and all proceeds go to Protsahan.

Ramada Plaza is at a central convenient location. Situated at 19, Ashok Road, New Delhi, it is easily accessible by metro. The nearest metro station is Patel Chowk which is less than half a kilometre away.

Get your directions here:

"Give your weekend an early start, get away from Official Atyachaar"

Will you be there??

Please RSVP at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=155141464546092

-Pallavi Chaturvedi (+91-9911370777) : Feel free to call/text me
Regional Co-ordinator,Delhi Twestival
Twitter | @cherub_pallavi

You can be the change too

I saw her sitting by the stairs on a metro station everyday. In her five year form in a dirty torn frock and filthy pigtailed hair, I saw a million invisibles. These invisibles are everywhere, they swarm our cities, they beg for our attention, they cry for a few rupees, they fight and kick to share a meal you throw at them. Don’t get me wrong, you CAN see them, but you don’t look hard enough. This little invisible was my own feel good ticket. Sometimes I smiled at her, sometimes I gave her a bite to eat, and sometimes I gave her a few rupees. Instant gratification achieved. I made a life better.

But does it really make a difference? Is she any better off by my help? Does she have a better chance at carving a decent living by my “help”? I doubt it. But what can I do? I am a young professional who has just started her own life! Where is the time? Where are the resources? What is our government doing? I have a million questions and I have no answers.

When we started looking for an NGO to support through Twestival, we were clear that we want to support an organization that has been operational for less than a year, which is working for a cause close to our heart, and which is serious about making a difference, to make the world a better place.

And then we found Protsahan. Protsahan – encouragement literally - is an NGO that is this change maker. Founded in May 2010 in a little known west Delhi slum by a young sociopreneur  Sonal Kapoor, this organization has been the driving force for many a lives. They have started their first classroom for the neglected girl child, they have started adopting families in slum clusters, they have started the winds of change. Protsahan’s initiatives are what dreams are made of. With projects like “Educating India, Encouraging India” (Protsahan classrooms), “Remedial Teaching” (at construction sites and slums), Self employment through “Eco-Encouragement” (an endeavour to make women independent by making eco-friendly diyas, other handicrafts, kurtas, etc. using lead free paints and green substitutes to generate livelihood opportunities) and “Restoring Artisans Honor”, Protsahan is lighting up a million lives

When I met Sonal, I saw a little bit of all of us in her - a beautiful young girl, with hopes and dreams, with smiles and tears, with a promising life to look forward to; and yet she is different -  dedicated to the cause, dedicated to her beliefs, ready to go that extra mile- to make someone else’s life better.

How Protsahan came by is the proof of God’s will and intervention. Sonal went to the slum with a team for a byte for official purpose. There she encountered a woman heavily pregnant with her seventh child, six girl children in tow. None of the girls could read, none of the girls had toys, on lucky days, they got two meals, they did not know any other life, their dreams had died, or probably their eyes had never learnt how to dream…  When the woman was asked how she would bring up a seventh child, she said “If it’s a boy, he would grow up to support us, if it’s a girl, I would kill her. We do not need anymore mouths to feed.” Sonal found her passion there. She came back from the slum with a mission to make their life better and thus Protsahan was born.

(Here you can see Baby, one of the six girls behind Protsahan's foundation learning concepts of rotation and revolution. Today she can read, write and count. )

We need you to support us, we need you to help us mold a life. You can give smiles, you can give dreams, you can give hope, and you can give some one their life back. It does not take much to make a difference. Come be a part of the change, come donate a dream.

And what of that little girl? I still pass her everyday , and now I know, she is Munni. I can see the stars in her eyes. I know she can identify colors and vegetables. I know she is alive, not just breathing. For she can dream. And I know she will have a better life, for Protsahan is here.

(You can connect with us on Twitter  @DelTwestival)