Let’s learn briefly about the goals of this wonderful organization and how it is working to achieve them. YL volunteer sheds light on this team.

What does SYINC do?

Syinc is a nonprofit organization in Singapore that enables young people to act as agents of social change, in two creative and affective ways-

• Networks: Connecting people and building networks of support among a community of people experienced in, or starting out in, social change and innovation
• Capacity Building: Equipping them with the resources, tools and opportunities necessary for effective change.

So what does that look like? SYINC runs workshops, conferences, and informal meet-ups that collectively develop skills and build community.

Vision of SYINC

• Act as a connector for social change groups in Singapore, and provide opportunities to catalyze new collaborations
• Develop skills and share resources to enable Singapore youth to be effective change agents
• Nurture social responsibility through education, discourse, and engagement

Now, let’s have a look at the Chart that gives some important information about SYINC, shall we?

Okay! After knowing Syinc thoroughly in above ways, all of you must be pumped up to know what exactly are the activities of Syinc. Well, Syinc conducts interactive, attractive, creative and productive activities for its youth members. It has named these activities as ‘Syinc products’. Here they are-

 1. Spark Plug  (Social innovation workshops)

Spark Plug is about creative problem-solving: it works by building capacity of people to find new ways for old problems – in this case, social and human problems. They use a human-centred approach, and develop that same ability in their participants, so that they generate solutions with the end user (or beneficiary) in mind. Catered to educational institutions and the young people they develop, the workshops take people through from concept, to hands-on application, to execution on actual projects (or as far as you wish to take them). Syinc also has, on occasion, created programs for corporates with whom they have aligned interests.

2. Think & Drink (Spirited conversations):

Think & Drink is a semi-regular informal conversation series where Syinc brings interesting people together to talk about insightful, unconventional, and serendipitous things about changing the world.

By mixing great speakers and super-diverse participants in a uniquely laid-back Friday-night-out setting, Think & Drink connects people through engaging and spirited (pun intended) conversations. It is a fun, interesting and casual melting pot of people from all walks of life gathering to get to know more about our speakers, events and like-minded people in the social realm.

3. Syinconsult (Social design consulting)

Youths at Syinc practice what they preach – and they’re using the same innovation methods they teach at Spark Plug and applying them to solve problems for clients. Their clients are typically companies in the social impact space, nonprofits, or socially responsible businesses. Syinc has a core team of practitioners with competencies in human-centred design, business innovation and modelling, education planning, new media strategy, business process and change management. 

 4. Syinconnect (A social innovation conference)

Young and searching for answers? Wanna change the world, but don’t know how? Here is a conference that gathers a special breed of passionate, socially-conscious youthhungry to create social change, but don’t necessarily have the know-how, connections or opportunity to do so.

Syinconnect provides them with a space to test/bounce ideas, collaborate, build like-minded networks – and most of all, get their hands dirty and get something started.

Don’t you wanna explore Syinc more on net? Check these out!

Official website of SYINC: www.syinc.org

Like SYINC on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Syinc/144039042324884?sk=info

Follow SYINC on Twitter: twitter.com/syinc

Also read: orgs.tigweb.org/syinc

E-mail address: contactus@syinc.org

Sources of Photos and Information: Official website of SYINC and its Facebook page

So, folks! What an amazing organization we got to learn about. Syinc truly is a great gift for the youths of Singapore who have chosen it as an exciting alternative to boost themselves and prepare for a better future. Till my next article, it’s me, saying ‘Bye’ to you all…

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Nikesh Thapaliya is a Media guy, entertainment lover and  a world record holder. His vision for the world is “Start from yourself if you want to see the world change.” He wants to see humanity grow more in the world. nikesh.thapaliya.youthleader@gmail.com

The objective of this online game is to help us understand better the refugee condition. All game long, we play the role of a human who is trying to survive against all the odds created by the oppressing government; all we have to do is stay alive, flee our home, head to a better world and start our life all over again.

The game can be played individually, in groups, or as a whole class…up to you guys! Although, throughout the lesson plans, there are references to specific chapters of the game that highlight the concepts in the activity,  it is recommend that teachers preview the chapters before having students play to make sure all content is appropriate for their classroom. With a pedagogical aim – The game is instructive, the screenplay is plain and coherent, Graphic is cutting-edge. In short, it is an excellent game of knowledge and experience.

Now the question is “why do we need to know what it is like to be a refugee?”… Imagine, you are in a time of devastating war and conflict; you have no choice other than crossing the border and take refuge in a new country. Now you’re an asylum-dweller with tens of thousands of issues, obstacles, struggles, challenges. This game totally lets you in the shoes of a refugee. It opens your eyes and heart and helps you learn and experience the hardship of thousands of unfortunate people labeled as “Refugees”.  This game is a fun attempt to grow compassion in your heart for those miserable ones. May be someday your kind heart will lead you to address the real, off-screen concerns, hurdles that they’re forced to deal with every single day.

The game is divided into three main categories: ‘War and Conflict ‘, ‘Borderland’, and ‘A New Life’. You can play from beginning to end or in sections. You will be challenged by a variety of scenarios simulating struggles.

http://www.playagainstallodds.com/game_us.html

http://www.playagainstallodds.com/

Have an action-paked, thrilling time!  Entertainment and learning are just a mouse click away! At the same time, think about the refugees who need your help desperately. Please visit to know how to help them.

http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home

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Camille is French but she prefers to describe herself as an international itinerant; now, now she is living in Santiago de Chile, but who knows where she will be next? She travels, because she loves to meet people, to discover new cultures, different traditions; learning from each other fascinates her! She is also a cinema and literature lover, because movies and novels are somehow a way of travelling, she thinks.  camille.commeleran@gmail.com

China may be the most populated country in the world but for Wen Bo, life at times gets lonely as environmental activism is not something that has a huge following in the country and his passion is quite risky business given the lack of government support.  This exclusive interview with China’s advocate for the Environment, is brought to you by YL Volunteer Freshta Mayar:
 

So tell me how did you get involved in environmental activism?
When I was little, I was very fond of the nature and always wanted to have a job in the forest and with wildlife.  I wanted to be somewhere tropical, I have always had a passion for the nature – it has been there for a very long time.
As a teenager, I looked at the options for how to get involved with organisations and bodies that are interested in world peace and nature.  Then one day, I saw an advertisement on TV about an organisation called Green Peace – an organisation for the people.  I learnt more about the content of Green Peace and discovered that it was an organisation that was trying to solve environmental problems around the world.  For instance, tree logging, farmland conservation, pollution etc.  These are issues that are affecting everyday lives yet there was no specific focus or attention apportioned to it particularly in China (and the mid-80’s when activism for environmental rights was not a social norm).
 

What have been your key achievements in the field?
There was a lack of organisations and institutions in China with a focus on the environment.  The key achievement for me is institution building, people’s mind needs to be changed and I took this as my responsibility to provide enlighten in relation to the environment through institution building.  I have set up the China Green Student Forum, Wuhu Ecology Centre and Xinjiang Conservation Fund.  
These institutions now allow full-time focus on environmental issues.  At the same time, it encourages and nurtures career development so that youths can take a more proactive interest in the environment and become leaders in the specific fields like marine, nuclear, water, as well as general environmental rights.
 

How do you obtain sponsorship / funding for your work?
Through the Pacific Environment China program and Global Greengrant Fund.  We have used this funding to increase awareness in China of the dangers of ignoring the environment, how to get involved and how to connect with international organisations like Worldwide Fund for Nature (“WWF”) and Greenpeace.
 

Are you still working with Pacific Environmental Group?
 Yes, as a PEW Fellow in Marine Conservation and Senior Fellow in the Organisation.

What specific environmental issue are you most active on right now?
My focus is in Marine Conservation particularly around Shark Conservation.  Shark products particularly their fins are a scarce commodity and I have been working over the last 3 years to prevent this exploitation of the shark.  There has been a lack of interest and knowledge from all ends, whether government, the supplier and the consumer.  We produced several reports on the topic and this has resulted in bill being put forward to bank shark exploitation.  

What are the key pressures or challenges in your work?
The key challenge is the fact that the Chinese government has not yet created partnerships with bodies like Green Peace, and this has also made local campaigning more difficult and setting up locally a little more challenging.

At the Jilin province, grassland region

What are your key aspirations for the future?
To create an independent institution that focusses not only on environmental issues in China but south-east Asia.
 

Who is your ultimate role model?
My role model would have to be the founder of Global Greengrants Fund – Mr Chet Tchozewski, as over the past 10 years a lot of my work has been inspired by him.

With the President of the Greenpeace; in Manila

If you could deliver one message to the world what would it be?
We need to rethink the development model which requires the aspiration of many people.  There needs to be pragmatic change, otherwise mass extinction of species, global climate change, lack of clean water will become the reality for the near future.  Young people need to revolutionalise their time and ask themselves “What are we leaving for tomorrow’s generation”.

A conversation with Wen Bo reveals that a change leader does not need to be a natural speaker or presenter but someone with passion for a cause.  The environment is the air we breath, the water we drink, the ocean we swim in and the species exist around us. To ignore environmental concerns, may blind us of the future we are creating (or destroying).  So let’s ask ourselves – What are we leaving for tomorrow’s generation…

Read more, if Wen Bo’s activities interest you:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1541358,00.html

http://pacificenvironment.org/article.php?id=3145

http://www.rnw.nl/english/video/green-legacy-beijing-olympics

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Freshta Mayar currently working as an Associate Director in Loan Capital Markets, Financial Institutions and is part of the Strategic Relationships and Dinstinguished Speakers Programme sub-committee for Women in Banking & Finance (UK), as well as a lead steering committee member of Ladies in Leverage (Australia). She has completed a double degree; Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Finance and Laws, where she was awarded a Dean’s Certificate from the Law Faculty and she won the JP Morgan prize for coming first in Applied Corporate Finance.  She dreams of a world where human beings appreciate the small doses of happiness and are driven by the most difficult challenges – no one should ever give up.

freshta.mayar.youthleader@gmail.com

Have you ever wanted to change, inspire or improve the world but just didn’t know how? There are a number of ways to do this; for example, you could invest your time in a global issue, including clean water, poverty and energy. Now if, at this point in the article, you are still unsure how to begin, I’ve already given you a NAME. Before you continue, have a look at their website: http://www.internationalrivers.org/

With International Rivers’ aid spreading across various parts of the world, including Latin America, China and Asian one can only wonder how such a phenomenal organisation came about. Well, it all starts with identifying a global issue that you wish to improve or change.

For all you change-makers, innovators and young soon-to-be leaders, I am sure you will want to take note of the information that I hope will satisfy your curious appetites. The following name will be one to remember: Katy Yan, the author of Protecting Rivers and Rights: The World Commission on Dams Recommendations in Action. As a current worker for International Rivers, she takes an interest in the world and its resources, as I am sure many of you also do.

In the words of Katy, “Our wellbeing is inextricably linked to the health of our natural resources.” She further states that, “In college, [she] … became increasingly interested in the nexus of energy, water, and poverty in Southeast Asia.” She echoes the values reflected in International Rivers: http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/mission

Of course with any initiative or activity you embark on there will always be difficulties. As this widely known yet understated phrase reinforces, “anything worth having is worth working extremely hard for”. As Katy expresses, “As a team, we face a number of challenges, including the sensitivity of the topics that we deal with (our website for instance is banned in China), the lack of transparency and information on particular projects, and balancing the needs of the different stakeholders with whom we work.” - Such challenges can make any person give up or feel defeated. However, we all must strive to overcome adversity and persist to improve the world through education.

Despite such challenges, Katy reinforces that, “Through this movement, we have seen the rate of large dam construction decrease over the years and the policies of traditional dam financiers improve.”

If your curious minds are still urging for more information, please visit the following website for more of their accomplishments: http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/1569.

Despite their successes, recent challenges have emerged in the form of new dam builders and financiers, such as China, Brazil and India. In the words of Katy, “Hydropower dams in particular are seeing resurgence as the hydropower industry and its allies try to promote large hydropower dams as a clean source of energy, while downplaying or ignoring the serious environmental and social costs of these massively ill-conceived projects.”

-How they will overcome this? As you read this, they are developing a set of policy and communication strategies that include increasing education and public awareness about why it is the wrong climate for damming rivers, and why humanity needs healthy rivers more than ever.

Like all of you reading this, Katy also has her own goals and future plans: “Environmental education is a critical long-term strategy for protecting our natural resources and developing the next generation of stewards for our environment and our rights.”

If you will take anything from this article, let it be passion to utilize your skills and interests to make not only yourself, but the world, a much safer, more just environment to live. After all, where would we be without organizations like International Rivers that have identified global issues, used the skills of its members and attempted to educate the world in order to make change? I am sure you already know the answer but I’d ask you not to wait any longer, click on the following link and get involved or simply learn more about our world:  http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/day-of-action

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Ada Onunkwo is a member of the Youth Advisory Group member of the National Maritime Museum and a volunteer for Epilepsy Action. She is determined to bring fascinating changes around in every possible way. And she chose YL magazine as, to her, it’s the most fascinating change-making platform.

ada.onunkwo.youthleader@gmail.com

 Please give a brief overview of your organization.

In January 1985, Backward Society Education (BASE) was founded as a pioneering movement to fight human exploitation within some of Nepal’s poorest communities. Under the leadership of Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary, a social activist and member of the indigenous Tharu community, a group of 34 youths raised 700 Nepali Rupees (USD 10) by performing cultural shows during the period of Maghi (Tharu New Year). The earnings were used to improve literacy within Tharu communities. Since the restoration of democracy in Nepal, 1990, BASE has continued to grow as a social movement and now boasts a membership of over 200,000 people. BASE fights against the social and political discrimination, illiteracy, and poverty of the Tharu people and other communities. Focused within eight districts in the mid- and far-western regions of Nepal, BASE aims to bring about transformation in the lives and outlook of marginalized people and their oppressors.

The origins of Backward Society Education (BASE) are to be found in a pioneering group of young activists who established the Charpate Club in January 1985.  It was during their traditional Tharu New Year meeting in the village of Dumrigaon in Dang that the thirty four young people, including our founder Dill Bahadur Chaudhary, gathered together to discuss the problem of kamaiya bonded labor.  After raising 700 rupees through cultural shows, the Charpate Club went on to become BASE in 1990, and to lead the fight against the exploitative kamaiya system which was finally abolished on 17 July 2000.  After this monumental event BASE continued to work for the education and rehabilitation of the freed-kamaiyas, as well as people from other marginalized communities.  BASE has received international recognition for its work, and Dilli Chaudhary has won many awards including the 1994 Reebok Human Rights Award and the 2002 Anti-Slavery Award.

BASE continues in its commitment to fight against illiteracy, poverty and social and political discrimination amongst all marginalized communities.  Our aim is to transform the outlook of downtrodden people as well as their oppressors.  We currently operate in eight districts in the mid and far western regions of Nepal, those being Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Salyan, Surkhet and Rukum.  However, we are now considering expanding our projects into other districts.  Our main areas of work include formal and non-formal education, ensuring and sustaining rights for freed-kamaiyas, livelihood support, child labor elimination, support for sustainable democracy, human rights violation monitoring, conflict mitigation, water and sanitation, environmental sustainability, disaster preparedness and response, infrastructure support, the protection and promotion of traditional and indigenous cultures, and support for children associated with armed groups.  BASE hires its staff primarily from the local communities of indigenous and marginalized people it serves, and in doing so it works to strengthen indigenous capabilities.  

CFV-members are in election que

BASE is not just an NGO but one of the largest social movements in South Asia.  We have a membership of over 200,000 people, of which about 29,000 are actively engaged in voluntary community work.  BASE’s membership is organized through a network of district committees, area committees, village committees, women’s awareness committees and youth awareness committees, all operating at their own respective level and in their own areas.  These grassroots committee members are democratically elected every five years, and they provide the strategies and ideas to keep BASE in touch with the current needs of our communities.  The committees also play a crucial role in monitoring and evaluation, troubleshooting, coordinating with national and international agencies, and communication and exposure of BASE in the diplomatic sphere.  The power of BASE’s membership is even further enhanced by hundreds of child clubs, women’s groups, income generation groups and other community organizations.

What is a “Child Friendly Village” actually?

It is possible to eliminate child labor through Child Friendly Villages. Rural areas and small villages are the primary sources of children who move to urban areas to work as child laborers. Hence, effective anti-child labor campaigns must focus on keeping children in their own villages, preventing them from going to work as child laborers and making the communities aware of the importance of education. Through the Child Friendly Village model, BASE has created child labor-free villages where freedom and the right to education are made available to all children. No exploitation of children and no discrimination among children will exist in these spaces.

CVF election

The Child Friendly Village (or Bal Mitra Gaun in Nepali) is a novel concept to make village child labor-free and to enroll all school-age children in school. The broader objective of the model is to achieve total elimination of child labor and universal access to education in Nepal.

 The following four core principles underpin the Child Friendly Village concept:

• No children should be forced to work as child laborers in such a way that prevents them from attaining a quality education.
• Poverty can be eradicated and social justice achieved through education. Therefore, all children should be enrolled in school.
• Receiving a quality education should be the highest priority for individual and community development. To achieve this end, all stakeholders, including children, parents, teachers, community members and government, should take responsibility for children’s development and education.
•  The human rights of children should be protected. All individuals, regardless of age, have the right to pursue their own happiness and achieve their highest potential through education.

And why “Child Friendly Village”?

There are thousands of children 6-16 years old, who have been sent away from their homes to work as child laborers and are not enrolled in school. These children can be further child laborers (children working in hotels/restaurants, shops, private homes, industries/mills and other sectors). They are also in high at-risk adolescents representing the poorest of the poor (POP). They are thousands of out-of-school children and even there are drop-out children in each village and communities in the maximum households.

Child Friendly Village seeks to create a village free from child labor by ensuring no village children are sent away from home to be child laborers and no children are employed in the village as child laborers. The CFV concept signifies the different joint with the line agencies along with BASE’s individual initiatives. The activities are rescue and rehabilitate child laborers and enroll all children in school. Similarly the concept aims to form a Child Assembly in all schools, thereby promoting the leadership potential of children and making them more responsible and capable of participating in decision making processes. Increasing the equal community participation among both men and women, thereby making them responsible for the education of all children and ensure 99% of the village members regularly gather together to discuss child labor and education initiatives, create an education fund and sharing ideas related to education are the emphasized initiatives and activities of CFV.

 How unique is this initiative?

The most prominent uniqueness of this concept is that the local people through the CFV committee, Child Club, Youth Club, Women Group and the Enforcement Committees themselves band the parents sending their children for child labor. In rural western Nepal parents send their kids for child labor instead of sending them to schools. Kids in the Child Clubs regularly updates about the concerns of even kids in their village, if they got some children have been sent out side for labor they dialogue with the parents and aware about the important of children’s rights and legal provisions, further if need, they register the legal cases against the Masters who has child labor.

Similarly the local leaders, VDC representatives, school management committees, community leaders and local communities entitled in the Child Friendly Village Committees. They all have to be committed to work for CR. The CFV members though they belongs to different sectors and agencies, they work from their sides and rise the CR issues.

Every Child Friendly Village Committees have established Education Fund through collecting the small money monthly from all the members and parents. They use the education for the poorest of the poor children for their education, which supports to send every kid in schools.

BASE has been working very effective with the local government (VDC), where BASE and VDC deposit the budget from both side and use the matching fund on the campaign of declaring the Child Friendly Villages. BASE provides the technical human resources to the local government and local VDC implements the program. Finally the local government submits the progress and financial report to BASE. Both parties recruit the human resources for the program. The model of working through the matching fund is one of the sustainable practices where the local political parties, local peoples and local government implement the program activities feeling ownership. Finally, after strengthening the local communities including CFV, Child Clubs, Youth Clubs, Women Group, and Enforcement Committee, BASE handover the CFV to the local community.

The part of community empowerment is also highly appreciable on the CFV concept. The members of the committees get different kinds of trainings on leadership and advocacy packages. The community people, local government and political parties get frequent national and international exposure visits.  

 What is the process for creation and declaration of a Child Friendly Village?

• Village identification: BASE identifies a potential CFV village by prioritizing those villages that are located in remote areas; that according to existing data and information from BASE networks have high numbers of child laborers, drop-outs and out-of-school children; and that demonstrate a high level of positive community activity.
• Village interest identification: BASE organizes meetings with community members to identify village interests.
• Survey: BASE conducts a baseline and need assessment survey.
•  Contact VDC: BASE initiates contact with the Village Development Committee (VDC), and community members, stakeholders and VDC members discuss the formation of the CFV Committee and Child Club.
•  Formation of CFV and child clubs: The Child Friendly Village Committee and Child Club are formed. CFV Committee and Child Club members participate in BASE capacity development training.
•  Capacity development training: An Enforcement Committee is formed for the purpose of enforcing education standards and linking the village to the local government. Lobbying and networking with all stakeholders
•  Formation of enforcement committee: Parents, CFV Committee, Child Club, BASE, and other community groups collaborate to rescue child laborers and rehabilitate them by ensuring they enroll in school.
•  Rescue and rehabilitation: BASE hands the management of the CFV over to the VDC. The VDC ensures the sustainability of the CFV, monitors the village activity, and provides additional support. The VDC also supports the CFV with mass mobilization, communication, and information dissemination.
•  Hand over to VDC and replication: Ultimately, it is the VDC‟s responsibility to replicate the CFV concept in other villages so Nepal can meet the “Education for All” MDG.

How the community is being mobilized and involved in the process?

The community mobilization part is one of the incredible initiatives of this concept. The altogether results of the concept depends on the part of community mobilization therefore there is a unique sequence of mobilizing different levels and groups of communities as well as the stakeholders and state actors. For the separate and strong mobilization and engagement of the different groups and communities, the concept forms the different committees and determines their roles and responsibilities.

First the concept creates the Child Friendly Village Committee in the villages comprising children their parents, local leaders, local politicians, stakeholders, social workers, community members, school management committees and teachers. The organization provides different kinds of trainings including leadership development, advocacy, community mobilization/engagement, coordination and collaboration. The committee becomes highly responsible on mobilizing the local peoples, clubs, women groups, political leaders, local traditional leaders and state actors. The committee’s major role is to be responsible for children’s freedom and education. Similarly the committee is also responsible to rescue and rehabilitation of child laborers and ensures all children are enrolled in school. The committee is also responsible on coordinating with various groups for the rights of children and generating dialogue with parents and employers about the illegality of child labor. Establishing the Education Fund to provide assistance to poor children so they can attend school and purchase materials such as school uniform, books and supplies is one of the prominent and sustainable parts of the concept. The committee also conducts regular meetings and coordinates and implements the local community development projects on supports of different stakeholders and state sectors.

Child Club also formed in each village with the primary purpose of providing a forum for children to advocate for their rights. Through a Child Parliament, officers of the Child Club are elected. There is a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Joint-Secretary, Treasurer, and five executive members. Any child may be a member of the Child Club.  Representatives of Child Clubs attend inter-district Child Assemblies to share information, learn from each other and develop their leadership skills. The Child Clubs amplifies the voices of children in promoting quality education and equal rights for all. It also assists the CFV in the rescue and rehabilitation of child laborers. Similarly the Child Clubs also coordinates with other local bodies including the CFV Committee, School Management Committees, VDC and other institutions and ensures the interests of children are represented in government agendas and policy.

 Enforcement Committee: The nine-member committee is comprised of members representing each of the following groups: teachers, community volunteers, CFV Committee, Child Club, Women’s Group, Youth Club, male intellectuals, female intellectuals, and Badghars (a traditional Tharu leader). BASE forms the Enforcement Committee with the roles and responsibilities of building the linkage with the local government. The role of the committee is also to enforce education standards.t of Child Friendly Village Program.

The concept emphasizes the strong mobilization of Youth Clubs in the local level. BASE forms the Youth Clubs or engage the existing youth clubs and strengthens their capacity and mobilize them in the campaign of CFV.  The clubs advocates the children’s rights and provide them guidance. They also generate effective dialogue with parents, community and local government. Similarly the Women Group’s also generate awareness of human rights and helps children to realize their rights. They are responsible for supporting children’s education and they also provide guidance to the children and child clubs. They manage fund for education and other village development projects.

 So far how many villages have been declared as Child Friendly Village?

BASE has declared 233 villages as the Child Friendly Villages of five districts of western Nepal. The CFVs were formed and highly empowered on the Child Rights (CR), after the long process and duration, the villages have been declared as the Child Friendly Villages. Now the every child is going to the school and all the child labors have been rescued. The trend of sending the children for labor have been stopped in the villages, either the villages were the focused sources for child labor for the urban area. In total 481 child labors have been rescued through the CFV and rehabilitated in their family. Most of the rescued children were sheltered in the BASE’s transit center before their rehabilitation in their own community and family. The rescued children are now regularly going to the schools from their own house.

The initiatives of the CFV have highly generated awareness in the local communities. The local people are outstandingly sensitized on CR and have become very sincere towards the bright future of their children. Each CFV committees, Child Clubs, Youth Clubs, Women Groups, Enforcement Committees themselves have stopped the children going out on child labor. Even the committees have been supporting economically to the deprived children for their schooling. They themselves dialogues with the concerned parents and Masters (who keep child labor) to combat child labor. The committees also dialogue with the schools to build the access of at-risk children’s for their education and child rights.

The children have been become aware on their child rights. They now can dialogue with their parents and local state actors as well as with the schools to reduce the child rights violations and abuses. The relation in between the local children their parents and the schools as well as the political parties and schools have become smooth where they discuss and interact about the problems amongst.

One of the most prominent and unique part of the BASE’s CFV is that, BASE has been working on a concept with the 15 Village Development Committees (Local State of Nepal) through creating the matching/basket fund where the VDC and BASE collaboratively develops the operational plan and implements the CFV initiatives in the community. The process of working through the matching fund has becoming one of the sustainable models for social development. BASE and VDCs creates the matching fund, where both parties collects the huge money for CFV and with their joint understanding they both implements the activities where BASE has been providing the technical experts and other human resources to the VDCs and VDC has been directly organizing all the program initiatives.

 How did you design the sustainability of the initiatives?

The CFV’s initiatives and its designations are a kind of collaborative ventures with the local communities including BASE, CFV committee, Child Clubs, Youth Clubs and Enforcement Committees. BASE highly emphasis on the joint planning of the CFV initiatives with the local community through the direct engagement and meaningful participation of CFVs. Community base direct opportunities comes from the local concerned communities to BASE and BASE simultaneously organized the planning meetings with the local people.

BASE strengthens the capacity of the local community on coordination and collaboration with the local state sectors. BASE priorities the local communities and their direct involvement on the local development with the collaboration of VDC, social sectors and local CBOs focusing on the children’s rights and issues. Local people (CFV) even design their further planning with the technical support of BASE’s representatives.

Similarly BASE has been directly working with local VDCs through creating the match fund on CFV. BASE signifies and has adopted the local VDC’s system of activity selection, program designation by the local communities for their ward. The local people develop a kind of program with the maximum participation and submit it to the VDC and VDC finalizes the activities concerning the budget and actual demand of the local communities.

 How has the journey been so far? What progress do you see around?

BASE has adopted the concept from Bachpan Bachao Aandolan (BBA), Delhi India. The frequent visits to BBA from BASE representatives and volunteers inspired us to replicate the concept in Nepal. BASE personals learned more from BBA on CFV.

Having a mutual understanding among BASE and BBA, BBA India provided the technical experts to BASE to organize official trainings for BASE staff.

After developing the CFV perfect personals, BASE started to replicate the concept in Nepal. First BASE started to work in the concept with the financial support from Banyan Tree Foundation (BTF) USA. First BASE initiated the concept in few districts with few budget. Later on BASE succeeded to rise the funding from Embassy of Netherlands and BTF again enlarge the working area and extended the concept in 5 districts with 223 Child Friendly Villages. Now BASE has the experts on CFV concept and BASE is further trying to replicate the concept and trying to apply with the different development partners and agencies.

Now BASE has been working with Nepal Government’s “Child Friendly Local Governance” concept being a strategic partner of UNICEF in Dang. Nepal Government has also started to work on the same kinds of concept where BASE has supporting on designing the different initiatives.  

Altogether now the 233 CFVs are child labor free and every kid are going school regularly. Children are united in Child Clubs and dialogues if need. The relation between BASE and local government has good relationship amongst. Parents have become very sincere on children’s rights.

All the committees including, CFV, Child Clubs, Youth Clubs, Enforcement Committees and Women Groups adopt democratic system of election while selecting the members.

 What is the broader goal behind this initiative?

In a very broader way, CFV concept aims to do the holistic development of every child in the communities. The bases of the concept are the children’s; rights of live, rights of protection, rights of development and rights of participation. With these core terms the concept identifies the program activities to build the every child’s access on their child rights.

Finally CFV concept seeks to create; child labor free community, child exploitation free communities, access of every child in school and all children should be going school, schools should be very sincere towards the children’s right to education, all the parents should be aware and enthusiastic to send their kids to school. There should be simultaneous dialogues between the child clubs and local stake-holders. Children should be leading their affairs with the stakeholders. There should the meaningful participation of children in decision making bodies and places regarding the children’s concerns.

It’s an example of excellent piece of work for the children. This will lead us to a better world where every child could enjoy their rights and lead a dignified life. The society, i.e., the world will develop as whole by getting a well equipped generation. Now, this is the time for us to take off the model to translate it in other places of the world.

 You are welcome to contact of BASE for further information:

 Backward Society Education (BASE)

Central Project Office

Tulsipur Municipality Ward No: 6, Rajaura, Dang Nepal

Direct contact: +977-82-520055

Fax contact: +977-82-522212

Email: info@nepalbase.org

Website: www.nepalbase.org

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Sheikh Khairul Rahaman. This Social worker aspires to be a ‘Master Piece’ in the development sector. A member of “Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage-Santiniketan Chapter” Khairul wants a ‘just world’ where each one will have equal rights and opportunities to grow. Currently he is doing his Phd and wishes to deliver his knowledge to the generation who are entering in this world.  khairul.sheikh@gmail.com

World's Children's Prize 2011 in Sweden

The statistics show there are more attacks here than anywhere else in the world, but that may only be because Bangladesh documents its cases more thoroughly than other countries. The Acid Survivors Foundation meticulously documents every case it finds. In 2005, the organization claims there were 211 recorded incidents involving 267 victims. That is significantly less than the 487 people hurt in 2002, the worst year on record.

In 2005, 178 women and 89 men were attacked with acid. Fifty-three children under the age of 18 were among the injured, many because they were sleeping next to the intended victim. The most frequent motive for the attack was a dispute about land, property, or money (46 percent), followed by crimes related to rejection or refusal of love, sex or marriage (15 percent), marital disputes (12 percent), disputes within the family (10 percent), and dowry disputes (5 percent).

I really admired her energy and effort to fight for others. She has worked ceaselessly to provide free medical and legal assistance to victims and to turn the shameful secret of acid violence into an urgent social and governmental problem. And she has succeeded in many cases. Her work began after she was hired by the Canadian International Development Agency in 1998 as part of the team that set up the foundation; she became director in 2002. Her work is so successful that, if you were to ask anyone you meet in Bangladesh today and they will tell you what to do in case of an acid attack. You immediately douse the victim with water.

A victim

They know because they have seen the TV spots in which bystanders immediately drench a screaming woman with water after a young man throws acid into her face because she rejected his advances. Many Bangladeshis also know that there is a hospital in Dhaka, the capital city, where acid survivors can receive free medical treatment and legal assistance and that a telephone hotline is available to connect them with these services. They know that there are new tougher laws against acid crimes. It is a public awareness that has been created through countless posters, brochures, radio announcements, TV spots, newspaper articles, theater performances, and public rallies.

In the days before the Acid Survivors Foundation, most people did not know what to do when an attack occurred. Medical facilities in the countryside, where more than 90 percent of the population lives and most of the attacks take place, are sparse and poorly equipped. Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) in the capital has the only burn unit in the country and at the time the foundation began its work, it had only eight beds. Even if an acid victim actually made it to the hospital in the hours or days after the attack, care was poor and the survivor quickly found that the necessary reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation was far beyond the means of the poor rural victims.

The acid victim, most often a woman, found herself grotesquely disfigured, perhaps blind, deaf, or disabled in other ways. She could no longer work or study, not only because of her disabilities, but because of the massive disgrace she was often perceived to have brought upon her family. It was widely believed that the woman had provoked the attack herself by her flirtatious behavior or unseemly outspokenness. A single woman would have no chance of ever finding a husband and would remain an eternal burden on her family. The life of a married woman was many times even worse. Not only would she have to continue living with the perpetrator, but also in many cases, her children would refuse to have any further contact with her. Furthermore, the perpetrator would rarely be punished or even charged. The legal case against the perpetrator, if it was filed at all, would be confounded by inept police investigation, high legal fees, time-consuming proceedings and corruption in the courts. A judge could also easily be bought off. 

Much has changed since the establishment of the Acid Survivors Foundation. The organization now has a 40-bed hospital solely devoted to treating victims of acid attacks. There, it provides free comprehensive medical care, including burn treatments, nursing, plastic surgery, physical therapy and psychotherapy. The Bangladesh Ministry of Health has been working closely with the group in this effort and has expanded the DMCH burn unit to 50 beds. The foundation also provides free legal advice and assistance. Many survivors are helped to pursue vocational training or education. Taken together, these programs are helping to rehabilitate victims and to more easily reintegrate them into their families and communities. Nevertheless, the road to recovery is not easy and many acid survivors never fully recover from their physical and psychological scars.

World's Children's Prize Laureates for 2011

The organization also places a major emphasis on preventing attacks. The foundation worked closely with the government to pass new and tougher laws against sales of acid and attacks. Unfortunately, laws alone are not able to stop the crimes — after all, a diluted form of sulfuric acid can be found in any car battery. The law has, however, sped up the amount of time it takes to get attackers into the dock. It took three to four years to complete a case on trial in the past. Now it takes around one year.

One big problem for the organization is that most of the attacks are happening in rural areas. The organization is now working to train community level organizations — groups that understand the local situation and can react quickly. There are currently 10 local partner organizations and another 200 have applied to work with the foundation. Indeed, the Acid Survivors Foundation has set in motion a social movement. I hope she will continue to gain support from the government and international organizations. So that acid violence will be less in Bangladesh and other parts of the world.

Wherever you are, whatever you do, please help the acid victims:

http://www.acidsurvivors.org/how_to_help.html

Facebook Monira, know her up close:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Monira-Rahman/145099265515071 

Additional Links:

 http://worldschildrensprize.org/monirarahman – World’s Children Prize on Monira Rahman

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monira_Rahman – Short bibliography of Monira

 http://www.acidsurvivors.org/  – Monira’s organization official website

 http://www.global-sisterhood-network.org/content/view/806/59/ – Acid attacks in Bangladesh

 http://www.bangladeshonline.de/news6.html – News on acid attacks

 http://www.hatcherscene.com/2011/05/worlds-childrens-prize-laureate-monira_19.html – Monira

 http://www.wunrn.com/news/2008/01_08/12_31_07/123107_acid.htm  – News on acid attacks

 http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Monira-Rahman-Fights-for-Life-Free-of-Violence–70524267.html  – News on Monira’s contribution

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Pitchada Jindasataporn.  Adventure-loving Pitchada is an Operation Assistant. ‘Think more about what you make happen than what happens to you’ this belief leads her to YL magazine. And she will be with YL as long as it takes.

pitchada.youthleader@gmail.com

Taking the street

One would assume that these challenges would deter the foreign skateboarders who arrived in Kabul in 2007, but to our greatest astonishment, they were able to achieve much more than that. They started with just three skateboards and today they’ve got a skate school and an indoor skate’s facility and a team of extraordinary  international volunteers in over 14 countries, who act as instructors and function in numerous other areas!

These amazing organizations have used skating as an empowerment tool to reaching out to young Afghan youths, breaking social barriers and educating them on making decisions on issues that affect them.

Look! Its a girl skating on the street!

It sounds unbelievable, right? You bet! But Skateistan Afghanistan made it believable, who ever thought skating could be used as an empowerment tool? Skateistan Aghanistan did, and today they have been able to bring about tremendous changes in the lives of Afghan youths, creating a sport where it has never existed before, creating bonds that cut across social barriers, giving meaning in a war torn society and raising youths who have a voice.

Watch this!

Their skating school is a co-educational institution that combines skating and other educational facilities, children from different ethnicity and socio-economic background come together to learn, 40% of the students are girls in a society that is gender biased yet Skateistan Afghanistan using Skateboarding as a tool, have brought these young Afghans together to learn and to build trust and promote unity among them regardless of their differences.

Boys on the go

 Look what they’ve achieved lately!

“Skateistan is honoured to announce that one of our photos has been voted Peace and Sport “Image of the Year”. The photo was taken by Jake Simkin on June 21 2011, during Go Skateboarding Day in Kabul. It shows just a few of the 200+ Afghan girls and boys who marked that day by taking to the city streets to celebrate their sport, their culture, and their future.

According to Peace and Sport, over 5,000 people voted to elect the winning image. Joel Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, announced: “This picture is particularly outstanding. It tells us better than a thousand words that sport is a universal language understood by children around the world, capable of building bridges for understanding and friendship between peoples…” He stated that this photo shows how skateboarding, “acts as a genuine vehicle for peace education, as well as encouraging gender equality and inter-cultural understanding in Afghanistan.”

Jesse Chilton, International Instructor shares with us how Skateistan Afghanistan has been able to achieve this within a short period of time!

Jess

Youth Leader: Hi Jesse, we are honored for your participation in the Youth Leader Magazine. First, what is your role in skateistan?

Jesse: I arrived in Kabul in June 2011 and my role is as Media Coordinator and International Instructor.

 Youth Leader: How did skateistan start?

Jesse: Two Australian skateboarders bought their boards to Kabul in 2007 when they traveled here for work. As soon as they started skating in public, they were surrounded by the eager faces of children of all ages who wanted to be shown how to skate. Using the three boards they had with them, they developed a small skate school at the Mecroyan Fountain and at other spots around the city.

A group of older Afghan youth (aged 18-22) also shared the three boards to progress quickly in their new favorite sport—and so skateboarding hit Afghanistan. The founders’ success with their first students prompted them to think bigger: by bringing more boards back to Kabul and establishing an indoor skateboarding venue, they would be able to teach many more youth, and also be able to provide older girls with a private facility to continue skateboarding.

On October 29, 2009, Skateistan completed construction of an indoor skatepark and educational facility on 5,428 square meters of land donated by the Afghan National Olympic Committee.

Skate park

 Youth Leader: What challenges did you (Skateistan) face?

Jesse: Skateistan has faced challenges in growing from a small street project to a major Afghan NGO with extensive indoor facilities. There were challenges one might expect from working in a war-torn country, such as raising the necessary funds and sourcing specialist equipment. All of these were overcome with time and a lot of hard work.

However, it was also a struggle to convince people of the seriousness and potential of the project. While it was obvious to Skateistan’s founders and original students that skating was a powerful tool for empowering youth, others literally had to see it to believe it.

 Youth Leader: What are the success rates of your projects?

Jesse: One of our greatest successes is our balanced mix of students. The young people who use Skateistan’s facilities represent every ethnicity and socio-economic strata of Afghan society. Furthermore, approximately 40% of our registered students are female, which is a very rare achievement.

Every child who comes to Skateistan can learn at their own pace and participate in creative and sporting activities that most interest them as an individual. Everything we do is student-led. In this sense, we can say that we have a 100% success rate, as our method of working ensures that each child is having fun and realizing his or her own potential.

Youth Leader: How did you overcome all odds?

Jesse: From the outset, Skateistan has been a grassroots of ‘bottom-up’ organization. This means it operates solely according to what its young students want and need. This has been the key to our success.

Skating class for physically challenged youngsters

Youth Leader: What are your (skateistan) future plans?

Jesse: Next year, Skateistan will open a facility in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan. It will be twice the size of the Kabul skatepark and will take the sport to hundreds more Afghan youth. Skateistan also has a project developing with great success in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Bilal in contest

We will continue working according to our simply yet powerful mission statement, which is to use skateboarding as a tool for empowerment, in a place that it hasn’t existed before, to give young people a voice, and to give local people agency to shape projects according to need. The organization is very excited about what the future holds.

If you are passionate about positive change, if you’re a sports lover who is interested in exporting this sport to places where it doesn’t exist or if you wanna donate, please visit:

 www.skateistan.org

http://www.skateistanthemovie.com/

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/world/jan-june11/skateistan_06-15.html

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Damilola Balogun is a graduate of English and Education; loves putting smiles on the faces of people and she is an ardent lover for positive change. Hence, she is a volunteer with youth leader magazine. She loves playing volleyball, reading, arts and designing. She is currently pursuing a career in graphics designing. She believes in the power of self discovery as a tool towards utilizing our potentials.

damilola.balogun.youthleader@gmail.com

YL volunteer Sarah has the rocking news for you!

Inside the multi-ethnic city of Kabul also known as the regional cultural capital, an underground concert rocked the grounds of a country facing decades of violence and uproar starting from the late 1970s and eventually the Taliban takeover. Many of us might not even consider it an issue especially where countries organize concerts and music festivals time to time but not for Afghanistan, where musicians have to struggle for life,  beaten up, music stores being attacked just a decade ago under Taliban Rule.

In this contrast, we should remember that Afghanistan itself bears a traditional musical heritage, birthplace of Ustads and of course classic musical forms like Sufi songs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Afghanistan). Having music in the adrenaline it is clear enough that igniting and revitalizing their musical spirits is all they need.

So, with this spirit and vibe Sound Central (http://www.soundcentralfestival.com/), run by an Australian news photographer, Travis Beard who visited Afghanistan 5 years ago took this dauntless initiative of  organizing a musical festival after three decades. As the organizer, Travis Beard retorted, “The real, bottom-line aim of this festival is to ignite youth to be interested in modern music”.

“What we are trying to do is to expose them to new kinds of music so they can get into those styles of music, and also just start playing music. Hopefully we’ll get some kids saying: ‘Hey this is really cool! Dad, can I get a drum set?’ or ‘Mum, can I get a guitar?’,” Beard added.

They do believe that with the thriving voices of the local Afghan bands like Kabul Dreams along with bands from Australia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the young Afghans will be more inspired to bring forth their musical heritage.

Therefore, here we go, a slight taste of Afghan music, to let you know how compassionate they are about their food for the soul.

Photo courtesy-
http://www.carbonated.tv/news/first-afghan-concert-in-30-years
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Afghanistan

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Sarah is an optimistic girl with an all-smiles face has always believed in passion and fortune. Studying Electrical and Electrical Engineering (EEE), she is also engaged in various co-curricular activities like writing articles, reading books, painting, playing guitar and swimming. She believes that youth with their tremendous positive power can recreate the harmony among the people of the world which has now turned into  cacophony.

sarah.chowdhury.youthleader@gmail.com

YL volunteer Nikesh brings the story:

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This is how this AMAZING WAY OF CHARITY takes place…
Celebrated TV host Leon Logothetis is on a long cab ride NOW that started from New York and the final destination being Los Angeles. On the way, while fetching many US cities, Leon will hitch a ride to many people. “The total amount on the meter from each city will be donated to a local school to help them buy books through ClassWish, a nonprofit organization”, Leon shares his intention behind the trip.

Leon’s Interview on his last US Trip on $5 a day:

When I went through the link of an article about this wonderful travel for a wonderful cause, I was flat-out impressed with the whole idea. I tried to connect with Leon through e-mail, facebook and twitter and viola! I was successful through all three options. He is always on the wheels but he responded me no matter what. Isn’t that cool?!

Let’s Break Ice with Leon…
Leon Logothetis is a UK-based television host, traveler and author. At present, he lives in Los Angeles. He is a globetrotter as well. His passion for traveling has taken him all around the world and he considers Nepal, Mongolia, Gallup New Mexico and the Galapagos Island as the most exotic places he has visited.
Logothetis previously traveled across the United States on just $5 a day for National Geographic’s 2006 series Amazing Adventures of a Nobody, which aired in more than 100 countries. His book with the same title and on the same content has recently released.

Note down the Schedule (for readers from the US)…
Friends joining us from the US! You could call 323-450-5386 to schedule a cab ride with Leon when he is in your city.
Leon has already made it to New York for the ride. So, he will continue the trip from Washington DC on 26^th October. Below is the list of his destinations with date:
New York – October 24
Washington, D.C. – October 26
Cincinnati – October 28
Indianapolis – October 29
Chicago – October 31
St. Louis – November 3
Denver – November 7
Santa Fe – November 9
Phoenix – November 11
Las Vegas – November 12
Los Angeles – November 14
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I truly support Leon for his wonderful trip for a good cause. I am sure he has inspired all of us. It makes me feel much proud as he recalls my country, Nepal as an exotic location in the long list of places he has traveled. Besides, he told me that he will visit Nepal again and ride a cab with me    
 

For biography, pictures and many more: www.leonlogothetis.com
Official Website of ‘The Kindness Cab’: www.thekindnesscab.com
His book ‘Amazing Adventures of a Nobody’ on Amazon site: www.amazon.com/Amazing-Adventures-Nobody-Leon-Logothetis/dp/098430813X
Website of ‘ClassWish’, the organization with partnership of which Leon is doing this charity: www.classwish.org

Leon is absolutely SOCIAL!
www.facebook.com/leonlogothetis
www.twitter.com/leonlogothetis (Hashtag: #TheKindnessCab)
E-mail: leon@shanklyproductions.com
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Photo Courtesies: Official Site of Leon Logothetic, Leon’s Facebook page & profile

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Nikesh Thapaliya. Media person, entertainment lover and  a world record holder Nikesh’s vision for the world is “Start from yourself if you want to see the world change.” He wants to see humanity grow more in the world. nikesh.thapaliya.youthleader@gmail.com

The Activism Award was established in 2011 to honor the International Brigades and all those who fought against fascism during the Spanish Civil War by connecting that legacy with international activist causes today, in particular the defense of human rights.

The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) is a non-profit educational organization that promotes public awareness, research and discussion related to that war and its historical, political, artistic and biographical significance. ALBA has also preserved and cataloged the letters, pamphlets, posters, writings and photographs of the period.

The Award will be presented at an official ceremony in New York in the spring of 2012.  A $100,000 cash award will be given to the laureate individual or organization to support his/her ongoing work on the area of Human Rights Activism.

The Puffin Foundation Ltd. works towards supporting the artistic expression by providing grants to artists and art organizations that are often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their race, gender, or social philosophy.

Selection Criteria

The selection committee consists of a panel with representation from the Puffin Foundation, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives and an Honorary Committee.  Special consideration will be given this year to individuals or organizations working in the area of protection of civilians in armed conflict.

Last date for submission of nominations is September 30, 2011

How to Apply:

Interested candidates may send an email quoting in the subject line:  “ALBA-Puffin Award for HR Activism, 2012” to   info@alba-valb.org by 30 September 2011.  The application should include the following information:

1.      Name of the individual(s) or organization to be nominated;

2.      Nominee’s contact information, website, etc.;

3.      Name of the nominating individual(s) or organization;

4.      Nominator’s contact information, website, etc. ;

5.      Justification for the nomination (300 words max.);

The selection committee consists of a panel with representation from the Puffin Foundation, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives and an Honorary Committee.  Special consideration will be given this year to individuals or organizations working in the area of protection of civilians in armed conflict.

More information on the First ALBA-Puffin International Award for Human Rights Activism here

For more information and details, you can visit this link.