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Archives for May 2016

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Help us create more Jyotis…

Bundelkhand is one among the most backward drought affected area in the state of Uttar Pradesh due to which seasonal migration is common from here. This in turn has led to children dropping out of school in this region.

In the patriarchal Bundelkhand society, it is preferred that girls are least educated as compared to boys. The region also has other challenges like child labour, migration, caste and gender based discrimination as far as girl child education is concerned. Infrastructural hindrance like non availability of female teacher and non-availability of functional girls’ toilets has also been forcing majority of the girls to drop out early from school.

If we want to remove discrimination from the society, first of all we have to educate the people, that enable them to understand their rights and various opportunities prevailing in the economic environment and different health related aspects.

For the past three years Oxfam and its partner organization has been working in Hamirpur district of Bundelkhand region. Efforts are focused towards establishing an improved quality of education in schools.

‘Child Collective’ is an initiative that has been started here in this region where the children of child collective are tracking all those children who have dropped out, counselling their parents with the help of School Management Committees & teachers and bringing them back into school. In the class room, they are helping out of school children to attain age and grade appropriate learning level.

Children of child collectiveare taking up issues to teachers and parents wherein teachers acts as facilitators and involve children in activity based learning.On the other hand parents prepare school development plan which supports teachers by facilitating child learning with locally available teaching and learning material. This process helps the teachers to track the implementation of Right to Education act, raise issues at Panchayat, district and state level and conduct social audit for greater transparency.

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Ten strong child collectives have been developed with girls’ leading the collective. A perfect example of this project is child collective of Primary School Bada Lewaled by 11 year old Dalit girl Jyoti. She has been able to increase enrollment and improve the condition of her school through her leadership. With the collaborative effort of Parents, children and teachers, two schools have become fully ‘Right to Education’ compliant.

NGO based in Hamirpur has collectivised civil society organizations of seven Bundelkhand districts under collective forum of ‘Bundelkhand Shiksha Ka Adhikar’forum to strengthen Right to Education grievance redressal system. Oxfam and its partner has also contributed to the development of School management committee and teachers training module, school development program(SDP) format and RTE state rules in UP.

Jyoti is the beacon of education in her village. But, lakhs of children in India are yet to enter a school. Help us create more Jyotis’ to brighten the future of India

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“Being physically active is not enough, it has to be balanced with good nutrition”

anand krishnamurthy

From 1000k steps to 15000 steps daily is no mean task for someone who has had a very inactive lifestyle both at home and at work. He was overweight and realised it’s becoming a cause for concern. He, therefore, took efforts to implement a lifestyle change. And, soon realised how much of a significant difference it has had on his life. His outlook towards life has changed for the better and he has started looking at Life more positively.Let’s here Anand’s story in his own words.

I have a typical corporate job and as with all corporate guys, my life was pretty inactive. All I would do is sit on the chair through the day when in office and not travelling. I was quite aware of my problem and therefore was looking for something to get an active lifestyle. I was looking for something that came with an expert advice.

I went through the reviews of various fitness trackers that were available in the market such as the likes of Fitbit. Then I came across GOQii and what I really like about the GOQii device is that there is someone with whom we can chat or share our concerns to figure if we are on the right track or not.

Earlier, whenever I approached a fitness expert all I got was a list of things to do and then you are on your own. I had no clue whether I was doing the exercises right, whether I was eating right etc. As compared to this, I found GOQii to be significantly different from other fitness trackers. At GOQii, you have a coach who will help decipher the date that is clocked on the device and explain what it means.

The coach helps you to change few habits to bring about a lifestyle change, the food habits get regularised etc., and all these make a difference.

Initially, when I came on board GOQii in October 2015, my goal was to lose weight (I was around 109kgs) and get slimmer and fitter but, in the last 3-4 months, I would say my entire lifestyle has changed from what it used. I was looking at reducing slowly but, ended up reducing a lot more than what I had targeted. I actually have reduced around 9 and a half kilos. I am at around 99 KGs currently.

I am also super active now. From barely being able to walk 1000 steps a day that too with great difficulty, currently, I hit about 12,000 to 15,000 steps a day. And most of that is clocked through the first few hours of my run or walk in the morning.

What I have learnt from my experience is that just being physically active is not enough, it has to be balanced with good food intake. I am more conscious of what I eat. I am consuming fruits as well  and there is also more focus on proteins. I have started consuming a lot more vegetables and lots more chapattis and fruits during the week.

All those small changes that I have made has had a positive impact on me. And, at the same time, I didn’t give up on anything that I was enjoying. Once in a while, I am allowed to indulge and I can confess to my coach that I did not follow her rule. She motivates me quite a bit. She gives me lots of chances to get back on track which has really helped me.

More than the weight loss, it’s about how active I have got. The food that I eat keeps me energetic through the day unlike earlier when I used to feel sluggish and was unproductive at work. Now it’s no more like that. My outlook towards life has changed because of my lifestyle change.

I have realised, you can run 15 km and also lose 15 kilos of weight but, all of this does not matter if you don’t follow a good lifestyle. Now, I also take enough rest, sleep well and I am able to do a lot more work. And on weekends, I used to kind of slow down but now not so much. I compensate with more running and more activities on a weekend which kind of helped me bring in the balance. It is kind of mix of a lot of things.

If I have to rate GOQii, I would rate the coaching piece 10 out of 10 because the coach actually helps you change your lifestyle which is one of the toughest things to do. We talk about lifestyle change but, it’s only when you implement it do you realise how much of a significant difference it has had on your life. For me, my outlook towards life has changed for the better and I have started looking at life more positively. I am also more energetic through the day and that has helped me in my relationships both at home and at work.

My coach Priya has really helped me a lot. She has been a good listener and has been able to understand my routine, my schedule when I travel and has accordingly helped me to adapt change.  I believe that ‘One size fits all does not work’.

People around me have been surprised with the changes they see in me. They find me lighter and positive. Personally, too positive outlook towards life is really helping me in terms of being more productive at work and overall it has made me happy in life. 

What does Coach Priya Goel have to say about her player Anand Krishnamurthy?

Anand was excited and determined when he joined Goqii. His main goal was to shed his extra kilos and become fit and active. He wants to run in marathons but, did not know how to go about his diet and activity pattern. Because of his hectic work schedule and foreign trips he was not able to continue with his workout regime.

So we have decided some health goals that will be convenient for him to achieve.

Goals were-

  1. Time interval training for 1 hour
  2. Pre and post workout snacks
  3. Water intake should be more than 3 litres.
  4. Include more protein in the diet.

Anand followed every goal very precisely and diligently and the result was there for everyone to see. Today, he runs 5 km in 30 minutes and has progressed to running 10 km in one hour. He has lost 9.5 kg weight and inches too.  It was his sheer determination that helped him reach his goals.

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“Little changes in lifestyle will help you live smart “

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He is part of the senior management in an automotive company. He travels 14 days a month and his works long hours that sometimes stretches into late nights. He tried to manage and fit into a workout regime twice or three a week but could not be regular. At 52, he wanted to change his lifestyle but ,was unable to do it on his own. He needed an external stimuli……and guess what he found it and today he is active and has learnt to eat and live smart……let us hear Bharatendu Kapoor’s story in his own words….

I head the spare parts business of a Mumbai-based automotive company and my job involves procurement of spare parts for all our projects and supply spare parts to all the auto divisions including truck and buses division. My work also involves travel for about 12 to 14 days in a month and long hours on a daily basis.

This daily routine and constant travel led him to adopt irregular food habits. I would never have food at the right time. However, I would try and work out twice or thrice a week for about half hour to 40 minutes. I was not regular though with the workouts and the days were not fixed.Sometimes I would go for walks but again it was not very regular.

Such was my irregular routine for several years. Then one day in November 2015, through an engagement program my company bought 200 GOQii bands. I was one among the 200 employees who got the band and my journey with GOQii started.

GOQii was a boon in disguise. I am 52 years old and I was going through this thought process of wanting to change my lifestyle, considering the job I do. Given my age and lack of understanding about exercise and nutrition, I sure needed an external stimulus to help me through this. And, GOQii was the answer.

The best part of GOQii is the coach who you can interact with on a daily basis. The coach is the external stimuli that helped me. The coach guided me on my lifestyle, nutrition, sleep etc. Sheetal, helped me make small changes and disciplined me in my eating habits. I am very conscious now of what I eat, how much I eat. It has been a wonderful experience for me in the last 5 months .

Lots of other improvements also came within me. My water intake that was very less has increased considerably. I have an alarm system that reminds me to drink water every hour.

Initially, when I started, the first month was tough and tiring for me to adjust to the new kind of fitness regime and making lifestyle changes. Eventually, as days passed I got used to it, I diligently started following the routine. I went for my regular daily walks, met my daily step target, slept well and hydrated well.

The most interesting aspect is that the results are evident and the changes were visible. I lost 6 kgs and about 3 inches. Such positive results keep you motivated. The result prompted me to refrain from using the elevator and instead take the flight of steps in Office and this has become a daily habit for me.

Believe me, when I say this that I have never been happier with myself. My main health goal when I started on GOQii was to lose 8 kgs and after 5 months I lost 6 kgs which are a great achievement for me and my coach.

If I reflect back into the 6 months prior to GOQii, the changes are very little. I have not done anything drastic. But, I have learnt how to live smart and eat smart and become more energetic. Instead of sitting on the chair throughout the day like I used to do earlier while in Office, I started walking after every two hours. So just change a little and that’s the trick.

Before using GOQii band I was barely walking 2500 to 3000 steps after I got the band I set for myself a goal of 10000 steps daily and in the last three months, I have been easily crossing 15K steps on a daily basis.  Walking and exercises have become part of daily routine. People around me are noticing the change in me and that makes me feel good.

What does coach Sheetal Shah have to say about Bharatendu?

Bharatendu’s job involves a lot of travelling at least 10 – 15 days a month. Due to his work schedules, he was unable to dedicate time daily for workouts etc .  When he joined GOQii in November 2015, his long-term goal set is to lose weight. His smart goal was a brisk walk of 45 minutes initially and 30 minutes normal walk in the evening.   In the second month, I shared some strength training workout videos with him. Now he does Brisk and Strength training workout regularly. His water intake was pretty low..but that has also improved now and has increased to approx 2.5 liters in a day.

Bharatendu does not have any medical conditions nor he is on any medication. He is very much dedicated to the planned goals and follows them consistently.He logs the food data and syncs the band religiously. He has lost 6 kgs in the last 5 months. In Nov 2015, he weighed 78 kgs and as of April 2016, he weighs 72.1 Kg. His target is to reach 68 Kg. He has lost inches around his waist. We are now concentrating on fat loss rather than weight Loss. I monitor his meals and other data on a regular basis and suggest him dos and don’ts about healthy meal pattern.

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The Titans start their journey to EBC

everest-base-camp-ebc-trekking-map

If you thought Mt Everest is the only tough climb, then you are mistaken. The walk to EBC is equally tough and can be considered as a mini expedition where you have to literally push your limits both physically and mentally.

This is exactly, what the GOQii Titan’s are doing. They are looking to push themselves to a limit to question their sanity and find out why they have signed up to do this trek. Each one have their own reasons though for signing up.

While, Dr Ninu, a doctor signed up as she felt she has always been some sort of a weakling all her life. Ridiculed by her friends’, parents and family! Even she herself had serious doubts about her own physical fitness. After attempting one high altitude trek to 14000 ft which she says was not a good experience as she could not complete it successfully. She says, she probably had a phobia for high altitude! And a phobia is an irrational fear.

According to Dr Ninu, Courage is not an absence of fear but, it is all about an individual’s ability to act sanely in the presence of fear!  Dr Ninu now intends to realize her dream of camp! “This would be the harbinger of some more daring quests in life! You only live once ….. and I know I will make it count !” , says Dr Ninu.

For Harpreet Gondal it all about getting out of her comfort zone and for Vishal Gondal, it’s about a challenge to test his mental and physical strength in an unknown terrain and how well he can endure the strain.

Jitu Arora says, it’s about coming back with some positive learning, more knowledgeable and fitter and perhaps be more appreciative of nature.

The Titans including Vishal Gondal, CEO, GOQii led by their guide Pavan Manne will trek for 15 days ( ten days from the starting point in Lukla to Base Camp and five days trekking back down) and will traverse scenery that will literally take their breath away.

The Titans, began their adventure in the early hours of this morning wherein they braved a 40 minute flight to Lukla in a small, roaring aircraft. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to be on this flight which it is said that only the best pilots in Nepal can navigate their way through the treacherous valley. At an altitude of 9,325 feet (2,843 meters), this small airstrip has the dubious distinction of being one of the most extreme and dangerous airports in the world. The wobbly flight with the constant roar of the engines can leave you a bit unsettled but, it’s a perfect start to a great adventure to EBC.

From Lukla the team will trek to their first halt Monjo at 9219 feet (2835 mts), it will take them around 5-6 hours and is mainly downhill trek through forests of rhododendron, magnolia trees and pine. The first village that the team will encounter is Phakding after passing through several small settlements with prayer wheels, flags, prayer stones, lodges and shops. Generally, some stop here for tea and continue on through small settlements until they reach Monjo, which is the headquarters of the Sagarmatha National Park. Here is where trekkers get their TIMs Card and permit to the National Park and move ahead.

After a good night’s rest, the team will trek to 3,440 metres to the well-known Namche Bazaar – a market haven – except it takes one six hours to 8 hours of high climbing in the dry heat, steep steps and a series of swaying suspension bridges just to get there.

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