Karma Archives - Page 2 of 4

January 3, 2017 By Ruta Satam 1 Comment

2016 Report Card: Karma activities at GOQii

GOQii has been working with Non-profit organizations as its Karma partners in promoting and spreading awareness for different causes. Karma activities are also based on the premise that doing Karma keeps you healthy. Just to reiterate inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s journey of 390 KM, for every 390 steps tracked through your GOQii activity tracker band, you earn one Karma point. These points are then converted into monetary donations that is donated to charity sponsored by our Karma partner.

It’s been two successful years now and we have charities listed on the GOQii app that are successfully funded by the Donor partners.

Here are two recent causes that we have contributed to.

Millions of children in India go to bed hungry because their parents/guardians are not able to purchase food for them. Most of them drop out from schools so that they can help their parents and supplement the family income.

Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust’s-Food for Education Program distributes free food prepared at our kitchens on a daily basis, to poor children if they attend any formal or non-formal educational class. It thus combines food with education-we now have a child who is educated and well fed also. The programme has been very effective in arresting the drop-out rate in schools.

Ratna Nidhi’s food has been treated by the beneficiaries as “Homely Balanced and Tasty”. Not for profit, the food has a flavour of compassion, and tender loving care.

As of today, the organisation feeds more than 4500 Children daily through its approximately 50 centres all over Mumbai including the suburbs. The Mid Day Meal is cooked at the Food Center by the special team of cooks under Ratna Nidhi’s representatives’ direct supervision.

The food partners are identified carefully and after the detailed need evaluation. These are generally Non-aided vernacular schools who do not qualify for the Govt. Mid-Day-Meal, Pre-schools in Urban Areas, Night schools who do not receive any of the welfare benefits and Street Children NGO’s who provide shelter.

The meals are packed for various partner schools and Balwadis. A special delivery system ensures that the food reaches the children by lunch time on a daily basis.

A simple meal for children each day that improves nourishment, increase weight, boosted attentiveness in class and ensures a healthy educated future.

Empowering Women against Violence:-

Moving from children let us now talk of women empowerment. After children, it’s the women who get abused the most and hence empowering women against violence is paramount.

How often have you come across a story in the newspapers or television about violence against women? Every day is the answer. Violence against women and girls is a bitter reality in India. As many as one-third of women and girls in the age group 15-49 have experienced physical violence, about one in 10 have experienced some form of sexual violence [Source: National Family Health Survey Round III (2005-2006)].

Yet, violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, is unavoidable. Many of us think and justify that violence by intimate partners is normal, and therefore acceptable. We need to change this very thinking that normalises violence against women and girls. We all have a role in preventing such violence.

The story of a 9 year old girl Mynah, who was married to a 20-year-old man, is an example to stand up against violence. Her husband repeatedly subjected her to intimate partner violence. After hearing of her experience, counsellors of Oxfam India advised Mynah to file a case under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Mynah took the brave decision to take control of her life. She continued with her studies, with the court’s intervention, she has got compensation. She has also remarried according to her own wish.

Oxfam India programmes are currently active in the six focus states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh.

Oxfam India has been working to reduce the acceptance of violence against women and girls. They have reached out to more than 42,000 women to end violence in their lives and established 23 support centres within formal and informal locations to provide psycho-social counselling and legal aid to women facing this issue in their lives.

Together, we need to make sure that perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards women and girls change so that gender-based discrimination comes to an end. With your help, this is what Oxfam India hopes to achieve in the future through supporting women like Mynah.

What has GOQii been doing in the Karma space in the last two years?

Here are some of the activities that we have conducted for players as well as our employees in the last two years…..

One of the biggest on ground Karma event that we are a part of is the 100 KM Oxfam Trailwalk where GOQii players and employees participate and walk 100 km to raise awareness and support a cause.

Part from this we have had regular activities in GOQii office. This year we had a session with Greensole, a social venture that collects discarded shoes, refurbishes them and makes comfortable footwear for the underprivileged.

We also did something interesting this Christmas. While last year we went to a home that housed children with Cancer and spent few hours with the kids by playing and dancing with them, this year we celebrated Christmas in the most unique way. GOQii employees played secret santa to orphaned children of an orphanage in Chembur and also employees pledged for various basic commodities like Rice, dal, wheat, Oil etc and donated to the orphanage.

November 30, 2016 By Anusha Subramanian 3 Comments

‘She has a dream’- Helping a girl child achieve her dreams

Umeed 1000K : Ride for a Cause

How often do we spend time doing something for others selflessly…..

A wide range of research has linked different forms of generosity to better health, even among the sick and elderly. Giving to others gives an inner happiness to one while also improving health. That is precisely how Jasmeet Singh Gandhi, a cycling enthusiast and a core team member heading sales and enterprise solutions at GOQii has combined his love for adventure with that of doing good in the society and in the process keeps himself healthy.

Passionate about supporting social causes especially in the areas of education and healthcare, Jasmeet started UMEED1000k, a Cyclothon concept to combine his passion for cycling and social cause. Jasmeet explains, “Umeeed means hope and Umeed 1000k is an annual cycling event where a team rides 1000kms to raise awareness and funds for a chosen cause”

The designer, initiator, and custodian of Umeed 1000K has in the last two years raised over Rs 2 crore to support the various cause by organizing and participating in various social events.

In his third year of Umeed1000k, he is going to ride along with three other riders from Mumbai to Hyderabad in a span of 9 days and aims to collect funds to support Udbhav School, in Hyderabad, with 630+ students till class X. The school provides holistic education to underprivileged children coming from urban slums, with a focus on girl children. The school is managed by the IIM-A Alumni Association. The association intends to set up 7 such across the country.

These children come from families whose average income is Rs 6000 per month and their school feels are Rs 100 to Rs 150 per month. Kids from this school are achievers and have been performing very well in sports. For instance Bhargavi, a student won third prize in All India National Junior Athletics (Running) Competition at Delhi. She has been selected for Asian Games and will be representing India in the year 2018. Similarly, Durga Prasad and Gautham secured 11thand 18th rank in India International Regatta out of total 104 participated from different countries –Dubai, Singapore, UAE, Turkraine, England, Ireland, and Thailand along with few other Indians in this competition.

So far Jasmeet has been able to raise close to Rs 2 lakh for helping a girl child achieve her dreams but he has a long way to go yet. For every donation you make RBL Bank will match that donation for this cause. Here is the donation link: https://www.ketto.org/fundraiser/umeed?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=fbpageshare&utm_campaign=umeed

Prior to raising funds for Udbhav School, Jasmeet did his first ride as part of Umeed1000k in November 2014 from Mumbai to Bengaluru in support of Iksha Foundation, Bangalore to provide for free surgeries to kids affected by eye cancer.(Retinoblastoma) and raised 2.5 million INR.

In December 2015 he cycled from Mumbai to Delhi in support of IIMPACT to provide free primary education to girl children in remote villages. He raised 13.7 million INR for this cause.

It’s not just about doing philanthropy but, much more than that. Giving to others has been shown to increase health benefits in people with chronic illness, including cancer and multiple sclerosis. The one reason giving may improve physical health and longevity is that it helps decrease stress, which is associated with a variety of health problems. Giving to others gives an inner happiness to one.

September 30, 2016 By Ruta Satam 1 Comment

Joy of giving

Have you ever realized how elated you get when you give? Giving is indeed one of the best investments an individual can make towards achieving genuine happiness. True giving comes from the heart, with no expectation of reciprocation. It is manifested with kindness and generosity and there is no substitute for this ‘Good Karma’. It just makes you feel good.

This month we celebrate the festival of giving also popularly known as the “Joy of Giving” festival. The festival begins on Oct 2^nd– the birthday of our father of our nation MK Gandhi and continues till the 8^thof October. Being the season of giving, I call upon one and all to share love and spread happiness in the lives of those who are far away from these pleasures. Let’s share our happiness with those lesser privileged people who ask nothing but love.

There are various ways in which you can participate in this festival. You can participate by sharing your Old clothes with people who require the most. GOQii has partnered with Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust for this drive.

With this drive we would be helping RNCT to distribute usable garments to the poorest of the poor of all ages. To ensure that it reaches out to more and more needy people, RNCT will further distribute the collection to grass root organizations and institutions working with the underprivileged group of society across the country.

How do we participate in this drive?

-Communicate the ‘Joy of Giving’ message in your office, society, family and friends

-Inform us if you are interested to organize this collection drive in your office or society

-If you have a collection that weighs more than 20 kg, a pick-up will be organized for the donation material

-Your garments will then be sorted as per age and gender, repaired if required, ironed, folded and packed

-The sorted collection will be sent to orphanages, Old age homes, institutions working with street children or tribal or women’s help centres

Let the goodness begin 🙂

To know more about the drive mail us your queries at ruta@goqii.com

It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put in to giving ~ Mother Teresa

September 8, 2016 By Ruta Satam Leave a Comment

Supporting victims affected during Assam and Bihar floods

Oxfam India, part of a global movement of dedicated people working hard to fight poverty and injustice, has been relentlessly working towards bringing relief to those affected by floods in Assam and Bihar.

The rain gods haven’t been too kind to the people of two Indian states namely Assam and Bihar. Continuous heavy showers through the month of July, 2016 practically washed away the homes of many village folks, communication and transportation disrupted in most of the districts at present. Life is just about coming back for many in the remote districts of these two states. Most of the daily wage earners are still facing livelihood problems. Schools are still doubling up as relief camps in many of the affected districts

Oxfam’s team has provided urgent assistance with food for survivors to cope. The priority initially was to make available hygiene kits, shelter and non-food items like tarpaulins, blankets, ground sheets, specially designed Oxfam bucket that prevents contamination of water, mugs, mosquito nets and water purification tablets among other relief items.

Communities used their local country boats to move out of the villages. They were supported by community volunteers and Panchayat. State Disaster Response Force, Army and National Disaster Response Force were conducting rescue operations.

The Oxfam project called WaSH aims to reach 10,000 number of households or 60,000 number of persons with emergency shelter & Emergency food security interventions in worst affected districts of Assam and Bihar. Oxfam has already reached out to 2000 flood affected families.

Oxfam India is also the Karma partner of GOQii, the Health and Lifestyle Company. Your support can make sure more families receive lifesaving support. To know more about the cause https://www.oxfamindia.org/Assam-Floods-2016.