Thumbs up for an open society (Part 2) “The weeks he had spent in captivity, and especially the images of the murdered disabled, did not let him go, they changed his life. “I didn’t just want to be a teacher. I wanted to work with disabled people. So, I switched to special education and became […]
Corona Blog – Day 29: 22.04.2020 Read More »
Thumbs up for an open society (Part 1) During the recent weeks, we have contacted 150+ of our 226 kanthari graduates who are working in 40+ countries. Although everyone has to deal with the same crisis and experience similar restrictions such as more or less rigorous lockdowns and/or food shortages, it is astonishing how differently
Corona Blog – Day 28: 21.04.2020 Read More »
The crisis from a different angle, “Dear ladies and gentlemen! The next speaker is Amrita Gyawali from Nepal!” Applause fills the theater… but the stage remains empty. Yet, we hear a clear voice that says: “And now?” Right in front of the first row Amrita sits in a wheelchair and smiles at the audience,
Corona Blog – Day 27: 20.04.2020 Read More »
Day 26 19-04-2020 “Cleaner air, more vibrant wildlife, quieter surroundings… Isn’t this time such a breath of relief for mother nature?”, I wondered out loud. “Mother nature??”, exclaimed an annoyed and ever-vigilant-feminist Aparna, “Why not the environment? The earth? Or maybe just… nature?” My first reaction to this inquisition was to brush it off as
Corona Blog – Day 26: 19.04.2020 Read More »
Albert Schweitzer School in Kisumu County, Kenya “Who among us has ever heard about this? The school is closed because of the Corona Crisis, but the students just don’t want to go home!” Andrea, a good friend of ours, told me about an organisation she supports in Kombewa in Kisumu County in Kenya. She describes
Corona Blog – Day 25: 18.04.2020 Read More »
What does ’empowerment’ mean? A famous proverb says “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”. I already hear you saying… Uh oh, not that one again! I know it is completely overused, like an old favorite shirt that has
Corona Blog – Day 24: 17.04.2020 Read More »
The virus and the digital trap? While students studying in Central, international boards and a few premier institutions attend online classes, the rest of India’s children are on what is essentially an early summer vacation. But not all are in holiday cheer. Covid-19 has been a stress test for the education system just like other
Corona Blog – Day 23: 16.04.2020 Read More »
‘Rural is cool’ – or – the transformative washing machine Over the past decade, around the world there has been a rather suspicious attitude towards non-governmental organisations. Speaking with many kanthari graduates, we feel that the number of challenges is increasing, especially for “grassroot” initiatives in several countries in Africa as well as in Asia.
Corona Blog – Day 22: 15.04.2020 Read More »
What to eat? Today is the 21st of the India-wide lockdown and it was supposed to be the last one. We just received a confirmation that the lockdown is now extended until the 3rd of May. Over the past three weeks, several hundred thousand daily laborers and their families have tried to reach their native
Corona Blog – Day 21: 14.04.2020 Read More »
Day 20: Corona Racism; additional stigmatization for people with Albinism There are two possible scenarios of how the world could change once the pandemic is over. Would all the “social distancing” actually bring us closer together? Or would it result in the opposite? For some groups, a new threat has become a reality; Corona racism,
Corona Blog – Day 20: 13.04.2020 Read More »