Unicef

In the last couple of months we had the opportunity to get involved in some direct and indirect volunteering work. The local Unicef Committee received us with open arms and it was really a nice time getting to know the dedicated group of volunteers as well as the employees. Personally it was a very enriching experience as I got familiar with the recent projects like “nuit de l’eau” which aimed at sensitizing the public to the risk of water scarcity. The committee president told us about the initiative taken by a local French group of company owners called the Unichef d’entreprise (founded in 2003) to collect money for sponsoring handpumps in different parts of the world, especially in Africa. http://www.unichefs-dentreprise.org/genese.php3

I was pleasantly surprised to know that the pump widely used is called India Mark II, a model developed in India. Here’s the company website:http://skipumps.com/One of the local companies has built a wooden model of this pump which is displayed around during several Unicef seminars. One part of volunteering offers a unique opportunity to talk about Unicef projects in schools. This is also a good way of recruiting student ambassadors for various children related causes. I can’t wait to have a look at the largest Unicef warehouse, which is less than 20 kms away! I’m also looking forward to the upcoming screening of “All the invisible Children” a 2005 anthology of 7 short films focused on child exploitation.

Home and away

Summer’s almost here and the theme color of the season, both natural as well as socio-political, seem to be green. Life’s in a constant state of flux and it’s hard to remain indifferent to the ebbs and flows. The film Home, which has attracted praise and criticism indeed made me feel at home. This is not about supporting a certain school of thought; rather it’s all about looking at the world from a different point of view. When we live away from home we try to adapt to our new abode. What better way of celebrating the global village than looking at our common past and future! The film was shot in over 50 countries. Somehow it’s so comforting to sit through the changing scenarios and feel totally in unison with hopes and despairs of six billion others. The strikingly beautiful images shot by military cameras, gliding over the surface across continents is a humbling experience. Does it really matter if the commentary is simple and direct? In fact that adds to the beauty as we add our own interpretations. It’s always easy to find faults, but certain moments in time call for restraints and objectivity.

Metamorphosis

Reading Prague might be a very difficult task as thousand others must have done it before me. I tried to follow the trails of Kafka and Smetana in my own way. However it’s really interesting to examine the prospects of this city of spellbinding architecture, heady with classical and jazz tunes, from the current European point of view. What lies ahead? Here’s an  interesting blogpost on euro-scepticism reigning in the country:

http://www.cafebabel.com/eng/article/29933/czech-republic-communism-protectionism-crisis.html

The dichotomy between the past and the present and two diametrically opposite ideologies are palpable in the history exuding alleys and hallways. Personally for me the trip has been a linguistic revelation as I tried to learn and absorb some notions of the czech language.