Joy of Giving Week is back

The Joy of Giving week starts tomorrow, October 2nd.

Many cynical people do ask, how will it help to spread joy for just one week, just as the the act of switching lights off for one hour during Earth Hour invokes very adverse reactions from people... To them all I say, "At least do it for one week/hour..."

During the Joy of Giving week, NGOs, corporates and individuals like you and me reach out to those not as privileged as us to spread the message of hope and joy... Its not much I agree, but its a small baby step in the right direction and for that, it gets my full support.

Last year we had organised a Day Out for patients of Ataxia in Pune. What a feeling it was to see those who had not stepped out of their homes for simple pleasures like watching a movie in almost 10 years!

This year, I am supporting a few JoG exercises from the outside due to work pressures. But have resolved to continue following the JoG cards here on Vivify and keep my children in touch with their humane side too.

Joy of Giving - Card 34 - We made paper bags

When every word you type begins to sound like an excuse, we must stop and reconsider what we are about to express.

My absence from the blog world and the Joy of Giving, which looking back I now realise was over a month ago, has been quite inexplicable, even to me. I was and still am going through a phase of turmoil, which (this being my blog, you'll just have to read about it) boring as it may sound, is a sort of identity crisis one faces when one is out of a job (out of choice) and therefore with much time at their hands; which despite their best efforts and intention, is spent largely pursuing 'relaxation' and 'leisure', but which at the end of the day makes them want to run away because they realised they didn't really enjoy the so called sabbatical or break...simply because they never thought it would leave them feeling so useless and unproductive.

So a lesson learnt the hard way is that people like me are incapable of actual relaxation until we believe in our hearts we've earned it. Strangely, for the four years of virtually non-stop, almost-workaholic life I led, I now believe a 15 days break (including the ten glorious days I spent in Bhutan) would be 'enough' for me; and now that I have ended up extending to SIX months, I am almost crying out of boredom and the monotony of having "nothing" to do!

Phew! Now that I am done rambling, which any of you who are still visiting my blog (after my disappearances, I won't blame you if you've removed me from your blog reader too), have just had had to put up with, I can get down to the actual reason I began writing this post.

We made 15 paper bags. Yes, finally we did. The daughter, the son and I sat for less than an hour and made 15 bags out of newspaper. We did use a lots of stapling pins and some tape. All in all, it made us feel immensely satisfied. Tomorrow we will try and hand it over to a store-keeper who needs them and will put them to good use... 

Joy of Giving, sorry to have neglected you for a month, but I am back!

Joy of Giving - Card 34

Ever since I began the Joy of Giving exercise way back in September 2011, strangely and coincidentally, the cards picked out for the week, almost always reflect a thought in my mind, or offer me a way ahead for something I've been struggling with. It is strange because the cards are picked out at random, by my children.

The Joy of Giving card for this week is For Our World.

The reason why this card is important is because I have been wondering how I can help those shopkeepers who cannot afford paper bags in place of the villainous plastic bag. 

I am strictly against using plastic bags for any reason whatsoever. Here's why. To the extent that I actually 'return' plastic bags given to me by well meaning storekeepers. 

I believe that the first step to reducing plastic consumption is to say NO to it at every level, even when it comes to lining your garbage bins.

Pune Municipal Corporation banned the plastic bag in January 2010 and it gets my goat when I see people taking one from their neighbourhood kirana store for 2 biscuit packets! Why can't they just put it in their purses or backpacks instead of taking a plastic bag? Why can't they just bring their own bag?

So I've become the neighbourhood meanie. When I see someone asking for a plastic bag, I ask the shop keeper really loud, "Are you still giving plastic bags? Isn't it banned?"

Most often storekeepers are stunned and sheepishly reply, "Kya karen madam... Logon ko chahiye rehta hai.... What do we do Madam? People need it..."

To which I usually say, "If it is banned you cannot give it. Corporation has imposed a penalty of Rs 15,000 on shopkeepers who do it..."

Sometimes shopkeepers say, "We charge them money Madam...." and ask the customer for a rupee for the small sized bag (this practice has the approval of the Ministry of Environment and Forests). Often when they have to "pay" customers walk away without one, miraculously finding place in their bags for their goodies...

I also find brown paper bags a complete monstrosity. What is the point of doling out paper bags that are also cause of environmental degradation (cutting down trees???) 

However, I make small concessions for bags made out of newspaper because they are recycled and (usually) made by the underprivileged who earn some money making them. The only problem is that buying these bags costs the shopkeepers more money than plastic bags so most don't keep them.

To honour the Joy of Giving Card 34, I have decided to make 50 paper bags and give it to the shop keepers in my area who cannot afford to buy them - the cobbler for example.

Wish me luck my friends and join in too!

Join in the journey. Here's how! 

Go to the page titled Joy Of Giving where I have posted all the cards selected so far. Those of you who'd like to start this exercise from the beginning, just follow the cards in the order they are posted!

OR

To join the Joy of Giving right away just follow the cards every week as they are posted on the blog.

Please REMEMBER to post your experiences in a public forum - your own blog, note on FaceBook - or leave your story in the comment section of this blog. Do remember to tag me in your posts...

To know how it started click here.

To track the Joy of Giving through the past thirty three weeks, click here

DO spread the message of this unique movement. Encourage your friends to start following the cards and spreading joy...

Joy of Giving - Card 33 - Rahmath's Organ Donor Card

Rahmath has been one of the most consistent followers of the Joy of Giving and she has kept up the rhythm by signing her very own Organ Donor card.

You can read her post here... So the Path- Joy of Giving - Week 33

If you're inspired to carry an Organ Donor Card download it and express your wish to donate your organs after your demise.

All the best!

Joy of Giving Card 33 - Sign up for Organ Donation

When the Joy of Giving card 33 prompted us to donate our organs, my first instinct was to go to a hospital and pick up an Organ Donation card.

When I did enquire at one of the leading hospitals in Pune, to my utter shock and dismay I was told that there is no such thing as a card that you need to fill out.  The "Medical Social Worker" at the hospital explained that donating eyes and skin were most common and easily executed. She seemed to be a bit confused about the donation of vital organs and kept repeating that the same can only be done if the patient was declared "brain dead."

So my first reaction was to come home and Google. This is what I found:

1. Organ Donation is in a very dismal state in India. Thousands of lives are lost annually due to lack of organs from cadavers.

2. Tamil Nadu tops the organ donor stats in India with a total of 1464 organs donated from Oct 2008 - May 2012. That is a meagre 36 donations per year! And even with this they top the list!!!

3. The law on Organ Donation was formulated in 1994 with the Transplantation of Human Organ Act (THOA).

According to this law two types of donations are permitted:

a) Living related donors: Only immediate blood relations (brother, sister, parents & children) can donate as per the THOA. Living donor can donate only few organs, one kidney (as one kidney is capable of maintaining the body functions), a portion of pancreas (as half of the pancreas is adequate for sustaining pancreatic functions) and part of the liver (as the few segments that are donated will regenerate after a period of time) can be donated.

b) Cadaver Organ donor: Can donate all organs after brain death.

4. Cadaver donations are accepted after a team of four doctors declares a patient "brain dead" twice in a span of six hours. Brain death is the irreversible and permanent cessation of all brain functions. Brain can no longer send messages to the body to perform vital functions like breathing, sensation, obeying commands etc. Such persons are kept on artificial support (ventilation) to maintain oxygenation of organs so that the organs are in healthy condition until they are removed. Most cases of brain death are the end result of head injuries, brain tumours patients from Intensive care units. Organs of such patients can be transplanted in organ failure patients to provide them a new lease of life.

Thus it is important for the patient who has desired to donate his/her organs be kept on life support system to ensure oxygen supply is not cut off and the organs can still be used. 

5. What can you donate?
Cornea, skin, heart, liver, pancreas, kidneys, intestine, bone and bone marrow.

6. The biggest criteria to be able to donate your organs is that your near and dear ones, family or immediate relatives should not raise an objection to your wish. If they do, the "wish" of the donor even if it is in writing will be overlooked. I found that quite preposterous and sad. If I do have an Organ Donor card I need to first convince my family and friends about it!

So strangely in our country, first of all people don't donate organs easily and when they want to, if their family feels otherwise, the organ donation can be set aside!

There seems to be a deep rooted misunderstanding as far as the whole concept goes and I searched more to find out why Indians were so wary of donating their organs "after they deaths". The answer came to me in a conversation with my daughter.

Her first reaction to my search for Organ Donor cards was, "Noooo... You can't give away your organs!!!"

After I sat down to explain to her WHY one must donate, she still stuck to her views, "NO Maa. We would like to cremate ALL of you when you die, not with missing organs!"

She is twelve, but I fathom this must be the most common refrain amongst the relatives of those who have passed on and have desired to donate their organs.

None of this has deterred me. I downloaded this form from a website and request all you to do as well. Once the form is filled, it must be carried on your person (just like you would a Driver's License) and hope as hell that when the Good Lord comes calling, and its time for us to go, our siblings, spouse, parents or children will respect and fulfill our wish....

For more information on organ donation please log into DonateOrgans.net.

Joy of Giving - Card 32, 33

Its the holiday season and I knew most of my fellow bloggers were vacationing...getting away from the Summer heat... So I decided to delay posting Card 32 by a week.

Got my daughter to pick two cards (to catch up) and the cards are both immensely important - one for "Ourselves" and the other "For Strangers" who we may end up giving the greatest joy of all!

Card 32

Card 33

Join in the journey. Here's how! 

Go to the page titled Joy Of Giving where I have posted all the cards selected so far. Those of you who'd like to start this exercise from the beginning, just follow the cards in the order they are posted!

OR

To join the Joy of Giving right away just follow the cards every week as they are posted on the blog.

Please REMEMBER to post your experiences in a public forum - your own blog, note on FaceBook - or leave your story in the comment section of this blog. Do remember to tag me in your posts...

To know how it started click here.

To track the Joy of Giving through the past thirty one weeks, click here

DO spread the message of this unique movement. Encourage your friends to start following the cards and spreading joy...

Joy of Giving - Card 31

Breaks from the blog world are never on purpose. Taking a break as I did from the Joy of Giving also made me feel 'inadequate' in many ways...like something was grossly missing from my life..like I didn't have "anything" to focus on...

So here I am with this week's card. Card 31 that is simple and welcome in the blistering Summer heat...

Join in the journey. Here's how! 

Go to the page titled Joy Of Giving where I have posted all the cards selected so far. Those of you who'd like to start this exercise from the beginning, just follow the cards in the order they are posted!

OR

To join the Joy of Giving right away just follow the cards every week as they are posted on the blog.

Please REMEMBER to post your experiences in a public forum - your own blog, note on FaceBook - or leave your story in the comment section of this blog. Do remember to tag me in your posts...

To know how it started click here.

To track the Joy of Giving through the past thirty weeks, click here

DO spread the message of this unique movement. Encourage your friends to start following the cards and spreading joy...

Joy of Giving - Card 30 experience

So this is what they call "hitting two birds with one stone"!

I wanted to give my maid a paid day off as the 30th Joy of Giving card suggested during the week gone by. From Monday to Thursday, courtesy the fact that I was dropping my children off to a new school 20 kms away every morning and would go house hunting after that (I am planning to move locations within Pune) I would miss the maid. She has had a key to my home since I employed her about a year ago and she'd be gone by the time I'd get back home.

On Saturday however, the grand plan of this confusion came to light.

A friend, who lives one floor below me called to talk about something when I mentioned to her that I am moving homes. She said she has been looking for a maid for almost a month and asked me to send my good lady over to her place on Sunday.

Grabbing this as the best opportunity to follow the card I called my lady and asked her to go to this friend's place, instead of mine on Sunday. I would be giving her a paid day off and the new opening would help her fill the time slot which would fall vacant once I leave.

When I told my friend later that evening about it, she added to the 'joy of giving' saying that following this card also gave her happiness!

One card - three happy people!!! Can't get better than this, can it???

Joy of Giving - Week 31 - Card 30

We've hit T H I R T Y! A good number and a wonderful card too...one that encourages us to spread joy towards the 'helpers' in our daily lives!

Tough? Or easy? You decide!!!

New to the Joy of Giving? Here's what you can do:

Go to the page titled Joy Of Giving where I have posted all the cards selected so far. Those of you who'd like to start this exercise from the beginning, just follow the cards in the order they are posted!

OR

To join the Joy of Giving right away just follow the cards every week as they are posted on the blog.

Please REMEMBER to post your experiences in a public forum - your own blog, note on FaceBook - or leave your story in the comment section of this blog. Do remember to tag me in your posts...

To know how it started click here.

To track the Joy of Giving through the past twenty nine weeks, click here

DO spread the message of this unique movement. Encourage your friends to start following the cards and spreading joy...

Joy of Giving - Rahmath's Gratitude List

Rahmath went into Gratitude mode (Card 10) and wrote down all the things she was grateful for on bits of paper, every time something struck her. Such a wonderful post!!!!

I am sharing it here, but you must go to her original blogpost to see the pictures she's posted!

Joy of Giving Week 22-23 card that Ritu posted was to avoid plastics and clean out your cupboard and donate the clothes you don't use. I have recorded my experience on Week 22 card here and as I already had decided to donate clothes every Christmas Eve to Goonj as I have recorded in this post I thought I will follow an older card.

Week 10 card - Start a Gratitude Diary, seemed to be a perfect choice.

The times I have an organized form of prayer,(which means standing in one place , lighting agarbattis and reading scriptures sort of thing) it normally starts like this, 'Thanks dear God for all the happiness you have given me and my loved ones. Thanks for the food we eat, for the roof on top of our head and the love that you shower upon us through our friends and family'.

At this point my hubby always quips in saying "why have you forgotten the walls and columns, after all if there were no walls the roof wouldn't be on top of our heads". I have learnt to ignore that sentence. It's almost a family tradition now. I say that prayer and he says this sentence cheekily :)

So in March, I decided to start one. Whenever I felt thankful about something I just wrote it on any piece of paper I got my hand into. I wrote so for around 8 days. I wonder how does one write a gratitude diary everyday. Does it not start repeating??? that's a genuine question. But I loved writing it. Helped me stay positive. Just to sum it up

What Am I thankful for right now?
1. My husband.

2. Stability - the roof on top of my head and the walls and the columns :)

3. Financial independence.

4. Love from friends and family.

5. Health.

6. Education

7. Work that I enjoy.

8. Hope that everything will be ok.

9. Happy memories old and new.

10. Belonging to a Democratic Secular Country.

Joy of Giving - Updates

I have been trying my very best to follow all the Joy of Giving cards that I post here (recently with increasing irregularity - a condition I am hoping to change soon). I thought that a short update was due since the last experience I wrote about was for Card 25 after which we've been through 4 more cards.

So here goes:

Card 26 -  This was a tough one for me. I read the card and pondered over it for more than a week realising that I am not really "attached" to material things. I feel sad when I lose something or something I use has got spoilt (just because I will have to buy another one) but I am not really fixated or attached to any sort of possessions. I don't have a favourite footwear, or lipstick (like some friends I know do), or a favourite outfit, piece of jewellery... Infact, I have the habit of saying "favourite" for everything I have... Eventually I gave something away that was perhaps "one" of my favourite things...a set of CDs to someone who I know would appreciate them too. And strangely I don't miss it. At all.

Card 27 - This one was accomplished quite simply, when on a trip to Bhutan, I travelled by public transportation in Kolkata instead of opting for the comfort of a taxi (and I must add that the bus was very comfortable too!)... Recently after dropping my kids at school, I gave away the saved money to a speech & hearing impaired person at a traffic signal.

 

Card 28 - NOT an easy card for most of us. I did eventually give a JKJ to the sweeper in my building and she was shocked and shy, all at the same time. Now she smiles ear to ear whenever she sees me... :-D

Card 29  - I did get the opportunity to offer my seat to a stranger - an elderly lady on the shuttle bus from the departure lounge to the aircraft in Hyderabad recently, travelling with too many handbags. This is a card I follow every time I travel. I prefer giving my seat away to a woman with a baby/small child, an elderly gentleman or lady... Often I cannot fathom why an able man or woman won't vacate their seat for those who need it - be it on a bus or the Metro. Doesn't hurt and costs nothing. Showing kindness is not THAT easy I guess. Which is why the Joy of Giving means so much to me... 

Joy of Giving Card 29 Week 29

I am late again! No, I am trying my best not to make it a bad habit but too many things happened... I hate giving excuses so won't offer any my dear Joy of Givers...but will plunge into the card for this week, picked out by my daughter, straight away:

I don't travel much by public transport but when I do, I automatically give my seat away to the elderly (men or women) and mothers with children, even women with too many shopping bags and such. To fulfill this card I will have to travel by bus. Hopefully I will find someone to give my seat away to. Tell me about your experience.

New to the Joy of Giving? Here's what you can do:

Go to the page titled Joy Of Giving where I have posted all the cards selected so far. Those of you who'd like to start this exercise from the beginning, just follow the cards in the order they are posted!

OR

To join the Joy of Giving right away just follow the cards every week as they are posted on the blog.

Please REMEMBER to post your experiences in a public forum - your own blog, note on FaceBook - or leave your story in the comment section of this blog. Do remember to tag me in your posts...

To know how it started click here.

To track the Joy of Giving through the past twenty eight weeks, click here

DO spread the message of this unique movement. Encourage your friends to start following the cards and spreading joy...

Joy of Giving - Rahmath - Card 22

Rahmath has been following the Joy of Giving cards and has written about her experience with the 'Avoid plastic bags for 7 days' card 22. Its a sweet post reminding us of the way our own parents used to shop before the plastic bag replaced the cloth bag as a shopping bag... Must read.

You should visit her blog for more insightful posts on life... Thank you for this post Rahmath and for being such an ardent Joy of Giving practiontioner...

Avoid Plastic for Seven Days.Use Cloth Bag Instead.

The sewing machine in my parent's house has helped my mother (and me) sew a lot of things. One of the things my mother used to sew was cloth bags. She used to recycle my father's old pants into durable and strong cloth bags. And my father used to take these bags whenever he went for groceries. I guess he still does.

Theirs was a generation in which nothing was wasted, even the free flimsy plastic covers. Father used to take a plastic cover for milk packets and the egg dabba for buying eggs. Very very rarely did my parent's house ever have too many plastic covers. In fact i don't remember if it ever did. Infact as a child, I remember scouring the house for the bubblegum type plastic covers to make plastic flowers and hardly finding two or three.

How easy it is to forget such subtle lessons. That's why I like Ritu's en devour for Joy of Giving. Truthfully speaking, most of the cards are nothing new. Come on, Let's give our parents some credit. They have already taught us many of these lessons.

Then why follow these these Joy of Giving Cards?

Well my dears, it's because they are reminders,extremely important reminders. We have to go through these reminders again and again and again; Else it's so easy to forget.

Nowadays I try a bit harder. I try to CAB (Carry A Bag). Please visit Ritu's page and go through the video she has composed.In her video she has emphasized the importance of not using plastics or paper covers for our environment. It's worth it. I am still trying to CAB and am not 100% CAB - ing. I am still trying to make it a habit.

Now, I have two three small plastic cover's in my handbag and a cloth bag which we bought for 5 rupees from spencers retail. Instead of home delivering, nowadays we try to get groceries when we go for a walk or while we come from office and use our plastic covers or cloth bags.

We refuse bags, plastic or paper from shops as far as possible. I give my hubby a plastic cover or two when he goes grocery shopping or vegetable shopping and thereby, trying to reuse the ones already in our house.Sometimes Yes, we forget or we feel lazy and indifferent but the habit is slowly kicking in. Hopefully, soon we will kick out plastic covers and paper covers from our lifestyle completely.

By sharing this, I Hope to inspire you too the way Ritu has inspired me.

Let's do Mother Earth Proud.

Hope!!!! Such a sweet word...

Joy of Giving - Week 28 Card 28

Wow! The card this week, taken out randomly from the Smile Deck is NOT going to be very easy!!!

Made famous by the Munnabhai series of films, this card wants us to give someone a 'Jaadu ki Jhappi'....

The sweeper in my building is a lady...and I will give her the JKJ she no doubt deserves... How about you? Will you do it? Or will you figure another way of showing your appreciation and love?

New to the Joy of Giving? Here's what you can do:

Go to the page titled Joy Of Giving where I have posted all the cards selected so far. Those of you who'd like to start this exercise from the beginning, just follow the cards in the order they are posted!

OR

To join the Joy of Giving right away just follow the cards every week as they are posted on the blog.

Please REMEMBER to post your experiences in a public forum - your own blog, note on FaceBook - or leave your story in the comment section of this blog. Do remember to tag me in your posts...

To know how it started click here.

To track the Joy of Giving through the past twenty seven weeks, click here

DO spread the message of this unique movement. Encourage your friends to start following the cards and spreading joy...

Joy of Giving - Week 27 Card 27

The card this week is another simple card that reminds us rather gently to watch our carbon footprint.

Im looking forward to hearing your story!!!

If you are new to the Joy of Giving here's what you can do:

Go to the page titled Joy Of Giving where I have posted all the cards selected so far. Those of you who'd like to start this exercise from the beginning, just follow the cards in the order they are posted!

OR

To join the Joy of Giving right away just follow the cards every week as they are posted on the blog.

Please REMEMBER to post your experiences in a public forum - your own blog, note on FaceBook - or leave your story in the comment section of this blog. Do remember to tag me in your posts...

To know how it started click here.

To track the Joy of Giving through the past twenty six weeks, click here

DO spread the message of this unique movement. Encourage your friends to start following the cards and spreading joy...

A post of Gratitude, 3 gifts and a beautiful woman named Yamini!

I have immense respect and adoration for her. She gave me ardent support when I was the archetype stressed mother of two without reliable day support for them as I slogged my backside to pursue a passion/profession!

I don't want to call her home a "day care" or "creche" because what she has given my children, and all the other children who have walked into her fold, is a lot more than just a substitute to home.

She has given my children a home. A place where they can BE. Comfortable, safe and happy.

She gave my children TLC (tender loving care) when we couldn't leave everything we were doing to rush to their aid.

She ensured that they completed their home work to decrease the burden on us.

She gave them space, TV time, play time, happy times and loads of fun times with multiple parties and celebrations (festivals, birthdays and what not!)

My children went to her, straight from school, for three years before the daughter decided she had outgrown it and wanted to be home every single day. The son missed his friends like crazy and for the first few weeks of transition would go straight to her place after school and come home only when I asked him to.

She never once, not once, sent him home, because I wasn't paying her anymore, nor did she spare any effort to reach out to my tween "I know what I want mom" daughter... They still get invited to the birthday celebs of their erstwhile mates... Such is her all encompassing love for children...

And I have missed the support she gave us so unconditionally (especially now that I am virtually stuck at home, and have to perforce cook three meals AND ensure the fussy lad eats too)... She did it all and didn't complain... Tackled the tantrum throwing of the fast-growing daughter and the hyperactive always-getting-into-trouble son...

There was no "closing" time, and even as we'd brave rush hour traffic to pick them up on the stipulated time, we knew that they will be safe and happy even if we were to get delayed by a half hour or so. She never once, ever, made us feel guilty for not having picked them on time...unlike many so-called professional outfits I'd encountered that would call and actually threaten us while we'd be stuck in a traffic snarl that we would not be able to crash through or fly over.

Card 25

The children stayed over at her place a couple of times when I was tied up covering an event that would mean staying out till 11 pm. She would always assure me that they would be fed and that I shouldn't worry about picking them up at 11, disturb them if they're asleep. Instead she would reassure me that they will be taken care of and will be home the next morning!

To a working mother, such a woman is nothing short of a guardian angel and therefore, for card 25 of the Joy of Giving, my children and I decided to create something and gift her.

Son and daughter made glass paintings, and I a poster (toyed with the idea of a cake but wanted to give her something that would express my feeling of gratitude completely and words ARE my 'craft' anyways)...

Abhir

Oorja

Me!

This evening, we shall give her the gifts we've crafted...which are still inadequate for all that she has done for us as a family.

Joy of Giving - Card 26 - Week 26

Its the half way mark my Joy of Giving partners!!!!! And how beautifully we have walked this path together... Some very prominent, some unsung...but please know, whoever you are, your support matters and counts in this endeavour!!!! A BIG Thank you and loads of hugs to all!

Now for 26th Card of the Smile Deck. Here it is:

Easy, did you say? Well...it will depend upon what we give away... The card says "possessions"... Our favourite CD, perhaps? Or something we cherish, like a piece of jewellery? 

Put on your thinking caps my friends and share your wonderful tales with me!

Meanwhile, if you are new to the Joy of Giving here's what you can do:

Go to the page titled Joy Of Giving where I have posted all the cards selected so far. Those of you who'd like to start this exercise from the beginning, just follow the cards in the order they are posted!

OR

To join the Joy of Giving right away just follow the cards every week as they are posted on the blog.

Please REMEMBER to post your experiences in a public forum - your own blog, note on FaceBook - or leave your story in the comment section of this blog. Do remember to tag me in your posts...

To know how it started click here.

To track the Joy of Giving through the past twenty five weeks, click here

DO spread the message of this unique movement. Encourage your friends to start following the cards and spreading joy...

Joy of Giving - Week 25 Card 25

Another week, another card...and with this 25th card we are nearing the half mark for the Joy of Giving exercise I started way back in September (2011)... For all my Joy of Giving companions, a big Thank you!

The card this week is quite unique. While it exhorts us to 'Craft Something with your Own Hands and Give it Away', it is also a FOR YOURSELF card... By creating something with our own hands, the joy we will experience will be as big as the joy of giving the gift away... Superb idea!!!!

It has been a while since I created anything. I've stopped painting, creating knick knacks and I hardly enjoy cooking/baking... But to honour this card, I shall certainly find something I can 'still' do and enjoy!

Meanwhile, if you are new to the Joy of Giving here's what you can do:

Go to the page titled Joy Of Giving where I have posted all the cards selected so far. Those of you who'd like to start this exercise from the beginning, just follow the cards in the order they are posted!

OR

To join the Joy of Giving right away just follow the cards every week as they are posted on the blog.

Please REMEMBER to post your experiences in a public forum - your own blog, note on FaceBook - or leave your story in the comment section of this blog. Do remember to tag me in your posts...

To know how it started click here.

To track the Joy of Giving through the past twenty four weeks, click here

DO spread the message of this unique movement. Encourage your friends to start following the cards and spreading joy...

Joy of Giving - Gift for my sweeper

How often do we actually SEE the people who do sundry jobs for us? The same people whose presence means that our day goes better, and without whom, life would be all, but happy/safe/clean/pretty?

When the Joy of Giving Card 24 prompted us to Give a Gift to the Sweeper in your Society, it got me thinking. The lady who sweeps the building in the sprawling (575 apartments) society I live in also collects the garbage every day.

In the 18 months that I have lived here, I have never once seen her take a day off. She works 7 days a week, and sometimes when she is unwell, a substitute takes her place. But that rarely happens.

Collecting garbage is not easy; especially in a building where the insensitive residents do not segregate  garbage and often I have seen filthy dustbins being handed over to her.

Segregating garbage helps the sweeper. Here's how:

She gets to collect dry garbage that comprises, paper, glass, plastics, batteries, cans, bottles, tins etc...and dump them into the large bucket. The wet waste that comprises the kitchen waste - peels, leftover food etc is handled separately. But when the two are mixed, she just doesn't know how to dump them separately, and she ends up getting her hands messy in the muck that she didn't create.

The ignominy of the entire process is when she accidentally spills something outside the large bucket she uses to collect the garbage in, she has to pick it and put it in. This she does with her bare hands.

So I thought that to follow the card I will give her the following items: A soap case with soap so she can wash her hands after the entire activity is done; a pair of durable rubber gloves, so she can wear them and not get her hands dirty to start with; a small mug to help her clean her feet, hands etc under the society tap before she goes home, or even before a meal; and a little insulated tiffin box, because the least a person deserves is a decent meal, stored properly...

I am also planning to add a bottle of water every time she comes to pick my garbage - will ask her to ring the doorbell and if I am home, I will give her a bottle of safe drinking water. In this searing heat, I hope it will help.

I don't have to, but I'd like fellow "Givers" to know that the total cost of this little package is Rs 225...

Soap Case - Rs 22

Rubber Gloves - Rs 79

Look on the sweeper's face - Priceless!

I would also like to share a few tips on how we can help ease the lives of the sweepers and those who handle our garbage. I follow these myself and it does take a little bit of 'thought'...but nothing more....

1. Never throw fused bulbs, broken crockery or any piece of glass straight into the dustbin. The garbage collector who collects from our doorstep to the ragpicker who rummages through our dry garbage looking for produce to sell/recycle, can end up hurting themselves with glass shrapnels. Always wrap the broken item in a thick layer of newspaper, rolled in a way that they have to 'open' the package when they deal with our garbage

2. Ditto for old knives or other sharp objects like used syringes for example

3. The same 'wrapping' process is advised for used diapers, and sanitary napkins/panty liners/condoms etc

4. Garbage segregation is the need of the hour. If not your society sweeper, but somebody in the chain has to separate the dry waste from the wet for the dry to be picked up by the Municipal Corporation. According  to a year 2000 Supreme Court ruling, segregation of our garbage is our individual responsibility. Even if we don't have much regard for a ruling that has not been implemented well, let us, at least for the dignity of these fellow humans, ensure our garbage is segregated and handed over to them

Joy of Giving Card 22 - Avoid Plastic Bags Video

The Joy of Giving Card 22 that exhorts us to desist from using plastic bags for a week is very dear to me.

When I was a newly wed, we used to travel a lot. On one of our trips to Nagaland and Meghalaya, I found, to my horror, the beautiful landscape was on its way to near ruin due to mountains of plastic bags lying in heaps along the roads, hillsides, open fields etc.

The experience also made me take notice of similar conditions prevailing in the city we lived in then, (famously called the Singapore of the East) Vishakhapatnam. I was not content merely watching. So I took action.

I designed and got the husband to screen print (this was the mid-90s remember!) A 4 size posters that I (much to his chagrin - because he was my chauffeur) pasted across town - in stores, supermarkets, even the University bulletin board. I did not attempt to find out if it helped, but at the famous Nilgiris Supermarket that I frequented, I was told by the manager that it had helped and people were not taking plastic bags from them anymore.

Sometimes I like to think that it was the fervour of youth and the idealistic thought process that served as an inspiration, but today I know it wasn't. Over the years I have continued to follow the practise of minimal plastic bag use, and even inspired my mother to do the same.

To bring all my thoughts on the subject together, I have created this 4 minute video. It is an amateur effort to make a little difference.

I am sending copies of the video on a pen drive to both my children's schools. It would help if this message could be spread to become a movement.

It is afterall, our responsibility to ensure that the Earth can breathe long after we're gone!

Watch it and forward!