The NGO I'm working for is called Stree Jagruti Samiti (SJS) and is a women's rights organisation with a particular focus on domestic workers' rights. SJS also helps rescued child labourers and children of housemaids in conjunction with the Association for Promotion of Social Action and the South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring. My remit is to investigate the wage structure and current legislative protection afforded domestic workers (or lack thereof) and develop a proposal that SJS may use to petition the Government for change. I am also working on a pamphlet to make domestic workers aware of the rights that they currently have available to them. Before I leave, I will be presenting my proposal to, amongst others, representatives from the State Labour Commission, so hopefully the work I am now doing will one day form part of the law of India! Gulp...
I’ve been really impressed with the work that SJS is doing and the commitment of its staff. It is a very small organisation with very ambitious goals and any support you can give would really make a difference. So, on that note, on 11 October I’m going to be participating in the Bangalore Cyclothon: a 25km ride through Bangalore - hopefully not complete with traffic "obstacles", but almost certainly with the handicap of a fair bit of pollution! And I've yet to source a bicycle...
Advocates for International Development (A4ID) has kindly allowed me to use their Justgiving online donation facility to raise money in the UK on behalf of SJS. A4ID facilitates the provision of pro bono legal advice from UK qualified lawyers to a range of development NGOs to champion the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. My placement in India was brokered through A4ID.
It would be great if you could support me in the Cyclothon by making a online donation for SJS. Apologies for the very short notice but I have only just been able to set up this page to receive donations from outside of India.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
Please see http://www.a4id.org/ for further information on A4ID.
For information on the Bangalore Cyclothon visit http://bsaherculescyclothon.in.com/
Unfortunately SJS does not have a website, although it has just set up a facebook page for those of you who are into that kind of thing.
Many thanks for your support!
Ruth
