How your favourite gadget is changing the world: Part 2 of 2

How your favourite gadget is changing the world: Part 2 of 2

a continuation of How your favourite gadget is changing the world: Part 1 of 2
Closer home
In India too, the mobile technology is being explored in various social fields. Though the penetration of mobile phones is not very high across India, the mobile still reaches interior rural villages and tribal areas in some states. There are [...]

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How your favourite gadget is changing the world: Part 1 of 2

How your favourite gadget is changing the world: Part 1 of 2

If you are a regular urbanite like me, to you the mobile phone means just what Priyanka Chopra seems to convey with her idiosyncratic little nod in the Nokia commercial – ‘it’s not just a phone, it’s me’. The ubiquitous device has now been a part of your lifestyle for years. You need it to [...]

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Prayatna

Prayatna

Albert Einstein once said that insanity is defined as trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. He probably said this in context of some scientific experiment, but this principle applies to almost every aspect of life, including primary education for children.
When children don’t perform well at school, most of us [...]

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A Silent Change

A Silent Change

Last year I received a random e-mail forward from a friend that for some reason I read (I usually just delete forwards). That’s where I heard about the Yatra and today, more than one year after that mail, I am glad I read it. Being a participant on the Tata Jagriti [...]

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The Colours of Joy

The Colours of Joy

In an earlier article, we had spoken about the huge potential for person-to-person lending in India and how DhanaX is tapping into this potential. Rang De is another organization working in this field. While DhanaX is a social business entrepreneurship, Rang De is a not-for-profit organization: this translates into a direct reduction in the interest [...]

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Conversations with an Auto Rickshaw Driver

There are so many little details that rush to the head and I can’t figure out where to begin. I start to feel like an eighth grader struggling with a character sketch of the protagonist of a Munshi Premchand story. My impression of Basanth is rather like one of those characters, simple with an uncanny [...]

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Become a social investor!

Become a social investor!

India has the second highest unbanked population in the world -  approximately six hundred and seventy five million people. More than sixty five percent of the people do not have access to a formal banking system. Only fifteen percent of the demand for credit worth ninety billion dollar is met through formal channels.
Microfinance is addressing this problem. The basic idea is simple: give a very small [...]

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Interview with the Chairman of Sankara Eye Foundation

Interview with the Chairman of Sankara Eye Foundation

A while ago, we had published an article about  Sankara Eye foundation and their awesome feat of conducting more than 250,000 free eye operations in India. A few days ago, I met their chairman – Mr. Murali Krishnamurthy. He is an incredibly down to earth and simple guy who agreed for an impromptu interview.

Thanks to [...]

Make husk while the sun shines

Make husk while the sun shines

The concept of the village, or ‘gram’ forms the core of India. Over seventy percent of her population is rural. There are more than half a million villages across the country, as opposed to five thousand or so urban settlements. And still many of us, such as me, have no direct experience of life in [...]

Goonj

Goonj

Posting on behalf of Divya Varadarajan.
GOONJ, formed a decade ago, is an initiative to provide basic amenities to far flung villages by turning one’s wastage to another’s resource. The “goonj” of this organization is spread over twenty states in India. As of today, it has a lot of good will work to its name [...]

Click, and it is given

Click, and it is given

On my way back from Auroville,  as I was walking to the Pondicherry beach, a middle-aged couple approached me. They introduced themselves as residents of a small town in Karnataka. I soon came to know from the man that he had recently fought with his brother and left their house in a huff with his [...]

Read along with the music

Read along with the music

Years ago, waking up early on a Sunday morning was purely for a single purpose – to watch Rangoli. A song compilation feature on Doordarshan (DD), Rangoli, apart from the legendary Chitrahar was the only way to catch up with Bollywood hits on TV in those days. Though many of us have moved onto 24×7 [...]

It’s Playback Time…

It’s Playback Time…

There are hundreds of NGOs working with thousands of volunteers and employees enabling millions of people in need. Physically, mentally challenged, destitute women, children, juvenile homes, old age homes and all those special places where the socially-different people are taken care of. They get their share of money, food and things they need to sustain [...]

And the leaves that are brown turn to green

And the leaves that are brown turn to green

Initially, when I was asked if I wanted to visit Sadhana Forest near Auroville, I was reluctant. I was on a holiday and it didn’t seem like a fun place. It definitely was not a holiday place. It was a bunch of serious people who really cared about the environment and were doing something about [...]

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At areweMAD we want to create a happier world. We do this by creating and spreading good news. We search the world (and the web :) ) for stuff that is positive, socially relevant and not common knowledge, and bring it to you. This fills us with a sense of optimism, a feeling of happiness, a belief in humanity and an admiration for the countless people who are making a difference in the world. We hope this site will do the same for you. Read more...

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