Does your maid experience any violence at home? Maybe it is not violence but just abuse? Or alcoholism ?
Is your co-worker struggling to make sense of her spiraling marriage? Is your neighbor feeling unwanted, disrespected or manipulated? We finally have an answer after years of not being able to effectively help women reaching out to us having experienced violence of some sort. The term violence seems to suggest physical harm – but emotional and mental harm are equally harmful and people need to be helped. It is to address this very issue that we have begun helping an increasing number of women through our Bembala initiative. Bembala in Kannada means “support for the backbone” and that is exactly what we are. Women can walk in any state but we hope to let them emerge strong enough to take on the next chapter of their lives – be it continuing in their existing circumstance or making changes to them. Our Neighborhood Survivor’s Story: Today I’m an entrepreneur, a single mother, a happy woman. I laugh, I feel safe, I travel, I hang out with friends. I am worth more. It wasn’t easy. Each day has its trials. I wonder how I will grow old alone or how I will pay the next round of fees. But I survive. I sit, relaxed watching my daughter doing her homework; growing up knowing she is worth the world and nothing less. This is my success! Bembala is now a month old and rearing to go! Come join us to celebrate being there for the women who need us and for each other. Bembala Center Update: Community Outreach: Bol Sakhi literally translated means ‘Speak Friend’ and that is exactly what we are going to do. Creating a society that has zero tolerance towards violence, by uniting women’s strength and encouraging those facing violence to seek support; find empowerment; and build safe lives for themselves. Please read more here. And more importantly, let no one suffer alone!
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Mumbai’s invisible beaches: A photo-story
Once a year, I inadvertently overhear someone wondering aloud about the sea level while crossing the Mahim or Thane Creek bridges without realising that the sea has tides. Similar conversations are heard at the beaches too. The Bandra Worli Sea Link, which now features in almost every movie about Mumbai, as seen from Mahim. Pic: MS Gopal Not being aware of tides often leads to lovers being stranded on the rocks along the coast, or even people getting washed away by waves during the monsoons. People regularly throng the sea-fronts of Mumbai - sometimes the beaches, sometimes the promenades, but…