Month: November 2022

Smile Foundation held a fundraising event to raise money for Fani Cyclone relief at a mall in Delhi recently. The event took place on Tuesday. Actor Vivek Oberoi was earlier announced as the celebrity guest at the event. After the actor’s controversial tweet on Monday, Smile Foundation announced that he will no longer be a part of the event. “We as an organisation stand for women empowerment and his statements are not in line with our belief statement,” Smile Foundation said in a statement. Though Vivek tweeted his apology and deleted the tweet that was criticized by many on Tuesday, he was not part of the event.

Actor Vivek Oberoi on Tuesday apologised for sharing a meme on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s personal life after severe criticism on social media and elsewhere, but that cut little ice with a charity organisation that dropped him from a fund-raising event.

Oberoi, who received a notice from the National Commission for Women asking for an explanation for sharing the “insulting” and “misogynistic” tweet, also deleted the controversial post.

The actor on Monday shared a meme with three panels, one featuring him, another with Salman Khan and a third with Aishwarya’s husband Abhishek and daughter Aaradhya.

The meme was a take on the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the results of which will be declared on Thursday.

“Sometimes what appears to be funny and harmless at first glance to one, may not be so to others. I have spent the last 10 years empowering more than 2000 underprivileged girls. I can’t even think of being disrespectful to any woman ever,” he tweeted.

“Even if one woman is offended by my reply to the meme, it calls for remedial action. Apologies.. tweet deleted,” the actor added. But the Smile Foundation was unimpressed.

“In view of the recent development related to Mr Vivek Anand Oberoi’s social media posts, Smile Foundation disassociates itself with the celebrity for the fundraising event on Odisha Fani Cyclone relief at DLF Promenade.

“We as an organisation stand for women empowerment and his statements are not in line with our belief statement,” the organisation said in statement.

Social media users, including members of the film fraternity, blasted the actor for sharing something that was “distasteful” and “crass”.

Oberoi, who is currently promoting a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was initially adamant that people were unnecessarily politicising the issue.

“Someone sent me a creative meme where I was being made fun of. I just wrote, ‘Ha ha,’ and appreciated the other person. When someone makes fun of you, you should laugh and not take it so seriously.

“I even wrote there that there’s nothing political about it. It’s life and such things happen in life that you are with someone and then you move on in life,” he said soon after the controversy broke on Monday.

More than 10 million have been affected by the worst summer cyclone in the state in 43 years, according to government data

CHENNAI, India, May 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – From the safety of a relative’s house, Mohammed Tazmul Hussein watched coconut trees crashing onto the roof of his home as Cyclone Fani barrelled into eastern India.

Two weeks after the cyclone struck Odisha state on India’s east coast, travelling at 200 km (124 miles) an hour and forcing the evacuation of more than one million people, Hussein is struggling to pick up the pieces and rebuild his home.

As well as having no electricity, not enough clean drinking water and no tree cover, thousands like Hussein are now exposed to heatwave conditions with temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius.

“We live by the coast and have never had to bear the intensity of summer like those in western parts of the state,” Hussein, 53, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation over the phone from Bhagwanpur village near the temple town of Puri.

“But the cyclone took away all our shade giving trees and uprooted electricity poles. And with electricity yet to be restored, the heat is sapping. I feel helpless.”

Fourteen districts of Odisha felt the impact of Cyclone Fani on May 3. More than 10 million have been affected by the worst summer cyclone in the state in 43 years, according to government data.

Hussein’s house is one of the more than 500,000 that were damaged in the cyclone, that destroyed crops, contaminated water bodies and snapped communication and power lines.

“There are people who stood near the rubble, unable to recognise what was left of their homes,” said Tushar Kantidas, senior manager for disaster risk management with charity Plan India.

“People have lost everything and there is an urgency to rebuild, with food and shelter being a priority. But the rising temperatures have become the new challenge.”

It has been two weeks since Cyclone Fani left the coast of Odisha but many are still living under trees and bracing for monsoon.

On May 3 Cyclone Fani, categorised as an extremely sever storm, hit Odisha and caused massive damage in the coastal state. The state government received praise from across the world for apt disaster management for keeping the loss of life to minimum.

Still 64 people lost their lives. Several hundred were rendered homeless. A large number of them were poor and came from Dalit community. Many of them have complained that they were barred from entering government-run shelter homes on May 3.

The officials, the Dalit cyclone survivors say, denied entry to shelter homes citing space crunch. Turned away from safe houses, they took refuge under the uprooted trees in the villages to save themselves from the harsh winds and incessant rainfall.

“The situation has been extremely bad since the day of the cyclone. We were not even allowed to enter the school building as they said there was no space,” said Saila Jena, 60, a Dalit, who has been living with her family of six including three children. Saila is from Badipara village in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.

Her family, like many others, put plastic sheets and clothes over the trees to protect them from winds speeding at 240 kmph and heavy downpours. The tree trunk and branches, now covered with plastic sheets, served as walls and roof for them providing shelter from nature’s fury.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/denied-entry-in-shelter-homes-during-cyclone-fani-say-dalits-in-odisha-1527661-2019-05-17

The state education department report states that at least 6,500 schools have been completely or partially damaged

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/20-lakh-children-waiting-for-schools-to-reopen-across-districts-in-puri-odisha-1527671-2019-05-17

A disease in which a person has an inadequate number of red blood cells or haemoglobin count, anaemia hinders the capacity of blood to carry oxygen. The symptoms include fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, dizziness, lethargy and decreased concentration. If anaemia is severe, it can lead to a serious issue — stunted growth. The major cause of anaemia is abject poverty, and in urban areas, a lack of a balanced diet.

Menorrhagia is one of the major causes of anaemia in pubertal females as knowledge about normal and abnormal menstrual cycle is minimal even in urban areas. Worm infestation, celiac disease and H.pylori are the other common causes for anaemia. Every case of anaemia requires intelligent investigation and work up. Mass screening along with awareness about anaemia are the cornerstone for the eradication of anaemia. Treatment depends upon the cause of anaemia and the severity of the disease. Oral form is the mainstay in less severe form and IV iron has led to the reduction in maternal mortality. Iron supplements can be used to combat iron deficiency. Vitamin B supplements are used to increase low vitamin levels. Blood transfusions can be used to minimise blood loss. Medication to induce blood formation may be used if the body’s blood production is reduced. The focus is not only to improve the nutritional status of women and girls, but also to see a domino effect. Healthy eating will promote healthy living. Once iron levels are improved, women will deliver healthy babies. This will help bring down both infant deaths as well as maternal deaths during childbirth. A positive change among the communities, particularly women and girls, will empower women and in turn empower the family.

(The author is co- founder Smile Foundation)