MMC
the page is up until 11:59 PM, 31 JANUARY, IST (India/Standard?Suggested/Time)
what the 18/1 race looked like around the 5hour mark.
pictures from the 15/2 race to come.
31 January 2009
one more day!
for donations:
MMC
the page is up until 11:59 PM, 31 JANUARY, IST (India/Standard?Suggested/Time)
what the 18/1 race looked like around the 5hour mark.
pictures from the 15/2 race to come.
MMC
the page is up until 11:59 PM, 31 JANUARY, IST (India/Standard?Suggested/Time)
what the 18/1 race looked like around the 5hour mark.
pictures from the 15/2 race to come.
28 January 2009
25 January 2009
MMC and donations
everything is running fast these days.
the online page for donations to MUMBAI MOBILE CRECHE will be up until 31 january.
please consider donating, it is a great cause, and they have an excellent reputation among the NGO community.
thanks to everyone for the support!
the online page for donations to MUMBAI MOBILE CRECHE will be up until 31 january.
please consider donating, it is a great cause, and they have an excellent reputation among the NGO community.
thanks to everyone for the support!
24 January 2009
city/village
highlights from a three day conference on 'innovations in the water sector'.* in progress
20 January 2009
19 January 2009
18 January 2009
do the needful
#1423 is out.
in sort of a sudden way, ive been demoted to cheerleader and event photographer for the big day.
(for the main reason of some tricky lower back issues, that are slightly out of my control right now).
disappointing, yes. extremely. but also a small relief in some ways.
im still determined to raise money/awareness for MMC, and support that cause.
DONATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED ONLINE UNTIL 31 JANUARY.
( rs. 3500 + so far, thanks to all who donated)!
for now, the energy and time will go towards work, and getting better. i am hoping to think of this as just a postponement, to be rescheduled for some other time before i leave.
race results!
and pictures in another post.
in sort of a sudden way, ive been demoted to cheerleader and event photographer for the big day.
(for the main reason of some tricky lower back issues, that are slightly out of my control right now).
disappointing, yes. extremely. but also a small relief in some ways.
im still determined to raise money/awareness for MMC, and support that cause.
DONATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED ONLINE UNTIL 31 JANUARY.
( rs. 3500 + so far, thanks to all who donated)!
for now, the energy and time will go towards work, and getting better. i am hoping to think of this as just a postponement, to be rescheduled for some other time before i leave.
race results!
and pictures in another post.
15 January 2009
technical difficulties
fixed!
(well, tech support was not so supportive, but things seem to be working now, at least as far as the online giving page).
please look it over, if you can spare some extra change, it will go a very very long way!
HELP BUILD CARE
the rest im still working on. 4 days to go, not sure how this will pan out. ive been a little consumed with deadlines, and entirely ignorant of any suggested training. and heatwave? for real, its still hitting 90 deg here daytime.
but no more excuses. while i may not beat p.diddy's nyc marathon time, i will finish, i can promise that. and yes, id like to raise some money, have a good time, and enjoy the company and the run. this is my first, and will not be my last.
its the home stretch, in more ways than one.
(well, tech support was not so supportive, but things seem to be working now, at least as far as the online giving page).
please look it over, if you can spare some extra change, it will go a very very long way!
HELP BUILD CARE
the rest im still working on. 4 days to go, not sure how this will pan out. ive been a little consumed with deadlines, and entirely ignorant of any suggested training. and heatwave? for real, its still hitting 90 deg here daytime.
but no more excuses. while i may not beat p.diddy's nyc marathon time, i will finish, i can promise that. and yes, id like to raise some money, have a good time, and enjoy the company and the run. this is my first, and will not be my last.
its the home stretch, in more ways than one.
08 January 2009
run like you mean it
MUMBAI MARATHON countdown. 10 DAYS TO GO.
ive signed up via united way to raise money (somewhat last-minute, but donations will be accepted after the race) for mumbai mobile creches:
'The construction industry is the single largest employer of migrant labourers, the poorest of the poor in Indian cities. In Mumbai alone, approximately one million men and women work in this sector. Moving wherever they can earn an income, their lives are characterized by insecurity of wages, dangerous working conditions, and lack of access to any kind of welfare. The children of these workers are even more vulnerable. Since both parents work, they are left to fend for themselves. Without access to day care centres, schools, and health services, they suffer from malnutrition, injury, and illness and are deprived of an education.
organizations like this help. they currently run 23 centers and serve about 5,000 children. their goal by 2010 is to serve 10,000.
please donate if you can. dollars and euros will go a long way over here too.
donate here: HELP BUILD CARE
*****its working its working!!
oh! and if youre in town, the route is from vt to bandra reclamation, and back. via marine drive/babulnath/peddar rd/worli seaface (basically the same route as going to the airport, short of the last stretch).
it starts at 7ish, and ill probably be running for almost 5 hours. so come watch, or lets meet up after for a recuperative meal. bring advil a nice cool breeze if you can. yes, and there will be bollywood stars too.
ive signed up via united way to raise money (somewhat last-minute, but donations will be accepted after the race) for mumbai mobile creches:
'The construction industry is the single largest employer of migrant labourers, the poorest of the poor in Indian cities. In Mumbai alone, approximately one million men and women work in this sector. Moving wherever they can earn an income, their lives are characterized by insecurity of wages, dangerous working conditions, and lack of access to any kind of welfare. The children of these workers are even more vulnerable. Since both parents work, they are left to fend for themselves. Without access to day care centres, schools, and health services, they suffer from malnutrition, injury, and illness and are deprived of an education.
For nearly four decades Mobile Creches has been the only NGO specifically supporting the health, education and safety of children of construction labourers, and has reached half a million children. We have shown what a difference a well-designed, innovative programme can make. However, there are still millions of children in the country, and over 50,000 children in Mumbai alone that live on construction sites. Mumbai Mobile Creches has adopted a vision called 10 by 10 where we aim to reach 10,000 children in Mumbai every year by the end of 2010. The futures of these children are under construction and we need your help.'
i see evidence of this problem everyday. india is constantly building, mumbai is constantly building. both mothers and fathers are part of that labor force. their families grow up on site. there is nothing in current legislation that ensures their care and safety.organizations like this help. they currently run 23 centers and serve about 5,000 children. their goal by 2010 is to serve 10,000.
please donate if you can. dollars and euros will go a long way over here too.
donate here: HELP BUILD CARE
*****its working its working!!
oh! and if youre in town, the route is from vt to bandra reclamation, and back. via marine drive/babulnath/peddar rd/worli seaface (basically the same route as going to the airport, short of the last stretch).
it starts at 7ish, and ill probably be running for almost 5 hours. so come watch, or lets meet up after for a recuperative meal. bring advil a nice cool breeze if you can. yes, and there will be bollywood stars too.
30 December 2008
the bloody flux
dysentery is a major issue of public health. it looks pretty, but its not.
.jpg)
basically spread by contaminated water, bacteria and amoebae enter the body and take up residence in the intestines. this causes a variety of unpleasant symptoms, the most critical being the resulting dehydration and nutrient deficiency that comes from not being able to retain food. this can be fatal, especially in children. in its less advanced and less severe states, its still not fun. headaches, confusion, stomach pain, the runs, on and off. the amoebae can take up residence in your gut, and although there may be no overt symptoms, its hard to be 100% well.
'a clean body cannot reside in an unclean city' - mk gandhi
so what to do? i dont really like the idea of dysentery, or amoebas in general, and its something id like to avoid in the future. however for some reason i seem to be a good host, and its been back in typical form for the last couple of weeks. beyond that though, its popularity here is evidence to a link between public health and urban development.
mumbai is not the dirtiest place i have ever been to, but its not the cleanest either. surface sanitation is one thing, but the problem with chronic conditions like contaminated water lie in the systems that set up the framework for life here. drinking water supply, ground water run-off, and sewer combine on a regular basis through overlapped networks and breaches in their respective boundaries. add to that an informal system of gathering, cleaning and eliminating, and probability for infection increases exponentially. mumbai has a combined ground water and sewer system, meaning that what drains off the streets, gets mixed with sewage, on its way to disposal. this also means that in times of severe rainfall (monsoon) this system overloads, and backs up, back to the streets. (this also happens in washington dc and boston, minus the monsoon). proper drainage systems, and separate sewage routing would decrease the level of contaminated groundwater, which would be a good start to avoiding the contamination of drinking water. as the drinking water supply is channeled into the city via pipelines and tanker trucks, it frequently comes into contact with the other system, of groundwater and sewage. sometimes by proximity, mostly by breaks (either leaks or informal taps) in the security of its containment. once things are combined, its hard to separate.
mumbai obviously cannot redesign an infrastructure over 100 yrs old, but there may be ways to remediate the system. concentrating on developing proper drainage for the most densely developed areas would help alleviate the pressure on the stormwater system. increasing safe public toilet facilities would help with the problem of informal sewers. ensuring that drinking water pipelines remain intact would reduce the probability of contamination. rainwater recycling could charge the toilet systems. requiring that new buildings have an adequate percentage of pervious open space might help absorb more run-off. constructing restorative landscapes in the large tracts of undeveloped land and turning them into park spaces may foster a sense of environmental stewardship.
sigh. this is all very simple, and not very realistic, when put into the context of how the city actually functions. so maybe there is a way to scale back, make the changes or modifications smaller, in the spirit of how most shortcomings are compensated for here.
im not sure, but its on my mind. in the meantime, i need to find some meds.
and make sure im drinking the good stuff.
* amoebic image from wikipedia.
* and despite the name, this is recommended for hangovers, and probably hard to find outside of stuttgart.
* is there a 75% less? its still better than any diet i know.
.jpg)
basically spread by contaminated water, bacteria and amoebae enter the body and take up residence in the intestines. this causes a variety of unpleasant symptoms, the most critical being the resulting dehydration and nutrient deficiency that comes from not being able to retain food. this can be fatal, especially in children. in its less advanced and less severe states, its still not fun. headaches, confusion, stomach pain, the runs, on and off. the amoebae can take up residence in your gut, and although there may be no overt symptoms, its hard to be 100% well.
'a clean body cannot reside in an unclean city' - mk gandhi
so what to do? i dont really like the idea of dysentery, or amoebas in general, and its something id like to avoid in the future. however for some reason i seem to be a good host, and its been back in typical form for the last couple of weeks. beyond that though, its popularity here is evidence to a link between public health and urban development.
mumbai is not the dirtiest place i have ever been to, but its not the cleanest either. surface sanitation is one thing, but the problem with chronic conditions like contaminated water lie in the systems that set up the framework for life here. drinking water supply, ground water run-off, and sewer combine on a regular basis through overlapped networks and breaches in their respective boundaries. add to that an informal system of gathering, cleaning and eliminating, and probability for infection increases exponentially. mumbai has a combined ground water and sewer system, meaning that what drains off the streets, gets mixed with sewage, on its way to disposal. this also means that in times of severe rainfall (monsoon) this system overloads, and backs up, back to the streets. (this also happens in washington dc and boston, minus the monsoon). proper drainage systems, and separate sewage routing would decrease the level of contaminated groundwater, which would be a good start to avoiding the contamination of drinking water. as the drinking water supply is channeled into the city via pipelines and tanker trucks, it frequently comes into contact with the other system, of groundwater and sewage. sometimes by proximity, mostly by breaks (either leaks or informal taps) in the security of its containment. once things are combined, its hard to separate.
mumbai obviously cannot redesign an infrastructure over 100 yrs old, but there may be ways to remediate the system. concentrating on developing proper drainage for the most densely developed areas would help alleviate the pressure on the stormwater system. increasing safe public toilet facilities would help with the problem of informal sewers. ensuring that drinking water pipelines remain intact would reduce the probability of contamination. rainwater recycling could charge the toilet systems. requiring that new buildings have an adequate percentage of pervious open space might help absorb more run-off. constructing restorative landscapes in the large tracts of undeveloped land and turning them into park spaces may foster a sense of environmental stewardship.
sigh. this is all very simple, and not very realistic, when put into the context of how the city actually functions. so maybe there is a way to scale back, make the changes or modifications smaller, in the spirit of how most shortcomings are compensated for here.
im not sure, but its on my mind. in the meantime, i need to find some meds.
and make sure im drinking the good stuff.
* amoebic image from wikipedia.
* and despite the name, this is recommended for hangovers, and probably hard to find outside of stuttgart.
* is there a 75% less? its still better than any diet i know.
