Bowbazaar - a red light district in Calcutta

"Nothing brings more joy than seeing the innocence in a little girl's eyes and knowing that she will have a better tomorrow because of the work being done today." - Carrie

Photo taken by Nicky Loh in Bowbazaar, a red light district in Calcutta where the children of women in prostitution are provided shelter and schooling support. 

DOT will partnering this NGO to bring books to these children through our November book donation drive. We hope through books and reading they will be exposed to a bigger world and more possibilities for their future.

A Mother we are all proud to hear from

So disappointed... I just came inside from having a water balloon fight w/my daughter... While I was outside running around & laughing w/her, some woman walking by had the nerve to say to me - "Why would you come outside & show those disgusting marks to the world? You should be more considerate of others." (In reference to my stretch marks because I had my bikini top on) My first response was to be angry w/her for her ignorance... & trust me y'all, I could've responded w/numerous ugly things to say to her... But I instead decided to respond calmly - "I love every part of my body, every flaw, every imperfection, & every stretch mark. Simply because it represents my journey of becoming not only a woman, but a mother. Have a blessed day." 

I must say though, I am astonished w/the fact that she was so comfortable being so downright rude, not only to someone whom she knew nothing about - but to a fellow woman... We're supposed to empower each other, not try to knock each other down! 

I have never had any insecurities about my stretch marks. I find no reason to be ashamed of the fact that I acquired these during the time period of which I was growing another life inside of me; one of the most sacred, precious & challenging things a woman is capable of doing! My stretch marks are my badge of honor - my warrior wounds - my 'tiger stripes' - I earned each & every one of them in the 37 & 1/2 weeks I carried my beautiful daughter w/in me & I am THANKFUL for every single one of them because they remind me every day of my strength & all the amazing things that I as a woman, & a mother, am capable of! I am finally at a point in my life where I feel & believe that I am beautiful & I will be damned if anyone tries to tell me otherwise!

I AM A PROUD MAMA WITH STRETCH MARKS! OH WELL!

Click here to learn more about Brittni Lyn

14 school girls killed in Pakistan

Last weekend, another attack killed 14 school girls in Pakistan (read article here). Planned with suicide bombers and all, the Al-Qaeda is clearly conducting a war against girls' education. 

Pledge your name to this petition and stand with Malala and the UM to fight for girls' right to education.

Update from Vrindavan

The man who changed 500 years of history for the widows of Vrindavan - Dr Pathak! And yet, this amazing good deed is just a recent "side project" of his!

Dr Parthak has for the past 40 years been working on his chief mission - to liberate the untouchables of Indian society from the undignified labor of cleaning and carrying human excreta on their heads away for disposal. His sanitation system is amazing, catering for all budgets and using all kinds of local resources so very rural household can build it cheaply. 

It's been 40 years and a lot of progress has been made. Something like 1.2 million rural households now have Sulabh's toilet system through his work. 

52 million more have been built with government using this technology too. 

40 years and still going strong! Of continuing efforts educating the people about the same thing, and of restoring dignity to the discriminated people within society. 

If i ever feel tired or discouraged about the long road ahead for DOT's work, i need only remember Dr Parthak and his steadfastness to his single-minded mission. A great man and truly inspirational!

Widows of India given a new lease of life:

UPDATE: Trip concluded! Here's a pic of our volunteer photographer Nicky Loh in action on first days of the trip. 

Look out for beautiful and moving photos on India's women next March at DOT's photo exhibition for International Women's Day!

Shared by Carrie who is in Delhi, India now. 

She visited http://www.sulabhinternational.org/ (NGO) today.

"The world can't afford to squander the well-being, talents and contributions of the thousands of girls who are married each day. It is time to end child marriage". (UN Population Fund report) 

Starting DOT's office in Singapore - we need your help!

Dear friends,

Those of you familiar with the work I’ve been doing with Daughters Of Tomorrow would know that we started off working with women in rural India. As I got more involved in the social services sector, I also came to know more about a sector of women here at home in Singapore who are struggling to cope amidst various difficulties.

I just visited a lady, Madam Dewi from a low-income family with 4 young children living in a subsidized rental flat in Eunos, to discuss taking on some sewing work with DOT. She hasn't been able to hold down a stable job because with 4 children sometimes falling sick one after another, her absenteeism rate is quite high and her previous companies all couldn't accomodate these needs. Her husband earns only $1,400 a month which is barely enough for their family of 6.

She told me her eldest daughter needs to go for a tonsilitis surgery in July and she won't be available to work for a week then as she needs to take care of her. I offered the possibility of having one of our volunteer help with babysitting her 3 other kids during that time if she really needs help. She looked at me and said with gratitude "Why didn't I get to meet you earlier??? There were so many times before when I really needed some help and I couldn't get any."

I didn't know what to say, except that I'm glad to meet her now and it's never too late. She's got such a positive attitude amidst her difficulties, I can so see the makings of a leader in her, if only an understanding employer can provide her with the support to manage a job while juggling taking care of 4 children.

We are starting her off with home-based sewing work to make DOT's Five Stones Set, and I really hope in the next few months to be able to provide Madam Dewi with more paid work. Perhaps even employ her full-time to help with admin work when we have more financial resources.

What I shared is only one example of a lady in Singapore we are reaching out to. There are many more in situations similar to hers.

DOT will need inventory storage space very soon and an area for our women beneficiaries in Singapore to work together in a supportive environment. If you know anyone who would like to lend a hand to a good cause, I am trying to raise some funds to enable this.  

We would like to employ a core team in Singapore to work on producing new product samples, and then outsource the bulk production to our women's cooperative in India. In this way, DOT will be able to help both women locally and in India in a symbiotic manner.

Here's the link where you can pledge some $$ to help us set up this workspace. If it’s not within your means to do so currently, that’s perfectly ok too. It will be great if you can help us forward to link to others so more people can know and help.  

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/employment-for-underprivileged-women

Many thanks, xx

Carrie

The Story of Madam Dewi

Just visited a lady, Madam Dewi from a low-income family with 4 young children living in a subsidised rental flat in Eunos, to discuss taking on some sewing work with DOT. She hasn't been able to hold down a stable job because with 4 children sometimes falling sick one after another, her absenteeism rate is quite high and her previous companies all couldn't accomodate these needs. Her husband earns only $1,400 a month which is barely enough for their family of 6.

She told me her eldest daughter needs to go for a tonsilitis surgery in July and she won't be available to work for a week then as she needs to take care of her. I offered the possibility of having one of our volunteer help with babysitting her 3 other kids during that time if she really needs help. She looked at me and said with gratitude "Why didn't I get to meet you earlier??? There were so many times before when I really needed some help and I couldn't get any."

I didn't know what to say, except that I'm glad to meet her now and it's never too late. She's got such a positive attitude amidst her difficulties, I can so see the makings of a leader in her, if only an understanding employer can provide her with the support to manage a job while juggling taking care of 4 children.

We are starting her off with home-based sewing work to make DOT's Five Stones Set, and I really hope in the next few months to be able to provide Madam Dewi with more paid work. Perhaps even employ her full-time to help with admin work when we have more financial resources. 

If anyone knows anyone with a lot of money wanting to do good, I am looking for a sponsor to help us rent an office space in the Eunos/Ubi area at $1,200 a month. DOT will need more inventory storage space very soon and an area for our women beneficiaries in Singapore to work together in a supportive environment. 

$14,400 will go a long way to help us make this next step to scale up our work in the next 12 months. Please help to spread the word, and if you'd like to contribute in any amount, please get in touch with me - Carrie@DaughtersOfTomorrow.com

A good man speaks up for women