from Khalil Gibran's The Prophet
Then said a rich man, "Speak to us of Giving."
And he answered:
You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable?
There are those who give little of the much which they have - and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Though the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.
It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;
And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving
And is there aught you would withhold?
All you have shall some day be given;
Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.
You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.
And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?
And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.
For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.
And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.
Thank You!
Special thanks to Sara Berggren for contributing 137 USD for Jamuna!
We still have quite a way to go, but this is a great help...
43% of underage married girls suffer marital violence: Survey
When Delhi-based researcher Shruti Chaudhry visited a village in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh to study migration, she stumbled upon two darker secrets of India's family life. Talking to women in Chabutra village, she learned that most women got married when they were 14 to 16 years old. But that was not all.
"A husband of one of the women we talked to later told us that his wife had given wrong information, which he wanted corrected. He added that he had soundly thrashed her for this," said a troubled Shruti.
Adolescent marriage and domestic violence are two widely prevalent but unacknowledged practices. Recent studies on the married life of adolescent girls reveal a chilling link between the two. Anita Raj of Boston University School of Public Health, involved in several such studies said that adolescent marriage appears to be directly correlated with increased violence at home: emotional, physical and sexual, practiced both by the husband and the in-laws. It is unabated even during pregnancy and motherhood. And, most sobering of all, female children born to under-age mothers suffer from higher risks of dying before they reach their fifth birthday.
Raj led a study, published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, of over 10,000 married women aged 20 to 24 years which showed that 43% of under-age married women said they had been subject to marital violence, while 24% of adult-married women reported such events. Severe, life-threatening violence was experienced by 16% of under-age married women compared to 6% of adult married women.
In another study of young mothers from a low-income locality in Mumbai, Raj found that physical and non-physical abuse by husbands and in-laws continued during pregnancy and while nursing new-borns.
"I get up at 3 or 4 a.m. to get water. After that, I make breakfast and prepare a lunch box for my father-in-law and sister-in-law. I make a separate lunch for my mother-in-law, wash clothes and clean the house. I had to do my work whether I was pregnant or not. No one helped me," said a 16-year-old mother quoted in Raj's study. The study documents hair-raising accounts of denial of food and healthcare, beatings, forced drudgery, by the marital household. It showed that violence by other family members was more likely when husbands were violent towards the wife.
A study by Jay Silverman of Harvard School of Public Health, Anita Raj and others has shown that under-age marriage led to higher infant and child mortality rates of daughters and not sons compared to women who were married in adulthood.
Another study of married women in five Indian states by Delhi's Population Council and Mumbai's International Institute of Population Studies showed that under-age married women got less autonomy and were less likely to express opinions on domestic issues. Importantly, under-age mothers were significantly less likely to have had their first delivery in a health facility.
Although the proportion of girls married off in the 15 to 19 year age group has declined from 56% in 1971 to about 27% in 2006, it still means that over 1.5 crore girls are thus married. And, 16% of the age group, that is about 2.4 lakh women had already become mothers or were pregnant, according to the National Family & Health Survey-3.
Raj says that these issues are compromising the health and development of the country as a whole. But she is optimistic. "Fortunately recent movements in public health in the country have recognized these issues as needing to be addressed," she says.
"A husband of one of the women we talked to later told us that his wife had given wrong information, which he wanted corrected. He added that he had soundly thrashed her for this," said a troubled Shruti.
Adolescent marriage and domestic violence are two widely prevalent but unacknowledged practices. Recent studies on the married life of adolescent girls reveal a chilling link between the two. Anita Raj of Boston University School of Public Health, involved in several such studies said that adolescent marriage appears to be directly correlated with increased violence at home: emotional, physical and sexual, practiced both by the husband and the in-laws. It is unabated even during pregnancy and motherhood. And, most sobering of all, female children born to under-age mothers suffer from higher risks of dying before they reach their fifth birthday.
Raj led a study, published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, of over 10,000 married women aged 20 to 24 years which showed that 43% of under-age married women said they had been subject to marital violence, while 24% of adult-married women reported such events. Severe, life-threatening violence was experienced by 16% of under-age married women compared to 6% of adult married women.
In another study of young mothers from a low-income locality in Mumbai, Raj found that physical and non-physical abuse by husbands and in-laws continued during pregnancy and while nursing new-borns.
"I get up at 3 or 4 a.m. to get water. After that, I make breakfast and prepare a lunch box for my father-in-law and sister-in-law. I make a separate lunch for my mother-in-law, wash clothes and clean the house. I had to do my work whether I was pregnant or not. No one helped me," said a 16-year-old mother quoted in Raj's study. The study documents hair-raising accounts of denial of food and healthcare, beatings, forced drudgery, by the marital household. It showed that violence by other family members was more likely when husbands were violent towards the wife.
A study by Jay Silverman of Harvard School of Public Health, Anita Raj and others has shown that under-age marriage led to higher infant and child mortality rates of daughters and not sons compared to women who were married in adulthood.
Another study of married women in five Indian states by Delhi's Population Council and Mumbai's International Institute of Population Studies showed that under-age married women got less autonomy and were less likely to express opinions on domestic issues. Importantly, under-age mothers were significantly less likely to have had their first delivery in a health facility.
Although the proportion of girls married off in the 15 to 19 year age group has declined from 56% in 1971 to about 27% in 2006, it still means that over 1.5 crore girls are thus married. And, 16% of the age group, that is about 2.4 lakh women had already become mothers or were pregnant, according to the National Family & Health Survey-3.
Raj says that these issues are compromising the health and development of the country as a whole. But she is optimistic. "Fortunately recent movements in public health in the country have recognized these issues as needing to be addressed," she says.
Thank You!
Big thanks to Bala for contributing 200 USD towards Jamuna's treatment. We still have a long way to go...
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