Friday, September 18, 2009

Delhi Closing Ceremonies


We're so proud of our 150 Goal graduates this year from Delhi!

Aali Gaon and Jaitpur held their ceremonies in June. Geraldine Matchaba and Karuna Bhatia from Standard Chartered in Mumbai were guests of honor. Thr girls showcased dances and Hindi songs, and were addressed by Naz Executive Director Anjali Gopalan who reminded them to take their achievements and think about their own economic independence (always good to think big!).

Two graduates, Nidhi and Lakshmi shared their own stories - and with their certificates (and new shoes) in hand, the girls played a netball match.

Our Deepalaya girls graduated in August, with Sonali and Naureen acting as masters of ceremony. Dances, songs, and netball were also the events of the day, and the girls were honoured to be addressed by Rotarian T.K. Mathew, the founder member of the Deepalaya Board. He spoke about the importance of education for the girl child and taking up issues that target young girls and women. He highlighted how through Goal girls were provided opportunities to develop their personality and excel. He encouraged the students to get involved in Goal and aspire to do better in their lives.



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We would be very remiss here if we didn't take the time to make a very special thank you to Sharon Sethi as well, our outgoing Delhi volunteer coordinator. Sharon has been the heart and soul of Goal in Delhi since day 1, and we can't thank her enough for all she's done.



(Here's Sharon and I in Delhi in January)




Monday, September 14, 2009

Congratulations Mumbai girls!

Congratulations to all the girls from Globe Mills and Hamara Foundation in Mumbai who have completed the Goal programme. The girls were commended in a ceremony on Saturday.

Special thanks to Namrata, Pallavi, Vrushali, and Nayana who have done such an incredible job organising everything as our coaches and Goal Champions in Mumbai. And thanks as well to Standard Chartered staff who were there to applaud our new graduates.

Pictures to follow soon!

Friday, September 4, 2009

New York Times!


My favourite newspaper had an excellent Sunday magazine issue recently on why women's rights are "the cause of our time."

Every article in there was really stellar, especially the lead piece, so it's excellent recommended reading. Mostly it's just nice to see that everyone else in the world is starting to realise the importance of programmes like Goal have not just on women, but on the world.

They also asked for photo submissions - see Goal in the second row, all the way to the right.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Tell Us About Yourself!

It's been a busy summer and promises to be an even busier autumn for Goal. We're getting ready to launch the new programme year in Delhi, Mumbai, and new location Chennai. Over here in London we've been busy with preparations for our international roll-out. Our aim will be to reach 100,000 girls by the end of 2012. More details and locations to come.

We've noticed a bit of new traffic to the site recently (thanks!). Leave a comment below to let us know who you are and how you heard about Goal!