A BANKER TURNED WRITER KNOWS MYTHOLOGY IS HOT

Picture this: You’re a private banker and a mother to two excitable boys. You decide it’s time for your kids to hear the stories you grew up listening to. You visit bookstores, seeking children’s versions of the mythological epics that enraptured you as a child. Nothing satisfies. What do you do?

If you’re Bhakti Mathur, you write the damn book yourself.

At 42, Mathur — a Hong Kong–based investment banker — is the author of the popularAmma, Tell Me series, sold in six countries. The books introduce children between the ages of 3 and 9 to Hindu mythology. That’s no easy task: Those myths, like their Greek or Roman counterparts, number in the hundreds of thousands, with no shortage of gods (with multiple names, no less). In the lead-up to the publication of her ninth book, Mathur earned an invite to this year’s Jaipur Literature Festival, the largest free festival in the world.





Bhakti Mathur.

Source: Bhaktimathur.Com

Funnily, though, Mathur’s writing venture could not have had a humbler start. She self-published her first book, Amma, Tell Me About Holi! She knew zilch about logistics and found herself running to the post office to courier one book at a time to readers. Thank god(s) for her banking background, which made her more competent at the biz side than your average creative. And that biz side may be surprisingly fruitful in India, where there’s a huge market for modern kids’ books that retell classics. Mythology is hot, says Reena Puri, executive editor of Amar Chitra Katha, a comic-book publisher that, thanks to colorful, straightforward storytelling about gods and goddesses, has sold millions of books worldwide since the company’s inception in 1967. Not to mention the diaspora — Mathur has lived in San Francisco and Hong Kong — where anxious parents find themselves hankering for a tangible way to transmit the old country’s values. More than a third of Mathur’s total sales are from the U.S.

Mathur’s work fits into a controversial zeitgeist in which Hindu stories have become political.

Why all the fuss about old epics? “Ours is a living mythology; the gods in the books are there on our altars,” says Puri (and on calendars, in rickshaws, in films, on television, etc.). And then there’s a modern explanation. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings — “confusing fantasy (nobody’s truth) with mythology (a culture’s truth) is quite common,” says Devdutt Pattanaik, one of India’s most prolific mythologists. There’s also an impetus to revive Indian cultural history that under colonialism went unwritten for years. For Amma to tell of festivals like Holi and Diwali or epics like the Ramayana is for Amma to preserve rather a lot of culture.

Mathur’s love for Hindu mythology started young. An only child from a middle-class family, she often felt an outsider in her prep school. The best part of her day was spent after school with her caretaker, a kindly old man who regaled her with stories from the Hindu epics. Lost in the world of mighty kings, learned sages, fearsome demons and the gods incarnate, she floated into contentedness. It’s odd, hearing a banker talking about magical creatures with such excitement. More so, when you see slim, bright-eyed, professional-looking Mathur in action. While talking to her, you can almost feel her brain whirring — making lists, taking notes and generally filing away information to ponder over later. It’s evident that research really is her favorite part of writing, as she had claimed in our first conversation.

Thanks to the “lingering sense of insecurity” over her childhood financial situation, she ended up in banking. “Is there anyone whose dream is to become a banker?” she says, laughing. Armed with a master’s degree in finance, she moved to Mumbai from New Delhi in 1995 for her first job, where she met her husband. Two years later, they were married — but within a week of the wedding, the company declared bankruptcy and her husband lost his job. They headed to San Francisco five years later; then Hong Kong.

Mathur’s reach is limited — she has sold only 85,000 copies, which isn’t bad in the tight Indian market, but a pittance globally. One reason could be that her books offer only a surface understanding of the subject. They are great pictorially and as an introduction — definitely better suited for a youngster of 3 than 9 — but if you’re hoping to familiarize your child with the finer details of the stories that make up Hinduism, you’re going to be a tad disappointed. And Hindu mythology is itself “tough to understand,” says Pattanaik.

Another interesting wrinkle: Mathur’s work fits into a controversial zeitgeist in which Hindu stories have become political — the ruling conservative party has been accused of deploying them selectively, and a cohort of mostly Western scholars sought to create a comprehensive library to gather the poorly recorded Hindu classics. The wrong portrayal of Hinduism, in the eyes of some right-wingers, is enough for a book to be banned (as University of Chicago professor Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: An Alternate History was) or to incite protest.

Mathur figures she’s far from the politics, though, and begins first and foremost with the reactions of her sons, who serve as her guinea pigs. They’re not always pleased. Recently, her son Shiv grew angry with his mother when he discovered she was not actually the author of the Ramayana. “‘You copied him?’” she recalls her son asking. “I’m still not sure if he’s forgiven me.”


SONALI KOKRA

OZY AUTHOR

Sonali Kokra is a journalist and writer living in Mumbai.

A BANKER TURNED WRITER KNOWS MYTHOLOGY IS HOT

Picture this: You’re a private banker and a mother to two excitable boys. You decide it’s time for your kids to hear the stories you grew up listening to. You visit bookstores, seeking children’s versions of the mythological epics that enraptured you as a child. Nothing satisfies. What do you do?

If you’re Bhakti Mathur, you write the damn book yourself.

At 42, Mathur — a Hong Kong–based investment banker — is the author of the popularAmma, Tell Me series, sold in six countries. The books introduce children between the ages of 3 and 9 to Hindu mythology. That’s no easy task: Those myths, like their Greek or Roman counterparts, number in the hundreds of thousands, with no shortage of gods (with multiple names, no less). In the lead-up to the publication of her ninth book, Mathur earned an invite to this year’s Jaipur Literature Festival, the largest free festival in the world.





Bhakti Mathur.

Source: Bhaktimathur.Com

Funnily, though, Mathur’s writing venture could not have had a humbler start. She self-published her first book, Amma, Tell Me About Holi! She knew zilch about logistics and found herself running to the post office to courier one book at a time to readers. Thank god(s) for her banking background, which made her more competent at the biz side than your average creative. And that biz side may be surprisingly fruitful in India, where there’s a huge market for modern kids’ books that retell classics. Mythology is hot, says Reena Puri, executive editor of Amar Chitra Katha, a comic-book publisher that, thanks to colorful, straightforward storytelling about gods and goddesses, has sold millions of books worldwide since the company’s inception in 1967. Not to mention the diaspora — Mathur has lived in San Francisco and Hong Kong — where anxious parents find themselves hankering for a tangible way to transmit the old country’s values. More than a third of Mathur’s total sales are from the U.S.

Mathur’s work fits into a controversial zeitgeist in which Hindu stories have become political.

Why all the fuss about old epics? “Ours is a living mythology; the gods in the books are there on our altars,” says Puri (and on calendars, in rickshaws, in films, on television, etc.). And then there’s a modern explanation. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings — “confusing fantasy (nobody’s truth) with mythology (a culture’s truth) is quite common,” says Devdutt Pattanaik, one of India’s most prolific mythologists. There’s also an impetus to revive Indian cultural history that under colonialism went unwritten for years. For Amma to tell of festivals like Holi and Diwali or epics like the Ramayana is for Amma to preserve rather a lot of culture.

Mathur’s love for Hindu mythology started young. An only child from a middle-class family, she often felt an outsider in her prep school. The best part of her day was spent after school with her caretaker, a kindly old man who regaled her with stories from the Hindu epics. Lost in the world of mighty kings, learned sages, fearsome demons and the gods incarnate, she floated into contentedness. It’s odd, hearing a banker talking about magical creatures with such excitement. More so, when you see slim, bright-eyed, professional-looking Mathur in action. While talking to her, you can almost feel her brain whirring — making lists, taking notes and generally filing away information to ponder over later. It’s evident that research really is her favorite part of writing, as she had claimed in our first conversation.

Thanks to the “lingering sense of insecurity” over her childhood financial situation, she ended up in banking. “Is there anyone whose dream is to become a banker?” she says, laughing. Armed with a master’s degree in finance, she moved to Mumbai from New Delhi in 1995 for her first job, where she met her husband. Two years later, they were married — but within a week of the wedding, the company declared bankruptcy and her husband lost his job. They headed to San Francisco five years later; then Hong Kong.

Mathur’s reach is limited — she has sold only 85,000 copies, which isn’t bad in the tight Indian market, but a pittance globally. One reason could be that her books offer only a surface understanding of the subject. They are great pictorially and as an introduction — definitely better suited for a youngster of 3 than 9 — but if you’re hoping to familiarize your child with the finer details of the stories that make up Hinduism, you’re going to be a tad disappointed. And Hindu mythology is itself “tough to understand,” says Pattanaik.

Another interesting wrinkle: Mathur’s work fits into a controversial zeitgeist in which Hindu stories have become political — the ruling conservative party has been accused of deploying them selectively, and a cohort of mostly Western scholars sought to create a comprehensive library to gather the poorly recorded Hindu classics. The wrong portrayal of Hinduism, in the eyes of some right-wingers, is enough for a book to be banned (as University of Chicago professor Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: An Alternate History was) or to incite protest.

Mathur figures she’s far from the politics, though, and begins first and foremost with the reactions of her sons, who serve as her guinea pigs. They’re not always pleased. Recently, her son Shiv grew angry with his mother when he discovered she was not actually the author of the Ramayana. “‘You copied him?’” she recalls her son asking. “I’m still not sure if he’s forgiven me.”


SONALI KOKRA

OZY AUTHOR

Sonali Kokra is a journalist and writer living in Mumbai.

WWII POW Remembers Allied Victory in Europe

May 8 marks 70 years since the Allied victory in Europe in World War II, but memories are still strong for one veteran who almost didn’t survive the war’s end.

Merle Hancock was one of 16 million men who fought in the Second World War, and almost was one of those who didn’t make it home.

As he looks at the planes that will fly in the 70th V-E Day anniversary commemoration, Merle remembers being drafted at age 19.

"[I had] never been on an aircraft before, and let alone, hold on to a gun – that was frightening to the death," recalled Hancock.

Merle joined the 10-man crew of a B-17 plane that flew bombing runs over Germany.

"We were signed to a B-17, and from there on our life was the B-17. We slept together, we ate together, we went to town together. We didn’t do anything unless we were all together," he said.

In unheated planes flying high over enemy territory, attacked by bombs, machine guns and heavy antiaircraft fire, Merle and the crew survived 36 missions.

That all changed during their 37th mission.

"We lost 17 B-17s that day – 10 men to a ship."

Merle personally shot down three German fighter planes before parachuting out of his burning B-17.

He landed in what must have been the highest tree in Germany, he said, only to be captured and turned over to the Gestapo.

They interrogated him and sent him to Stalag Luft Camp IV – a German prisoner of war camp.

With the Allies pushing toward victory, the Germans marched the prisoners out of the camp.

"We lost about 2,000 men on that march. I call it a march – it was a walk of survival," Merle said.

The end of hostilities in Europe came May 8, 1945, after six long years of war.

Marched almost to death, Merle didn’t experience V-E Day like the rest of the world.

"The greatest thing that happened is when I was liberated, and I don’t remember joy or anything like that, I don’t remember that, probably did but maybe we were too hungry to jump," he recalled.

As Europe celebrated, Merle worried about simpler things.

"I had my first shower and my first hot meal in about a year. The shower was great and the meal was good," he said.

The U.S. military recognized Merle’s contributions with a Silver Star and a Purple Heart.

"The day the two-star general pinned [these] on me, I cried," he said. The medals were pinned on his shirt once again for the commemoration.

Of the 16 million men who went to war, about 1 million are still alive for the 70th anniversary.

WWII POW Remembers Allied Victory in Europe

May 8 marks 70 years since the Allied victory in Europe in World War II, but memories are still strong for one veteran who almost didn’t survive the war’s end.

Merle Hancock was one of 16 million men who fought in the Second World War, and almost was one of those who didn’t make it home.

As he looks at the planes that will fly in the 70th V-E Day anniversary commemoration, Merle remembers being drafted at age 19.

"[I had] never been on an aircraft before, and let alone, hold on to a gun – that was frightening to the death," recalled Hancock.

Merle joined the 10-man crew of a B-17 plane that flew bombing runs over Germany.

"We were signed to a B-17, and from there on our life was the B-17. We slept together, we ate together, we went to town together. We didn’t do anything unless we were all together," he said.

In unheated planes flying high over enemy territory, attacked by bombs, machine guns and heavy antiaircraft fire, Merle and the crew survived 36 missions.

That all changed during their 37th mission.

"We lost 17 B-17s that day – 10 men to a ship."

Merle personally shot down three German fighter planes before parachuting out of his burning B-17.

He landed in what must have been the highest tree in Germany, he said, only to be captured and turned over to the Gestapo.

They interrogated him and sent him to Stalag Luft Camp IV – a German prisoner of war camp.

With the Allies pushing toward victory, the Germans marched the prisoners out of the camp.

"We lost about 2,000 men on that march. I call it a march – it was a walk of survival," Merle said.

The end of hostilities in Europe came May 8, 1945, after six long years of war.

Marched almost to death, Merle didn’t experience V-E Day like the rest of the world.

"The greatest thing that happened is when I was liberated, and I don’t remember joy or anything like that, I don’t remember that, probably did but maybe we were too hungry to jump," he recalled.

As Europe celebrated, Merle worried about simpler things.

"I had my first shower and my first hot meal in about a year. The shower was great and the meal was good," he said.

The U.S. military recognized Merle’s contributions with a Silver Star and a Purple Heart.

"The day the two-star general pinned [these] on me, I cried," he said. The medals were pinned on his shirt once again for the commemoration.

Of the 16 million men who went to war, about 1 million are still alive for the 70th anniversary.

Capitalism vs. lock in

Seth's Blog

Free markets encourage organizations to take leaps, to improve products, to obsess about delighting customers. One reason that this happens is that competition is always nipping at your heels... if you don't get better, your clients will find someone who does.

But once lock-in occurs, the incentives change. When the cost of switching gets high enough, the goals of the business (particularly if it is a public company) start to drift.

Google doesn't need to make search more effective. They seek to make each search more profitable instead.

Apple doesn't need to obsess about making their software more elegant. They work to make the platform more profitable now.

[For example, iMovie, which has destroyed all possible competitors because of lock-in pricing, but continues to badly disappoint most reviewers.]

Verizon doesn't need to make its broadband faster or more reliable. Just more profitable.

In many ways, it's more urgent than ever to engage in free market competitive thinking when you start a small business. But as network effects increase, we're getting worse at figuring out what to do about restoring free markets at the other end of the spectrum, at places where choices aren't as free as they used to be.

We all benefit when organizations that believe they have lock-in act like they don't.

Capitalism vs. lock in

Seth's Blog

Free markets encourage organizations to take leaps, to improve products, to obsess about delighting customers. One reason that this happens is that competition is always nipping at your heels... if you don't get better, your clients will find someone who does.

But once lock-in occurs, the incentives change. When the cost of switching gets high enough, the goals of the business (particularly if it is a public company) start to drift.

Google doesn't need to make search more effective. They seek to make each search more profitable instead.

Apple doesn't need to obsess about making their software more elegant. They work to make the platform more profitable now.

[For example, iMovie, which has destroyed all possible competitors because of lock-in pricing, but continues to badly disappoint most reviewers.]

Verizon doesn't need to make its broadband faster or more reliable. Just more profitable.

In many ways, it's more urgent than ever to engage in free market competitive thinking when you start a small business. But as network effects increase, we're getting worse at figuring out what to do about restoring free markets at the other end of the spectrum, at places where choices aren't as free as they used to be.

We all benefit when organizations that believe they have lock-in act like they don't.

India - Pakistan = Pandia - Ikistan

India - Pakistan Movie 

It should be "Pandia - Ikistan"



India Pakistan is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by N. Anand. The film featuresVijay Antony and Sushma Raj in the leading roles, while Pasupathy plays a pivotal supporting role. The film, produced by actor Vijay Antony, will be a late 2014 release.Satellite rights of the film were secured by Zee Tamizh
Cast[edit]
Vijay Antony as Karthik
Sushma Raj as Mellina
Pasupathy
Jagan
M. S. Bhaskar
Production[edit]

The film was announced by Vijay Antony in September 2013, when he revealed that he would work on the project alongside his commitment to another venture, Thirudan.[2] Production works began soon after, though Vijay Antony concentrated on the release of his other production Salim (2014), before beginning his portions.[3] the shoot subsequently began in April 2014 and was shot straight for sixty days.[4][5]



India Pakistan

Produced by

Fatima Vijay Antonydirector = N. Anand
Starring Vijay Antony
Sushma Raj
Pasupathy
Jagan Manobala MS Baskar TP Gajendren Kali sharth
Urvasi
Music by Deena Devarajan
Cinematography N. Om
Edited by M.Thiyagarajan

Production
company
Vijay Antony Film Corporation

Release dates 8 May 2015

Running time 2 Hrs 37 Min.
Country India
Language Tamil

India - Pakistan = Pandia - Ikistan

India - Pakistan Movie 

It should be "Pandia - Ikistan"



India Pakistan is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by N. Anand. The film featuresVijay Antony and Sushma Raj in the leading roles, while Pasupathy plays a pivotal supporting role. The film, produced by actor Vijay Antony, will be a late 2014 release.Satellite rights of the film were secured by Zee Tamizh
Cast[edit]
Vijay Antony as Karthik
Sushma Raj as Mellina
Pasupathy
Jagan
M. S. Bhaskar
Production[edit]

The film was announced by Vijay Antony in September 2013, when he revealed that he would work on the project alongside his commitment to another venture, Thirudan.[2] Production works began soon after, though Vijay Antony concentrated on the release of his other production Salim (2014), before beginning his portions.[3] the shoot subsequently began in April 2014 and was shot straight for sixty days.[4][5]



India Pakistan

Produced by

Fatima Vijay Antonydirector = N. Anand
Starring Vijay Antony
Sushma Raj
Pasupathy
Jagan Manobala MS Baskar TP Gajendren Kali sharth
Urvasi
Music by Deena Devarajan
Cinematography N. Om
Edited by M.Thiyagarajan

Production
company
Vijay Antony Film Corporation

Release dates 8 May 2015

Running time 2 Hrs 37 Min.
Country India
Language Tamil

Economic boosts in Pakistan

How do you know if a country has a grave terrorism problem? You can talk to experts, read the local newspapers or even visit some morgues. Or you could just look at the number of coffin sales. In Pakistan, they are soaring.

The jihadi insurgency in the northwest part of the country is leaving a bloody body trail, but it’s also providing an economic opportunity for the region’s enterprising coffin makers, who are making the most of a painful humanitarian crisis. In the 4.5-million-person capital of the North-West Frontier Province, Peshawar, around 40 coffin sellers work night and day to keep up with demand after every attack.

This grim economic upside has been picking up for some time now. Since 2001, according to the Pakistani government, more than 50,000 people have been killed in terrorism-related gun, bomb and suicide attacks, mostly in the northern tribal areas. Only last December, the Taliban assaulted a school in Peshawar, shooting indiscriminately and leaving 141 people dead, mostly children.
And it’s not only terrorists driving the coffin boom. Drones are also “good for business.” Since 2010, at least 2,400 people have died in northwest Pakistan in drone strikes. “In an art project that was taken to northwestern Pakistan, every single one of the drawings made by the children living in the area depicted a drone — it is their worst nightmare,” says Mona Kanwal Sheikh, a senior researcher in international security at the Danish Institute of International Studies.

As the body count grows, so does the number of shops selling wooden boxes. Still, coffins are not part of traditional Muslim death rites in Pakistan. Most corpses are wrapped in a white funeral shroud before being buried directly into the ground. But the violent nature of suicide bombings, drone strikes and IED blasts often leaves the bodies dismembered, disfigured or in such awful condition that family members have little choice but to try and gather the remains in a coffin.

The simple handmade wooden coffins often have little windows on top to show the faces of the lost ones. The simplest sell for about $30 apiece, while the most ornate cedar and velvet versions — often used to bury senior military officers — can go for up to $350. This is good money in a region that struggles with unemployment and lack ofINVESTMENT. Still, residents hope that coffin makers will one day be out of business. “Coffins are sold in large numbers when some major attack happens, like the school one in December,” says Javed Aziz Khan, a local journalist. “But these incidents have decreased now, so there are hopes that things are going to improve soon.”

Unfortunately, experts don’t think that’s likely. “Before 2001, there were no Pakistani Taliban. Today we have hundreds of Taliban-affiliated organizations,” says Kanwal Sheikh, “and there are no prospects that they will go away.” So as the Taliban continue to retaliate against the Pakistani government and the U.S. drone strikes, more local woodworkers will see their coffin businesses prosper while wishing they can one day go back to making just tables and cradles.

Read more: The Economic Boom in Pakistan That Everyone Wants to Bust | Acumen | OZY

Economic boosts in Pakistan

How do you know if a country has a grave terrorism problem? You can talk to experts, read the local newspapers or even visit some morgues. Or you could just look at the number of coffin sales. In Pakistan, they are soaring.

The jihadi insurgency in the northwest part of the country is leaving a bloody body trail, but it’s also providing an economic opportunity for the region’s enterprising coffin makers, who are making the most of a painful humanitarian crisis. In the 4.5-million-person capital of the North-West Frontier Province, Peshawar, around 40 coffin sellers work night and day to keep up with demand after every attack.

This grim economic upside has been picking up for some time now. Since 2001, according to the Pakistani government, more than 50,000 people have been killed in terrorism-related gun, bomb and suicide attacks, mostly in the northern tribal areas. Only last December, the Taliban assaulted a school in Peshawar, shooting indiscriminately and leaving 141 people dead, mostly children.
And it’s not only terrorists driving the coffin boom. Drones are also “good for business.” Since 2010, at least 2,400 people have died in northwest Pakistan in drone strikes. “In an art project that was taken to northwestern Pakistan, every single one of the drawings made by the children living in the area depicted a drone — it is their worst nightmare,” says Mona Kanwal Sheikh, a senior researcher in international security at the Danish Institute of International Studies.

As the body count grows, so does the number of shops selling wooden boxes. Still, coffins are not part of traditional Muslim death rites in Pakistan. Most corpses are wrapped in a white funeral shroud before being buried directly into the ground. But the violent nature of suicide bombings, drone strikes and IED blasts often leaves the bodies dismembered, disfigured or in such awful condition that family members have little choice but to try and gather the remains in a coffin.

The simple handmade wooden coffins often have little windows on top to show the faces of the lost ones. The simplest sell for about $30 apiece, while the most ornate cedar and velvet versions — often used to bury senior military officers — can go for up to $350. This is good money in a region that struggles with unemployment and lack ofINVESTMENT. Still, residents hope that coffin makers will one day be out of business. “Coffins are sold in large numbers when some major attack happens, like the school one in December,” says Javed Aziz Khan, a local journalist. “But these incidents have decreased now, so there are hopes that things are going to improve soon.”

Unfortunately, experts don’t think that’s likely. “Before 2001, there were no Pakistani Taliban. Today we have hundreds of Taliban-affiliated organizations,” says Kanwal Sheikh, “and there are no prospects that they will go away.” So as the Taliban continue to retaliate against the Pakistani government and the U.S. drone strikes, more local woodworkers will see their coffin businesses prosper while wishing they can one day go back to making just tables and cradles.

Read more: The Economic Boom in Pakistan That Everyone Wants to Bust | Acumen | OZY

White House Initiative Pushes Benefits of Girls' Education

Romina Kola’s family moved from a village in Albania, where the closest school was two hours away, to the northern city of Shkodra so she could get an education. 

“Many of my friends can’t attend school because of distance and poverty, she says. “Schools are too far away from the village where we live.”

Sixty-two million girls around the world are not in school. Susan Markham, a Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) says distance and, in some cases, risk of violence are only some of the barriers to a girl’s education.

“Whether it’s child marriage or economic pressure because of school fees, we want to address those,” she says.

The Obama administration has now embarked on a high-profile initiative, called "Let Girls Learn," to empower girls through education, saying the inability of girls to attend school worldwide should be a foreign policy priority.

First lady Michelle Obama is championing these efforts through new public and private sector commitments, cooperation with other governments and community-led solutions. Poverty, lack of resources, and cultural norms prevent girls from many areas of the world from going to school.

"Let Girls Learn" is building upon a public-engagement campaign that USAID launched last year. Obama went to Japan and Cambodia in March to promote the initiative. The director of the Peace Corps, Carrie Hessler-Radelet, traveled with her.

“The First lady is incredibly passionate about this topic," Hessler-Radelet said. “She looks at her own life and her husband’s life, President Obama’s life and they see how important education was in them achieving their life goals. And they want to make sure that every girl has the same chance that they had.”

The map of the countries where the initiative will be implemented, mirrors that of the more than 60 countries where the Peace Corps operates, including in Europe, Africa and Asia. In the first year, the Peace Corps is targeting 11 countries: Albania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Georgia, Ghana, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Togo, and Uganda.

“Our volunteers are at the community level, have a unique window into the lives of those girls and their families, and are in a great position to be able to help those girls dig deep into themselves and determine their own unique potential,” Hessler-Radelet said.

She added the volunteers can work with families to help them understand the importance of investing in a girl’s education and they can work with community leaders to help them look at barriers that girls face in achieving a quality education and then work towards improving that.

Some of these volunteers gathered recently in Tirana, Albania’s capital, for an event. Usually, they work mostly in remote areas, where they organize and lead such initiatives as “GLOW” (Girls Leading Our World) Camps, to promote gender equality and empower young women.

“If you provide the opportunity they will come,” said volunteer Mary Quandt. “And I just think that it is wonderful and it is about starting a dialogue and increasing expectations of these girls; let them know that they can achieve this and they can grow in their sense of self and their capabilities of leadership and experience and as soon as you plant that seed in them, they are going to nurture it and it’s going to grow.”

When another volunteer, Emily Fesette, talks about the difficulties she encounters, she echoes concerns about barriers facing girls worldwide.

“They have responsibilities at home,” she said. “They also have to tell their parents where they are at all times. If they leave school, they have to go right back home. If they live in the villages they have at least a 20-minute walk from the town to the village and that means that my group has to meet at a very convenient time.”

But Fesette says the girls who showed up for the camp she organized, displayed the passion and desire to learn everything and do more.

USAID’s Susan Markham points out that educating girls benefits the entire society. 

“Women who stay in school, young girls who stay in school till womanhood, are likely to be healthier," she said. “They are more likely to get married later, bear children later and they are more likely to keep their own kids in school for longer. So it has a great ripple effect across the whole community.”

These ripple effects are important, especially because there is a recognition that this kind of change will take a long time, maybe a generation, says Hessler-Radelet.

“The true beneficiaries of this program may in fact be the children of the young women and men that we are reaching right now,” she said. “It is a long-term commitment because it takes a long time to change norms and behaviors.”

Romina Kola of Albania is a perfect example. Her situation shows that when family, community and powerful global forces rally together in investing in girls’ education, it makes the difference between a future of hope or of hopelessness.

White House Initiative Pushes Benefits of Girls' Education

Romina Kola’s family moved from a village in Albania, where the closest school was two hours away, to the northern city of Shkodra so she could get an education. 

“Many of my friends can’t attend school because of distance and poverty, she says. “Schools are too far away from the village where we live.”

Sixty-two million girls around the world are not in school. Susan Markham, a Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) says distance and, in some cases, risk of violence are only some of the barriers to a girl’s education.

“Whether it’s child marriage or economic pressure because of school fees, we want to address those,” she says.

The Obama administration has now embarked on a high-profile initiative, called "Let Girls Learn," to empower girls through education, saying the inability of girls to attend school worldwide should be a foreign policy priority.

First lady Michelle Obama is championing these efforts through new public and private sector commitments, cooperation with other governments and community-led solutions. Poverty, lack of resources, and cultural norms prevent girls from many areas of the world from going to school.

"Let Girls Learn" is building upon a public-engagement campaign that USAID launched last year. Obama went to Japan and Cambodia in March to promote the initiative. The director of the Peace Corps, Carrie Hessler-Radelet, traveled with her.

“The First lady is incredibly passionate about this topic," Hessler-Radelet said. “She looks at her own life and her husband’s life, President Obama’s life and they see how important education was in them achieving their life goals. And they want to make sure that every girl has the same chance that they had.”

The map of the countries where the initiative will be implemented, mirrors that of the more than 60 countries where the Peace Corps operates, including in Europe, Africa and Asia. In the first year, the Peace Corps is targeting 11 countries: Albania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Georgia, Ghana, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Togo, and Uganda.

“Our volunteers are at the community level, have a unique window into the lives of those girls and their families, and are in a great position to be able to help those girls dig deep into themselves and determine their own unique potential,” Hessler-Radelet said.

She added the volunteers can work with families to help them understand the importance of investing in a girl’s education and they can work with community leaders to help them look at barriers that girls face in achieving a quality education and then work towards improving that.

Some of these volunteers gathered recently in Tirana, Albania’s capital, for an event. Usually, they work mostly in remote areas, where they organize and lead such initiatives as “GLOW” (Girls Leading Our World) Camps, to promote gender equality and empower young women.

“If you provide the opportunity they will come,” said volunteer Mary Quandt. “And I just think that it is wonderful and it is about starting a dialogue and increasing expectations of these girls; let them know that they can achieve this and they can grow in their sense of self and their capabilities of leadership and experience and as soon as you plant that seed in them, they are going to nurture it and it’s going to grow.”

When another volunteer, Emily Fesette, talks about the difficulties she encounters, she echoes concerns about barriers facing girls worldwide.

“They have responsibilities at home,” she said. “They also have to tell their parents where they are at all times. If they leave school, they have to go right back home. If they live in the villages they have at least a 20-minute walk from the town to the village and that means that my group has to meet at a very convenient time.”

But Fesette says the girls who showed up for the camp she organized, displayed the passion and desire to learn everything and do more.

USAID’s Susan Markham points out that educating girls benefits the entire society. 

“Women who stay in school, young girls who stay in school till womanhood, are likely to be healthier," she said. “They are more likely to get married later, bear children later and they are more likely to keep their own kids in school for longer. So it has a great ripple effect across the whole community.”

These ripple effects are important, especially because there is a recognition that this kind of change will take a long time, maybe a generation, says Hessler-Radelet.

“The true beneficiaries of this program may in fact be the children of the young women and men that we are reaching right now,” she said. “It is a long-term commitment because it takes a long time to change norms and behaviors.”

Romina Kola of Albania is a perfect example. Her situation shows that when family, community and powerful global forces rally together in investing in girls’ education, it makes the difference between a future of hope or of hopelessness.

These Women Helped Save the World

The Netherlands Embassy in Washington, D.C., recognized 14 women who were known as “Rosie the Riveters” during World War II. (Photo by Sun Vega courtesy of the Royal Netherlands Embassy)

Some of the American women who helped win World War II were honored last weekend at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The event coincided with the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands at the end of World War II.

When American men went off to fight in the early 1940s, women were called upon to help work the assembly lines to produce items needed for the war effort.

Rose Will Monroe was “Rosie the Riveter,” the nation’s poster girl for women joining the work force during World War II. Monroe worked as a riveter building B-29 and B-24 military airplanes in Michigan. (AP Photo)

The women who answered this call came to be known as ‘Rosie the Riveters’. More than six million female workers helped build the planes, bombs, tanks and other war-time equipment that helped the allies win the war.

The Netherlands Embassy hosted the ceremony to thank these women who came to be known as the ‘Rosies”.

“My country had the opportunity to recover from a brutal occupation and become the prosperous nation it is today, in part, because of your efforts on those assembly lines seven decades ago,” Ambassador Rudolf Bekink said. “For that my nation is forever thankful.”

Fourteen Rosies attended and shared their experiences. Each was given a pink dogwood flower, a symbol of the beauty, strength and positive impact of the Rosies.

The Dutch specifically wanted to thank the women for building the aircraft the allied forces used to deliver 20,000 tons of food to the Netherlands in April and May of 1945, ending a long period of starvation.

Women work at the Boeing Aircraft factory on the Pacific coast, June 15, 1942.

Mozelle Brown, who contributed to the war effort by building F4U Corsairs at Goodyear Aircraft in 1942, was surprised by the significant place the Rosies have earned in U.S. history.

“We didn’t realize it at that time, it was just a job that I felt like had to be done, and we were doing it,” Brown said.

The Rosies not only played a significant role in the war effort, they also demonstrated the huge impact women could have on the workforce and in their communities.

Crena Anderson riveted C-119 “Flying Boxcar” transport and cargo planes in Hagerstown, Maryland at the Fairchild Corporation plant.

She had many friends and family fighting in the war, and wanted to do her part to help out back home.

“I knew that there was some men somewhere fighting for our country, and I was replacing them,” Anderson said.

These Women Helped Save the World

The Netherlands Embassy in Washington, D.C., recognized 14 women who were known as “Rosie the Riveters” during World War II. (Photo by Sun Vega courtesy of the Royal Netherlands Embassy)

Some of the American women who helped win World War II were honored last weekend at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The event coincided with the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands at the end of World War II.

When American men went off to fight in the early 1940s, women were called upon to help work the assembly lines to produce items needed for the war effort.

Rose Will Monroe was “Rosie the Riveter,” the nation’s poster girl for women joining the work force during World War II. Monroe worked as a riveter building B-29 and B-24 military airplanes in Michigan. (AP Photo)

The women who answered this call came to be known as ‘Rosie the Riveters’. More than six million female workers helped build the planes, bombs, tanks and other war-time equipment that helped the allies win the war.

The Netherlands Embassy hosted the ceremony to thank these women who came to be known as the ‘Rosies”.

“My country had the opportunity to recover from a brutal occupation and become the prosperous nation it is today, in part, because of your efforts on those assembly lines seven decades ago,” Ambassador Rudolf Bekink said. “For that my nation is forever thankful.”

Fourteen Rosies attended and shared their experiences. Each was given a pink dogwood flower, a symbol of the beauty, strength and positive impact of the Rosies.

The Dutch specifically wanted to thank the women for building the aircraft the allied forces used to deliver 20,000 tons of food to the Netherlands in April and May of 1945, ending a long period of starvation.

Women work at the Boeing Aircraft factory on the Pacific coast, June 15, 1942.

Mozelle Brown, who contributed to the war effort by building F4U Corsairs at Goodyear Aircraft in 1942, was surprised by the significant place the Rosies have earned in U.S. history.

“We didn’t realize it at that time, it was just a job that I felt like had to be done, and we were doing it,” Brown said.

The Rosies not only played a significant role in the war effort, they also demonstrated the huge impact women could have on the workforce and in their communities.

Crena Anderson riveted C-119 “Flying Boxcar” transport and cargo planes in Hagerstown, Maryland at the Fairchild Corporation plant.

She had many friends and family fighting in the war, and wanted to do her part to help out back home.

“I knew that there was some men somewhere fighting for our country, and I was replacing them,” Anderson said.

Pakistani women are breaking taboos to support their families - BY GOHAR ABBAS

In the mountains of Pakistan, women are taking on jobs traditionally held by men.

A GROUP of young Pakistani girls sit on a carpeted floor listening, as their teacher writes on a whiteboard, preparing his students for the rigours of climbing some of the world's highest peaks.

This is Shimshal Mountaineering School, tucked away in a remote village in the breathtaking mountains of Pakistan's far north, close to the border with China.

While most of Pakistan's overwhelmingly patriarchal society largely relegates women to domestic roles, in the northern Hunza valley, where most people follow the moderate Ismaili sect of Islam, a more liberal attitude has long prevailed.

Now the women of the region are breaking more taboos and training for jobs traditionally done by men, including as carpenters and climbing guides on the Himalayan peaks.

“You have to be careful, check your equipment and the rope, any slight damage can result in death,” Niamat Karim, the climbing instructor warns the students.

Karim is giving last-minute advice to the eight young women who are about to embark on a practical demonstrations of climbing class. They are the first batch of women to train as high altitude guides at the Shimshal Mountaineering School, set up in 2009 with support of Italian climber Simone Moro.

Isolated community

The women have spent the last four years learning ice and rock climbing techniques, rescue skills and tourism management. At 3,100m above sea level, Shimshal is the highest settlement in the Hunza valley, connected to the rest of the world by a rough jeep-only road just 11 years ago.

The narrow, unpaved road twists through high mountains, over wooden bridges and dangerous turns with the constant risk of landslides to reach the small village of 250 households.

Loaded with determination: Pakistani students from the Shimshal Mountaineering School pack equipment as they prepare to climb a glacier near the Shimshal village in the northern Hunza valley. — AFP photos

There is no running water, and electricity is available only through solar panels the locals buy from China.

But despite the isolation, the literacy rate in the village is 98% – around twice the Pakistani national average.

It has produced some world famous climbers including Samina Baig, the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest.

The people of Shimshal depend on tourism for their income and the village has produced an average of one mountaineer in every household.

The eight women training as guides have scaled four local peaks, including Minglik Sar and Julio Sar, both over 6,000m.

For aspiring mountaineer Takht Bika, 23, the school is a “dream come true”.

“My uncle and brother are mountaineers and I always used to wait for their return whenever they went for a summit,” Bika said.

“I used to play with their climbing gear, they were my childhood toys; I never had a doll.”

For Duor Begum, mountaineering is a family tradition and a way of honouring her husband, who was killed while climbing in the Hunza Valley.

“I have two kids to look after and I don't have a proper means of income,” she said.

Begum joined the mountaineering school with the aim of continuing the legacy of her late husband and to make a living.

Part of their training to be mountain guides includes learning to use ice axes to climb

“I am taking all the risks for the future of my children, to give them good education so that they can have a better future,” she said.

But while the women are challenging tradition by training as guides, there is still a long way to go to change attitudes, and so far Begum has not been able to turn professional.

“I know its difficult and it will take a long time to make it a profession for females but my kids are my hope,” she said.

Supporting their children

Lower down in the valley, away from the snowy peaks, Bibi Gulshan, another mother-of-two whose late husband died while fighting in the army has a similar tale of battling to change minds.

She trained as a carpenter under the Women Social Enterprise (WSE), a project set up in the area by the Aga Khan Development Network to provide income opportunities for poor families and advocate women's empowerment at the same time.

Pakistani women are training to be carpenters – jobs traditionally held by men – to improve their families’ well-being.

Set up in 2003, the WSE now employs over 110 women, between 19 and 35 years of age.

“I want to give the best education to my kids so that they don't feel the absence of their father,” said Gulshan.

“I started my job just 10 days after my husband was martyred, my friends mocked me saying instead of mourning my husband I had started the job of a men, but I had no choice. I had to support my kids.”

With the US$80 (RM260) a month she earns in the carpentry workshop, Gulshan pays for her children to go through school. She has also used her skills to build and furnish a new house for her family.

As well as giving poor and marginalised women a chance to earn a living, the WSE project, funded by the Norwegian embassy, also aims to modernise local skills.

Project head Safiullah Baig said traditionally, male carpenters worked to a mental plan of houses they were building, a somewhat unscientific approach.

“These girls are using scientific knowledge at every step right from mapping and design and their work is more feasible and sustainable,” Baig said. – AFP

Pakistani women are breaking taboos to support their families - BY GOHAR ABBAS

In the mountains of Pakistan, women are taking on jobs traditionally held by men.

A GROUP of young Pakistani girls sit on a carpeted floor listening, as their teacher writes on a whiteboard, preparing his students for the rigours of climbing some of the world's highest peaks.

This is Shimshal Mountaineering School, tucked away in a remote village in the breathtaking mountains of Pakistan's far north, close to the border with China.

While most of Pakistan's overwhelmingly patriarchal society largely relegates women to domestic roles, in the northern Hunza valley, where most people follow the moderate Ismaili sect of Islam, a more liberal attitude has long prevailed.

Now the women of the region are breaking more taboos and training for jobs traditionally done by men, including as carpenters and climbing guides on the Himalayan peaks.

“You have to be careful, check your equipment and the rope, any slight damage can result in death,” Niamat Karim, the climbing instructor warns the students.

Karim is giving last-minute advice to the eight young women who are about to embark on a practical demonstrations of climbing class. They are the first batch of women to train as high altitude guides at the Shimshal Mountaineering School, set up in 2009 with support of Italian climber Simone Moro.

Isolated community

The women have spent the last four years learning ice and rock climbing techniques, rescue skills and tourism management. At 3,100m above sea level, Shimshal is the highest settlement in the Hunza valley, connected to the rest of the world by a rough jeep-only road just 11 years ago.

The narrow, unpaved road twists through high mountains, over wooden bridges and dangerous turns with the constant risk of landslides to reach the small village of 250 households.

Loaded with determination: Pakistani students from the Shimshal Mountaineering School pack equipment as they prepare to climb a glacier near the Shimshal village in the northern Hunza valley. — AFP photos

There is no running water, and electricity is available only through solar panels the locals buy from China.

But despite the isolation, the literacy rate in the village is 98% – around twice the Pakistani national average.

It has produced some world famous climbers including Samina Baig, the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest.

The people of Shimshal depend on tourism for their income and the village has produced an average of one mountaineer in every household.

The eight women training as guides have scaled four local peaks, including Minglik Sar and Julio Sar, both over 6,000m.

For aspiring mountaineer Takht Bika, 23, the school is a “dream come true”.

“My uncle and brother are mountaineers and I always used to wait for their return whenever they went for a summit,” Bika said.

“I used to play with their climbing gear, they were my childhood toys; I never had a doll.”

For Duor Begum, mountaineering is a family tradition and a way of honouring her husband, who was killed while climbing in the Hunza Valley.

“I have two kids to look after and I don't have a proper means of income,” she said.

Begum joined the mountaineering school with the aim of continuing the legacy of her late husband and to make a living.

Part of their training to be mountain guides includes learning to use ice axes to climb

“I am taking all the risks for the future of my children, to give them good education so that they can have a better future,” she said.

But while the women are challenging tradition by training as guides, there is still a long way to go to change attitudes, and so far Begum has not been able to turn professional.

“I know its difficult and it will take a long time to make it a profession for females but my kids are my hope,” she said.

Supporting their children

Lower down in the valley, away from the snowy peaks, Bibi Gulshan, another mother-of-two whose late husband died while fighting in the army has a similar tale of battling to change minds.

She trained as a carpenter under the Women Social Enterprise (WSE), a project set up in the area by the Aga Khan Development Network to provide income opportunities for poor families and advocate women's empowerment at the same time.

Pakistani women are training to be carpenters – jobs traditionally held by men – to improve their families’ well-being.

Set up in 2003, the WSE now employs over 110 women, between 19 and 35 years of age.

“I want to give the best education to my kids so that they don't feel the absence of their father,” said Gulshan.

“I started my job just 10 days after my husband was martyred, my friends mocked me saying instead of mourning my husband I had started the job of a men, but I had no choice. I had to support my kids.”

With the US$80 (RM260) a month she earns in the carpentry workshop, Gulshan pays for her children to go through school. She has also used her skills to build and furnish a new house for her family.

As well as giving poor and marginalised women a chance to earn a living, the WSE project, funded by the Norwegian embassy, also aims to modernise local skills.

Project head Safiullah Baig said traditionally, male carpenters worked to a mental plan of houses they were building, a somewhat unscientific approach.

“These girls are using scientific knowledge at every step right from mapping and design and their work is more feasible and sustainable,” Baig said. – AFP

The Sweet Story of a Bittersweet African Spirit

Ah, herbs. The ubiquitous flavor enhancers bring life to salads, dips, stir fries. Maybe you’re into herbal tea — or maybe you hate the swill. So the good news or bad news is: Herbs are now making a fresh appearance in your liquor cabinet. And you can thank an unlikely company — Guinness. The brand best known for its Irish dry stout is brewing something new in Africa:Orijin Bitters, a bittersweet herbal spirit infused with African herbs and fruits. The bottled beverage is showing up at weddings, at soccer matches and in bars across Nigeria’s metropolitan centers.

And while it may not have the brawn of a stout, Orijin carries a backstory that, at least according to Sesan Sobowale, corporate relations director at Guinness Nigeria, helps justify its 1,000 naira ($5) price tag for 750 milliliters — a hefty sum for spirits, wine and the like in this West African heartland.

It has been endorsed by Nigerian royalty.

Orijin is all about “going back to the roots,” says Sobowale. As the name (a play on “origin”) suggests, it harks back to a ritualistic past when traditional village healers would create concoctions of fresh herbs and fruits to treat headaches, malaria, low libido and other ailments. This drink isn’t exactly medicinal — generous shots of gin won’t help your liver. The earthy blend of alcohol, tangerine, chamomile, thyme and cinnamon aims to appeal to the highbrow drinker who follows trends but takes pride in African flavors. Orijin, says Sobowale, is revisiting tradition “with a modern twist.”

According to Guinness Nigeria, more than a million liters of Orijin have been sold in the country since the beverage’s launch in 2013, and it has beenendorsed by Nigerian royalty. But the company has bigger aspirations, with plans to expand into Ghana and compete with Accra-based Alomo Bitters. In an emerging economy saturated with global imports, Orijin hopes to crest the wave of appetite for distinctly African goods. According to analysts, the bitters beverage market is estimated to rack up more than $200 million annually.

But Boason Omofaye, a senior anchor at Bloomberg TV Africa and an expert on business in Africa, doubts that Orijin is on the fast track to becoming a fixture in households across a continent that is so massive and diverse.“[Nigerians] aren’t the same as the Kenyan poor, or in Ghana or South Africa in terms of taste, culture, brand loyalty and economic status,” Omofaye says. Preferences vary across tribe, religion and myriad other factors in Africa, he explains, and consumer loyalty to small-scale, backyard distilleries could pose a challenge for big global brands like Guinness that aim to edge out local competition in the bitters beverage arena.

Still, Orijin has been a game changer so far. It’s the first herbal drink produced in Africa by a global brand. Also, Guinness was smart to start in Nigeria, Africa’s political powerhouse and largest economy. As both Omofaye and Sobowale note, what happens in Nigeria tends to spread like wildfire across the rest of the continent. And as we know from humans’ own origin story, that which comes from the mother continent has the potential to flow across the globe.

The Sweet Story of a Bittersweet African Spirit

Ah, herbs. The ubiquitous flavor enhancers bring life to salads, dips, stir fries. Maybe you’re into herbal tea — or maybe you hate the swill. So the good news or bad news is: Herbs are now making a fresh appearance in your liquor cabinet. And you can thank an unlikely company — Guinness. The brand best known for its Irish dry stout is brewing something new in Africa:Orijin Bitters, a bittersweet herbal spirit infused with African herbs and fruits. The bottled beverage is showing up at weddings, at soccer matches and in bars across Nigeria’s metropolitan centers.

And while it may not have the brawn of a stout, Orijin carries a backstory that, at least according to Sesan Sobowale, corporate relations director at Guinness Nigeria, helps justify its 1,000 naira ($5) price tag for 750 milliliters — a hefty sum for spirits, wine and the like in this West African heartland.

It has been endorsed by Nigerian royalty.

Orijin is all about “going back to the roots,” says Sobowale. As the name (a play on “origin”) suggests, it harks back to a ritualistic past when traditional village healers would create concoctions of fresh herbs and fruits to treat headaches, malaria, low libido and other ailments. This drink isn’t exactly medicinal — generous shots of gin won’t help your liver. The earthy blend of alcohol, tangerine, chamomile, thyme and cinnamon aims to appeal to the highbrow drinker who follows trends but takes pride in African flavors. Orijin, says Sobowale, is revisiting tradition “with a modern twist.”

According to Guinness Nigeria, more than a million liters of Orijin have been sold in the country since the beverage’s launch in 2013, and it has beenendorsed by Nigerian royalty. But the company has bigger aspirations, with plans to expand into Ghana and compete with Accra-based Alomo Bitters. In an emerging economy saturated with global imports, Orijin hopes to crest the wave of appetite for distinctly African goods. According to analysts, the bitters beverage market is estimated to rack up more than $200 million annually.

But Boason Omofaye, a senior anchor at Bloomberg TV Africa and an expert on business in Africa, doubts that Orijin is on the fast track to becoming a fixture in households across a continent that is so massive and diverse.“[Nigerians] aren’t the same as the Kenyan poor, or in Ghana or South Africa in terms of taste, culture, brand loyalty and economic status,” Omofaye says. Preferences vary across tribe, religion and myriad other factors in Africa, he explains, and consumer loyalty to small-scale, backyard distilleries could pose a challenge for big global brands like Guinness that aim to edge out local competition in the bitters beverage arena.

Still, Orijin has been a game changer so far. It’s the first herbal drink produced in Africa by a global brand. Also, Guinness was smart to start in Nigeria, Africa’s political powerhouse and largest economy. As both Omofaye and Sobowale note, what happens in Nigeria tends to spread like wildfire across the rest of the continent. And as we know from humans’ own origin story, that which comes from the mother continent has the potential to flow across the globe.