The ‘Self’: Unleash the superwoman within

“The best lightning rod for your protection is your own spine.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is a perturbing truth that a lot of women in our country feel afraid when walking the streets alone at night or even during the day. Every day, in the newspapers, we come across reports of crimes against women-sexual harassment, assault, molestation, rape. It is certainly important for the government & the authorities to take measures to prevent such incidents, but, at the same time, women need to be self-reliant to rise to the occasion & take care of themselves.

The weaker sex. Damsels in distress. Women across the world are considered as fragile creatures who cannot protect themselves. So, it is high time that they defy all the odds and prove their mettle.

Self defense-learning to fend off an attacker can not only help women have peace of mind when walking alone, but also boost their confidence, independence and instill in them a sense of accomplishment.

In Dec 2014, Colorss Foundation had launched its Quick Self-Defense Application that teaches women invaluable skills to defend themselves and their loved ones. With the help of this application, women and girls will be able to learn and practice self-defense.

A new version of this application will provide one with language options (yes, now you can choose from 19 available languages- Japanese, Nepali , Hindi , Bengali , Assamese , Marathi , Gujarati , Kannada , Malayalam , Oriya , Tamil , Urdu , Punjabi , Russian , Telugu , Chinese , Portuguese , Arabic , Spanish!) which will help reach more women and children.

Though Colorss Foundation is going forward with the Android version of this App, we hope to launch an ioS version soon.

This is a shout-out to all the women across the country & beyond:

You can beat the world. You can win any battle. You can move mountains. You can break rocks. Your body is more capable than you think & your resolve is stronger than you believe.

Download this app from the Google Play Store and keep yourself updated : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.colorssfoundation.colorss&hl=en

Remember-if you have been knocked down, come back swinging!

-Sagarica Brahma

Developing a Dauntless Digital India!

2016 - A year which will definitely be an indelible chapter of the global history book. What have we not witnessed! The awaited end of conflict in Colombia, a humanitarian disaster in Aleppo, the Brexit Referendum, or the momentous Presidential Election of the United States; we have been a part of a tumultuous chaos which brought peace, disappointment and sorrow in various dimensions. But on November 8, 2016, when the entire world was anticipating a Western country’s political fate, our own nation was caught off guard when Prime Minister Modi declared the initiation of demonetization. 

The onset of this sudden cash crunch in the economy led to a heated debate. But we are not here to demonize or celebrate the topic of demonetization. Our main goal is to divert the focus towards the unavoidable start of digitization because of this particular economic policy. 

India is not a cashless economy, and the arrival of the demonetization left the common citizen ambling with doubts. People were frantically looking for change, standing outside ATM lines for hours, swarming inside the banks. The current scenario of Indian Market clearly projects that the consumers prefer cash payments over digital transactions. As online banking and its monetary dealings is an emerging medium, citizens are skeptical or rather unaware about its utilization. 

A regular vegetable market or a family run grocery shop or a small time refreshment stall hardly renders the services of a card swiping machine or online money transfer. Their owners are simple people with an uncomplicated business strategy. Some of them don’t even have access to bank accounts, because maintaining personal savings by oneself wasn’t an issue until demonetization struck.

The National Institution for Transforming India, i.e. the NITI Aayog along with the NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) launched a number of schemes to incentivize the use of electronic payments. But the major concern lies in the uncertainty of the consumer to experiment with digitization. So is giving away prizes an effective method for motivation? 

The basic way to tackle with the oblivious approach of the consumers towards online transactions is computer literacy. And we have to start now, with the students of our country. According to a report in 2012 computer literacy in India is less than 7%, and the internet penetration rate stands at about 19% as per the FICCI-KPMG 2015 Report. But does an increase in the participation indicate that all users of the internet  are knowledgeable about its responsible use? Most of the users of the Internet have been able to connect and explore the virtual world because of the widespread availability of smart phones. 

So why is digital literacy so important?

Apart from the obvious fact that computer education is a practical addition of skills in our profile, it promotes the appropriate exploitation of virtual resources. The penetration of internet might be amplifying, but does it guarantee its best use? We have to keep in mind that by adopting computer education in schools we create a window for discussion and doubts. The learners will have countless misconceptions about the Internet. Through an educator’s direction they can discover the causes and the consequences of virtual violations. 

Post demonetization many people are perplexed at the thought of using online payment methods. In such situation, children can educate their parents about safe surfing so that they can discern between the dishonest and the authentic monetary communication. 

And we at The Colorss Foundation have been doing our bit towards the promotion of computer literacy through our endeavor Project Uttejana since 2014. Enhancing the computer proficiency of students from Class 7 to Class 12, our aim is to educate and inform kids belonging to the underprivileged background about the virtual world of communication. And to make it more effective we have coupled our primary goal of computer literacy with Life Skills Sessions helping learners become confident and, accountable in terms of thoughts and actions. 

We believe that change is hard but if we look at a crisis as an opportunity we generate possibilities not just for us but for the people around us. And we want to help create an India which harbors resilience and innovation when times get rough. 

If you’re interested to join or enquire please mail us at contact@colorss.org

To know more about Colorss Foundation and our initiatives log on to http://colorss.org/

We’re also on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colorssfoundation

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colorssfoundation/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/colorss

Tejal Pednekar

Reaching out: There’s a lot you can do : Colorss Foundation

A 70-year old nun gets raped. A six-year old girl gets sexually assaulted with an iron rod. Not a day passes when unspeakable crimes against women are not reported from the bustling cities and villages. It is agonizing to acknowledge the fact that a country which talks of empowering women happens to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for women.

In India, a woman is reportedly raped every 15 minutes. Many cases go unreported due to fear of social stigma and unawareness of rights. There are also countless cases of street harassment, acid attacks, dowry deaths, domestic violence and molestation-some of these are so common that we are almost indifferent to them. Indian women are not safe by any means. Sexual violence is a threat that looms large for transgressions ranging from daring to be out at night to having the audacity to question a social evil.

Colorss Foundation, through its project ‘Mission 1000’, is intent on making a difference and doing its bit to provide a long term-solution to these issues.

Mission 1000’s aim is to transform the lives of at least 1000 under-privileged women and children every year by equipping each child/woman with self-defence skills. As Mission 1000 believes in providing free-of-charge self-defence workshops, this programme largely relies on donated funds and volunteers who do not hesitate to invest their valuable time and effort to bring about a change in how the society views women.

At present, Colorss Foundation is on the look-out for females with an exposure to athletics, yoga, dance and/or martial arts (preferable) located in Pune, who are willing to step up to the task of volunteering their time and energy into training women and changing their image from ‘defenceless entities to be objectified in every walk of life’ to independent people who are no longer ‘the weaker sex’-physically, mentally or emotionally.

So we urge you to step forward and lead the way. You are more powerful than you know. You can win any battle. You can move mountains. You can break rocks. Do it for your pride, for the pride of women across the world, for your country. Do it because you can and because, your countrywomen need you now, more than ever! Be a part of this movement by reaching out to us at contact@colorss.org 

For Love,

-Sagarica Brahma