Run for a Cause and CRY for bringing smiles!

How many times we have seen a child wearing torn and dirty clothes running towards us as the traffic light turned red and tried to be the best sales boy/girl possible to sell something what they would have played with (a flag, balloon, local toy ear buds!) or performed acrobatics that would challenge the best trained acrobats and gymnasts. At times we would have thought, can’t anything be done about it and at times we would have just passed them by telling to self this reality doesn’t exist.

In the humdrum of our busy and successful lives, we often lose sight of the opportunities that came our way right from the time that we were born, which made us what we are today. We took for granted our loving families, good education, access to food and medicine, opportunities to play with our friends and express ourselves while we were growing up. What we never realised was that we were simply massively lucky!

Did you know that even today, every second Indian child is malnourished- they simply don't have enough to eat; that health-care here is so inadequate that we suffer from one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world; half of India's children don't go to school and this is primarily because there is no accessible school to where they live; 3 in 4 women were married off before they turned an adult. The list goes on...We simply never had to experience any of these, because we were plain lucky! Point is can anything be done to make every child inIndia that lucky? I think it’s possible and it's time that we, the luckier lot, ensure that!

As a small step, I am supporting CRY (Child Rights and You)- a child rights NGO, to ensure that every child inIndia has access to what his rightfully his/ hers- the right to live and grow. Please join me in supporting this cause. How?

1. Moral support: run representing CRY at Sunfeast World 10K run on 23^rd May, 2010, Bangalore.Register now at:

http://reg.sunfeastworld10k.indiatimes.com/marathon/marathon.jsp?eventid=102 and run for CRY showing your support. Last date for registration: 30th April, 2010

2. Moral & Financial support:make monetary contribution to CRY
3. Network and spread the word and generate the above two!! J

Monetary contributions:

• Thru Cheque: Send me a cheque in favor of Child Rights and You or let me know, I can come and collect the same from you OR you can carry the same on the race day and handover it to me

Please let me know if you are participating in the run so that I can include your name in CRY supporter’s list.

What is raised by these efforts would be utilsed towards CRY's work in supporting projects in the most underprivileged and deprived communities in India, where the community members work towards ensuring a brighter future for their children.

Incidentally, your contributions would be eligible for 100% tax exemptions and you will be given a contribution certificate.

My Heartfelt thanks for your patient reading.

Best Regards,

With contributions from Sumona Bagchi, CRY