Couples need to bring back the touch!!!

It was their 3^rd marriage anniversary. Like every other day Rita woke up at 5:30 in the morning to prepare Rahul's office tiffin. There was some expectation from her side as a caring housewife to be wished “happy anniversary” by her man but from deep within she was afraid. The reason for her hidden fear was her experiences so far with Rahul in last three years. He had always managed to forget their anniversary dates and her birthday too. His excuse has always been his weak memory. Rita is a very soft natured woman and she hardly demands or even stands up for anything. So, it always ended up with a “sorry darling, it won't happen again” type of casual apology.

In the breakfast table they had some random talks regarding house bills and newspaper but nothing close to their anniversary crept up. He left with a routine bye. Rita's eyes were wet but silent as always. In the middle of the day she got call from her maternal house and also from her friends. They seemed more excited in her marriage anniversary than she herself was! She thanked all of them dryly and struggled the whole day to keep Rahul and his indifference out of her mind. Obviously she didn't forgive him.

Rahul returns late at night, sometimes after ten. It was one such day. There was not even a single call from him in the entire day. Rita kept his dinner covered on the table and went to bed early, perhaps to avenge against her husband's whole act of insincerity. Rahul keeps a duplicate key to their apartment. She was pretending to sleep and following Rahul's footsteps with attentive ears. She sensed him approaching towards the bed. Her heart beats increased. He caressed her locks and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Did you think I forgot our anniversary darling like every other year?”, he spoke softly near her ear. She got up from the bed in excitation. She didn't know how to react to this unexpected moment. There were drops of tear in her eyes. Rahul embraced her tightly. Their anniversary took a new colour!

Written for http://www.pblskin.com/ and #BringBackTheTouch

Let us Stop Open Defecation in our country!!!

It is a great matter of relief for us that reputed company like Unilever Foundation and Domex have joined hands with Unicef to help improve access to basic sanitation for millions of people in India where open defecation is one of the biggest challenge to health! About 597 million people defecate in open and open defecation makes them susceptible to the attack various disease causing microbial organisms like bacteria, amoeba and viruses. Due to weak body functions children like Babli are more prone to these diseases. Shockingly fact sheets suggest that 20% of death of children under 14 years of age are due to improper sanitation and poor hygiene! It is more scary to know that in such scenario, less than 6% of rural children in India under 6 years of age use toilet facilities which allows us to deduce that rest 94% defecate in open fields! Let us spread awareness of the health hazards of open defecation and add up to the noble Domex Initiative.

As I mentioned before, more than 94% of village kids like Babli are defecating in open, they are subjected to dangerous bacterial, viral and worm infections. Diarrhea and worm infection being two common diseases affecting school going children, 443 million school days are lost every year! Not only education is affected. Ill health causes malnutrition and stunting to these affected children. We can feel the gravity of this social health problem by the data that 215,000 children under five years of age die from diarrhea alone every year and India has highest number of under-5 death globally! It is time to act my friends. Let us save our future generation from the curse of this age old habit of open defecation. Let us work together to give them a better future, a healthier tomorrow, a hygienic country to grow.

Millennium development goal aims at basic sanitation, toilets, latrines and hand wash and at our current rate of progress facts suggest we would be able to cover just 67% of the target goal. So, we need to focus more and speed up improvement on sanitation sector in our country. CATS (community approaches to total sanitation) programs by Unicef focus on advocating demands for sanitation at the community level. We can volunteer in CATS by educating the community about the scenario of open defecation in our country so that open defecators stop defecating in open out of a sense of responsibility and concern, not merely for temporary eyewash. Mass media must be involved to bring about a greater turnover on our effort. We can take peaceful goodnight sleep when Open Defecation Free status is achieved, the day when each and every Indian family would use its own toilet facility and no Babli has to fall sick by defecating in the open.

Let us act. You can bring about the change in the lives of millions of kids, thereby showing your support for the Domex Initiative. All you need to do is “click” on the “Contribute Tab” on www.domex.in and Domex will contribute Rs.5 on your behalf to eradicate open defecation, thereby helping kids like Babli live a dignified life.

Image Source: https://www.indiblogger.in/happyhours/toilet-for-babli/

A healthy child makes a happy home!!!

A healthy child makes a happy home. Truly said. We only say and partially believe things which sound good until we get those from our personal experience. Now my son is 8 years old, so he is a boy going to be a young man in few more years. But my former statement holds true for him too up till now. By grace of almighty my son is quite healthy and doesn't get frequent illnesses but when he gets once in a blue moon our entire house, i.e. our small but happy family of three becomes so dull and the joyful environment becomes like a hospital gloomy space. Here I'll recall a past incidence to show you how a healthy child makes a happy home.

My son Mohan was 3 years old then, he was in nursery. It was our anniversary day, our fifth marriage anniversary. We wanted to celebrate in a big way, inviting some fifty colleagues, fifty friends and fifty relatives for an evening party at home. Arrangements were made long before as you can understand receiving about hundred and fifty guest is not a cake walk. People used to invite three of us for various occasions till then. It was getting an one sided affair of being invitees and never being able to invite them back at our place which was bugging both of us for a long time. It was not exactly paying back a debt like feeling but you must also show your love to people who value you right? So this time we were ready and desperate to be generous hosts! Just two days back Mohan got diarrhoea, not those simple loose stool episodes but the fiery ones where the child gets really dehydrated. We had to admit him to a good nursing home and always be by his side. Doctor had told nothing much to worry but different blood tests and stool tests had to be done to exclude possible bad diseases. Luckily Mohan had no fever. Either Sujata, my wife or I used to stay with him 24 hours in the nursing home on alternate basis. Our anniversary program was in 2 days but we were least concerned about it. Yet it was a deadly feeling to postpone it by calling over hundred guests. It was our personal headache so why would others be involved in it, not at all fair. So my brother in law came to our place and took charge of organizing the event the way we wanted to do things. On that very morning the blood reports of Mohan came and he was free from any hidden infections or diseases. Diarrhoea had subsided by then. Doctor agreed to discharge our kid. We were on cloud nine and feeling back the vibe of the celebration again and that was the day we realised how a healthy child makes a happy home!!! Everything had went well that evening and thanks to my good brother in law.

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