Interview with Bollywood Singer KK (part 2)
> August 16th, 2011
Interview with Bollywood Singer KK (part 2)
Interview with Bollywood Singer KK (part 1)
> July 27th, 2011
Bollywood Singer KK is a modern sensation who has been belting out hit songs at a phenomenal pace. He gets it right most of the time and all his songs make it to the super hit list.
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Rohit Revo interviewed on 2GB show
> April 19th, 2011
After the attacks on the Hindu temple in Auburn, Sydney, Rohit Revo, Editor of THE INDIAN publication was interviewed on 2GB Radio by Ben Fordham.
Interview with John Robertson, Labor Candidate for Blacktown for NSW Elections 2011
> March 14th, 2011
John Robertson is the Labor Candidate for Blacktown, Upper House Member; Minister for Transport and Minister for the Central Coast
John Robertson has lived in Western Sydney for over 20 years, and raised his three children there with wife Julie.
John left school at 16 to complete his apprenticeship as an electrical fitter mechanic. He worked for the Electrical Trades Union and Unions NSW for over 20 years, where he stood up for working people every day.
As Secretary of Unions NSW, John fought on the Your Rights at Work campaign.
Lasallian Foundation - Working for India in Australia
> March 8th, 2011
Established in 2004, the Lasallian Foundation exists specifically to support projects in the Asia Pacific region which provide poor and disadvantaged children with an opportunity to break the poverty cycle. In 2010, the Lasallian Foundation has funded $245,000 worth of projects in India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka and southern Sudan.
Through the Lasallian Foundation the De La Salle Brothers work closely with Lasallian Partners to further the mission internationally in countries where children and families are struggling to live with the effects of poverty.
[caption id="attachment_1568" align="alignleft" width="351" caption="Brother Paul, CEO, Lasallian Foundation"]
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Brother Paul Smith AM, is the CEO of Lasallian Foundation and his role is to facilitate the work done by brothers in Tamil Nadu. Brother Paul officially founded Kids Helpline in 1991. Kids Helpline is a 24 hour, free, confidential, telephone counselling service for children aged between 5 and 18 years of age. Brother Paul also established Parentline with Trevor Carlyon, Executive Director of Kids Helpline, which is a Queensland phone counselling service for parents experiencing problems.
Brother Paul has received many awards for his tireless work for children’s rights issues for marginalised and delinquent youth. In 1994, Brother Paul was awarded Membership of the Order of Australia (AM) for work with disadvantaged youth. In 2010 Brother Paul was awarded a Rotary Paul Harris Fellowship. He was a member of the landmark Kennedy Commission that investigated the conduct of jails throughout Queensland and served on the Des Sturgess report into paedophilia.
I spoke to Brother Paul on the work the foundation is doing in India. "We work primarily with Dalit children and their families. We see education as the most significant avenue to bring about change in these families. The only choice left for some of these people is to move or migrate internally or out of the country or to get decent education. When most of these people migrate to other areas to find work, it creates disruption in families and their children don’t get education. It also increases the risk of Aids, as some people visit sex workers when away from families. This also creates an increased burden on the parent who stays behind. The other issue is that many adults are illiterate. In most of these situations the next meal is sometimes difficult to procure and we are doing an important job in making them understand the importance of education" says Brother Paul.
St Joseph’s Development Trust (SJDT) was established in 1974 with the creation of Boys Village, a home for orphaned, destitute and abandoned boys. SJDT's New Dawn program for special needs children has been recognised by the Tamil Nadu Government as a leading education and health initiative. Lasallian Foundation works with SJDT to provide micro credit to villagers. Says Brother Paul, "Our brothers are working in about 1000 villages and have intensive programs also involving providing micro credit which we do through SJDT. We also have support programs and have organised groups for each program. Each group needs to have a person with a mental or a physical difficulty. We also help women get organised in Sangams. We run the support program till 3 years and help each group till they become self sufficient. We are also running 3 agricultural programs in Dindigul and Madurai and have identified land which was owned by someone but not utilised. We engage agricultural scientists who work out the best usage of the land and then develop a program. During this we also have agricultural students who learn new techniques in agricultural production and then implement them in their own home towns. Our students are also boastful about the things they do and we establish a sense of empowerment in them. We provide resources to impart to assist in changing situations."
Listen to excerpts of my Audio Interview with Brother Paul.
“Some of these people develop a sense of dried hope with things going on the same way and the younger generation adopts the same thinking. We break this thinking and tell them there are options and choices for you. We also provide technical and vocational programs for people to become welders, tailors, computers, bakers or lathe operators” adds Brother Paul.
Unlike a few charity organisations who are involved in religious conversions, Brother Paul says, “We don't engage in such activities and our prime focus is empowerment. The faith of the people we are helping is irrelevant. We work for Hindu children and when we start a program we have Hindu priests who come for blessing.”
“We have 25 programs operating in India and 85 in South East Asia. At this moment we have 150 programs which we can't support and any NGO will tell you that they always need funds,” says Brother Paul. If you can help the Lasallian Foundation in any form, contact them at Lasallian Foundation, PH: + 61 (03) 9832 3100, FX: + 61 (03) 9822 4377, info@lasallianfoundation.org
Interview with Kirsty Lloyd, NSW Liberal Candidate for Toongabbie
> March 7th, 2011
Says Kirsty, "Living locally with my husband Scott and daughter Lauren, I understand the challenges that people in our community face every day.
Working for the Royal Institute of the Deaf and Blind Children, I am passionate about giving back to the community. I continue to volunteer at our local community radio station, with local environment groups and charities such as the Cancer Council.
Fighting to improve local services has always been important to me. I’ll campaign to improve our local roads and public transport , and as a mother, I want to improve our local health services including hospital waiting times and fight to improve the education and opportunities available to our children.
I know that becoming your local member in a Barry O’Farrell led government, I can do more for the community."
Interview with David Elliott, Liberal Candidate from Baulkham Hills
> March 7th, 2011
David Andrew Elliott, 39, Chief Executive of the Civil Contractors Federation, Director of Castle Hill RSL and Director of Life Education Australia.
David and his family moved to The Hills District a decade ago after he returned from peacekeeping and discharged from regular service in the Australian Army.
A director of the local RSL Club, David has served in advisory roles with a number of senior parliamentarians. David is the Chief Executive of Civil Contractors Federation, based in Baulkham Hills, and has spent the last decade working for a number of industry associations. David has been an active advocate for better infrastructure in Sydney's north-west and he is passionate about rebuilding the NSW economy through business growth and better management of the state budget.
With wife Nicole and their two sons, the Elliotts are active in local school, Church and charitable activities. David holds a Master of Arts in Communications and is a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines.
Interests: Military history, travel, cricket and family life. Former State Operations Manager of St John Ambulance. Member and supporter of various clubs including the Castle Hill RSL and Sub Branch, Life Education, Scottish Heritage Council and Union, University and Schools Club (Sydney) and Board of Hills Hawkesbury and Riverlands Tourism.
Interview with Yogesh Sharma, Director Cinestar
> March 7th, 2011
Director of Cinestar and event organiser of Asha Bhosle Sydney concert, Yogesh Sharma is on a new high after the successful concert.
Pravasi Bhartiya Divas
> January 23rd, 2011
Dr Veena Shehjwalla from Australia was given Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Awards by the President of India. Read my interview with her.
Dr Kalpana Ram, Inaugural Director India Research Centre Sydney
> January 11th, 2011
In coversation with Dr Kalpana Ram, Inaugural Director India Research Centre Sydney
