Tony Blair visits Delhi's street children

Mandsaur

From BBC News:

The little group of around 40, aged between perhaps four and 14, were shaded from the sun under an overhanging tree chirping with squirrels, and were receiving what was the only education any of them will ever get. These children were putting on a play for Tony and Cherie Blair about their lives on the street of this emerging economic powerhouse of a capital.

This project, indirectly part-funded by the UK government, intends to pull as many of the city's estimated 150,000 street children under its wing every day, give them a basic education, personal health guidance and, most importantly, some hope that they can escape HIV, their hopeless lives - even get a job.

Full article here.

(By the way, the play was organized by Salaam Balak Trust, the fantastic organization founded by Mira Nair that aids street children all over India. More info on them can be found here.)

cyberhippie

Aww god the ubiquitous India's poor photo opportunity!! At least Prince Charles was original when he met the Mumbai tiffin tin crews!!

shanthi

Here here!

cyberhippie

The charity sounds great I just get tired of these politiciains using these things to promote an image of themselves!

Digital Drifter

erm...cyber, that's why they're politicians. That's all they're there for.

Sometimes, I'll be harsh here, you're a bit dim, I say. Your expectations are not in tune with the times. :-)

The only thing he does well is grin and even that is a bit miachevillan for some UK people.

On the Beeb, in the last election, the PM went around a street shaking hands.
Thrust out his hand, grinning to a woman who promptly said " I will not shake hands with a murderer"; he didn't even stop, grinned, next guy.

2 things here.

a) at least, he's got the guts to face people after a wrong policy unlike the chap across the pond
b) the woman was able to say what she said and not get thrashed, vilified in the press or even life made hell. Unlike what would have happened here in India.

So, all is not knackered yet on the constitutional front

Hmmm... a year later, the police shoot an unarmed man under new orders, oh wait, he's the swarthy, bulky coat wearing, shifty looking, turnstile jumping guy.

No problem, move on, there's nothing to look here. move on, I say.

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ddevadatta

Isn't the charity also using a high profile person (Blair) for their own NOBLE purposes and work? Ask any organization if they had a blanket offerr to have celebrities, ploticians, high profile business persons to represent their organization whether they would turn that offer down.

It seems to me that this is a biased reading meant to slam just politicians (and specifically as this thread shows Blair and even Bush) as if they alone are driven by self-interest and the rest of the likes of us as so pure and noble. It just doesn't fit with human and orgainizational reality, at least in my experience.

People connect for varying reasons but if the result is something good then why quibble about the smaller details. This project is being funded by outside monies and assiting helpless children. I read that story as being positive for that not whether some politician is projecting an image for himself. Which perspective is more subtantive towards the real issue: street children???? I choose to celebrate that along with other groups that work hard to aid people in need.

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