- It is not just the government or any organisation’s responsibility, but people’s collective responsibility to curb crimes against kids, especially girls, and build a child-friendly society: Nobel laureate
- The United Nations has asked for a ceasefire several times, but there has been no outcome: Satyarthi
NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, DEC 15
Nobel Peace Laureate and children’s rights campaigner Kailash Satyarthi on Friday said while the West has globalised business, trade, knowledge, manufacturing, data and capitalism, it is time for India to globalise compassion.
Satyarthi was the guest of honour at the fifth anniversary celebrations of Social Venture Partners India (SVP India), an organisation focused on collaborative philanthropy in Gujarat.
“We live in an increasingly broken, fragmented and unjust world. First, a war had broken out between Russia and Ukraine, and now, Israel and Palestine are fighting. Children suffer the most in such situations,” he said.
News is coming from the battlefields about children suffering due to the wars, and the United Nations has asked for a ceasefire several times, but there has been no outcome, said the Nobel laureate.
“It is time for India to globalise compassion. The West has globalised business, trade, knowledge, manufacturing, data and capitalism. From the land of Mahatma Gandhi, I humbly say that this is the time to globalise compassion,” Satyarthi said.
The 69-year-old activist was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for focusing on the exploitation of children for financial gains.
The veteran campaigner said in the last nine years after he got the Nobel Prize, the government, the police and political leaders have taken various steps to stop exploitation of children for financial gains.
He said the government has modified laws to protect children’s rights and they must be implemented scrupulously.
Satyarthi maintained that it was not just the government or any organisation’s responsibility, but people’s collective responsibility to curb crimes against kids, especially girls, and build a child-friendly society.
“When I started schooling at the age of five, I saw a child of a cobbler not going to school and working on the street. I asked my teachers and my parents about why he was not going to school. The reply was the same from everyone ‘that it is like that only’,” he said.
The celebration of the milestone brought together over 200 committed and engaged philanthropists from Gujarat and across India, offering a unique opportunity to engage with Satyarthi and gain insights from his remarkable journey.
An SVP Ahmedabad spokesperson, said, “We are honoured to have Shri Kailash Satyarthi join us for this milestone celebration. His commitment to building compassionate communities aligns perfectly with the core values and mission of SVP India. The special evening allowed the philanthropic ecosystem to experience the stories of giving, community-building and impactful collaborations with NGOs.”
The event also featured an overview of evolving aspects relating to philanthropy, strategic giving and meaningful communication of impact.
SVP India is a collaborative philanthropy organisation with 550+ philanthropists, entrepreneurs, executives, academics, and homemakers, spread across eight cities in India. It provides a structured platform for hands-on engagement with NGOs. The organisation’s partners pool their resources to achieve greater impact. SVP India also identifies small and medium-sized NGOs and helps them build capacity by leveraging its network, experience, and time.
In the past five years, 43 SVP partners from Ahmedabad and Surat have committed 5,000+ hours of voluntary time mentoring NGOs and seen them grow three to five times. Across the country, the organisation has worked with 120 NGOs. It has disbursed over Rs 25 crores, including Rs 7 crores for fast pitch. Its partners have also contributed over 25,000 hours of their time and skills.
