Women Lines

Dazzling Divas , was a fun filled programme for ladies, organized with the motive of integrating the female immigrants, with the Singaporeans and to provide some fun and amusement to make them have a feel of their home country. Women from different walks of life, from different parts of Singapore visited the event.

Dazzling Divas was an amazing effort by Indian expat ladies, who displayed their talents in various programmes in the event.The event was well supported by Sengkang Women Executive Committee (WEC) – a People’s Association Organization. Held at Sengkang Community Club, on 14th November 2009, Saturday, 7:00-10:00pm Dazzling Divas was an entertaining night for the female audience.

The organizing committee was chaired by Ms Kamini Chaliki and was ably supported by Ms Charu and Ms Mrunal with guidance from Ms Azeeza. Ms Kamini took the initiative to organize the whole event with the support of Chairman Sengkang WEC.

Dazzling Divas was successful in providing entertainment to the female audience. The theme for the month was “Colours of India”. Programme was started with the Mehendi and Rangoli comptetion.Their was active participation and participants came out with very amazingly creative Rangoli and Mehndi Patterns. Ms Arpita Karandikar was the winner for Mehendi comptetion and Ms Saujanya was the winner for Rangoli comptetion.Their were some sweet performances by kids on some Bollywood and Kollywood m numbers ,which was well received by the audience. So many multifaceted women got a chance to showcase their talents by participating in this event. The interesting fact is that many participants never met each other personally before the event and interacted virtually through a social networking site. The evening unfolded with surprise in terms of comic caper Singapore version of Ramayana, enacted by some enterprising ladies from IIS theatre group, that kept every one in splits. Also a very well coordinated and in-sync National Integration Fashion Show,  was huge success with audience due to elegant costumes, beautiful jewellery; Ms Sunita Prashant was the choreographer for the fashion show. The main attraction of the show was the dazzling divas performance by lovely ladies who danced on hit bollywood like from Jab we met, Kajra re numbers from old generation to latest hit songs.

Ms Shakun Narang, from the audience said “Truly Dazzling Divas was a platform that gave women in Singapore a platform to showcase their inner elegance, beauty and substance they are made off. More than that, the event brought in a kind of bonhomie and togetherness that we all Indian women crave for in a home away from home. “

The crowd of 150 ladies enjoyed the whole programme, tasty Indian food, participated actively in games and had fun time while dancing on hit bollywood numbers. Ms Deepti Rawat, from the audience commented that “It was an evening with stunning performance of talented dancers, hilarious comedy skit, fashion show, games and lucky draw too. In 10 years of my married life this was my first party without my husband where I enjoyed a lot. I got a chance to learn catwalk, there, thanks to WEC.”

The show was sponsored by a go to website mysingapore.com.sg, which brings the latest happenings events related to art, culture, movies, restaurants, with a distinctly Indian point of view. Four Seasons Spa located at Midpoint Orchard road was the other sponsor for the event. Miss Nisha gifted valued vouchers for her beauty and tailoring services for the lucky draw winners.

Regular get-together for immigrants can really help in diminishing the line of difference between Singaporeans (existing & immigrants) so that they can mutually benefit each other by exchanging knowledge and having some amusement and regalement together.

Kids cannot sit idle. With bubbling energy kids love to keep themself busy with various activities around. Whether its art craft activity, or dance, singing, any creative activity will bring out their real talent outside. Some activities really help to nurture certain specific skills in them. Through this series womenlines  wants to share those activities with its readers which will really help in meaningful way-

1-CREATE AND IMAGINE-

If you want to teach certain practicl knowledge for everyday living this activity will help you a lot.

Place a large sheet of paper on the floor.Ask your child to draw picture of your homein the centre of the paper and title the map with the  name.Draw your street, write your street name, and your house and telephone numbers.

Have your child plce on X on the map to mark important places in the neighbourhood. like school, store, shopping complex, friend’s house, fire station, police station, clinic, etc. Talk with your child bout which plce is nearest to your place. Post the map on the fridge and so that your child can have a look at it everydy. Encourage the child to put other places on the map also.

2-TIME MARCHES ON

This activity helps your child see and feel and see the difference between a “few second” and a “few minute”. It will help your child learn to be on time.

Make guesses about how long  a traffic light is red  or green. Then check your guessess, about how long it takes to eat dinner.Then check your guesses.How long does it take to get ready and go out. How close each one of you comr close to right answers.

Have fun while playing these games!

Its not Life threatening, BUT its definitely “Quality of Life” Threatening Condition!

Most people know endometriosis as a condition that can cause infertility, but the commonest symptom is pain. Pain with periods, pain with sex, pain opening their bowels, or pelvic pain on most days of the month. Many women with endometriosis become pregnant easily.

Endometriosis is common, but because many women don’t talk about their symptoms, we often don’t realise that it affects between 1 in 10 and 1 in 20 women. For many years, endometriosis was thought to be an uncommon condition of women in their 30s and 40s. We now know that it is a common condition of women in their teens and 20s.

The lining of the uterus is called endometrium. This is the tissue that grows each month and bleeds away during a period. When tissue like endometrium is found outside the uterus it is called endometriosis.

How is endometriosis diagnosed?

The only reliable way to diagnose endometriosis is by laparoscopy. This is an operation where a telescope is inserted through the umbilicus (belly button) to view the organs inside the pelvis. Endometriosis lesions can be clear, pink, red, brown or black.

An ultrasound examination is usually normal unless there are large cysts of endometriosis in the ovaries. These are called endometriomas or chocolate cysts. So, even if an ultrasound is normal, endometriosis can still be present.

What sort of problems can endometriosis cause?

Endometriosis presents in many ways. Common presentations include:

1. Women with no pain, who are found to have endometriosis during investigation for infertility.
2. Women who have severe period pain, often from their teenage years, but are well at other times of the month. Pain with periods is called dysmenorrhoea.
3. Women who have a mix of pain symptoms on most days of the month. This is called chronic pelvic pain. They may have a variety of symptoms including sharp or stabbing pains, changes in bladder function or changes in bowel function.

How is endometriosis managed?

Each woman with endometriosis is different, so the best treatment for each woman will depend on what type of problems she has.

In couples who are unable to become pregnant:

• It is important to get a full picture of all the possible contributing factors. This includes testing her husbands’ semen. Endometriosis may be only one of the fertility problems present.
• A laparoscopy to remove the endometriosis may be enough to improve her fertility
• If pregnancy does not occur after this, then invitro fertilisation (IVF) may be necessary

In women with painful periods, but who are otherwise well the pain may be from the uterus, from endometriosis lesions in the pelvis or from both these areas:

• It is best to first try medications such as anti-inflammatories (e.g. ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac), because not all women with painful periods have endometriosis. The medications should be taken early in the period and continued regularly until the pain resolves.
• If no better, then the oral contraceptive pill or acupuncture may be helpful
• If no better, then a laparoscopy with excision (cutting out) of any endometriosis should be considered.
• Sometimes a device called a mirena iucd is used. This is a way of putting progestogen medication inside the uterus and is often very helpful at making periods light and less painful

In women with chronic pelvic pain, treatment is more complicated. Often there are many different symptoms, so no single treatment will fix all her problems. It is often helpful to write down each symptom and plan treatment for each one:

• Period pain over several days (rather than just 1-2 days), pain opening bowels with periods, and endometriomas are best managed with high quality laparoscopic surgery. This can be very difficult surgery and it is important that the surgeon involved has extensive experience with laparoscopic surgical excision. Other alternatives include norethisterone tablets taken daily to avoid periods or a mirena iucd.
• Sharp, stabbing pains, increased sensitivity in the abdomen, soreness near the opening of the vagina, sharp pains that wake her at night, and some types of pain with intercourse are often due to a change in the way nerves in the pelvis function. This is called neuropathic pain. It responds best to medications such as amitriptyline or gabapentin in very low dose. It will also be worse if she is overtired or overstressed.
• Bladder symptoms of frequency (going to toilet more often), nocturia (getting up at night), urgency (needing to rush to the toilet) and some types of pain with intercourse may be due to a condition called interstitial cystitis. It is common in women with endometriosis and needs a special type of test called a cystoscopy and hydrodistension to diagnose. Useful information can be found at www.ic-network.com
• Bowel changes such as constipation, diarrhoea and pelvic discomfort sometimes improve with surgery, but are often due to food intolerances or an irritable bowel.
• Pelvic pain which is worse in different positions or with different activities and some types of pain with intercourse is often due to spasm of the pelvic floor muscles. The muscles just inside the vagina are tight and pressure on them causes pain. Treatment options include pelvic floor physiotherapy, botox injections in the pelvic floor muscles to relieve the spasm, and sometimes low doses of amitriptyline.

Many women with chronic pelvic pain also suffer tiredness and may feel generally unwell. Even when their symptoms improve, they require a lot of emotional support from their family and friends to return to an active and healthy life.

Written by; -Dr Susan Evans is a Pelvic & Laproscopic Surgeon & author of ‘Endometriosis and other pelvic pain’ written for women with endometriosis. It is available from her website: http://www.drsusanevans.com

She is also the co-founder of the Asia Pacific Endometriosis Alliance & co-founder of Australian Endometriosis Centre, Adelaide Branch.

Her books will be available in Singapore in the World Women Health 2009, November 28^th 2-6pm. Suntec City – Rooms303-306.

Registration details at

http://www.worldwomenhealth2009.com.html

Digital frame is a wonderful innovative gift by technology to us. It is a fantabulous product and a must buy for every family!

MEMORIES

Keep photos and videos of your loved ones close, easily select photos, slideshow, videos, listen to recorded voices in a go. Snaps are memories forever and everybody loves to keep these bundles of memories with utmost care.

When we stay alone far from our place we belong, it becomes challenging at times to build that emotional bonding between your kids and your own people, as they seldom meet them.Then this frame can help you to keep reviving your kid’s memories and help him to remember about their near and dear ones . Kids love to be photographed and when they keep on seeing their childhood photographs and the way they were in their childhood they feel very good about it. It helps to build their emotional quotient and self esteem too.

For families also it’s a good thing to have a look occasionally on the snaps of different periods of their life. It strengthens the bonding between the family members by cherishing those moments of laughter and fun together. But of course you have to take out time for it!

Digital photo frames are common in 7 inch to 12 inch sizes. Most digital photo frames display the photos as a slideshow and usually with an adjustable time interval. They also can send photos to the  printer.Others support additional multimedia content, including movie clips recorded in a digital camera movie mode,MP3 audio.

Certain frames can load pictures over the Internet also from RSS feeds, photosharing  sites such as Picasa and frome-mail. Such networked models usually support wireless  connections.Built-in speakers are common for playing video content with sound, and many frames come with remote controls.

A digital frame provides the same emotion-rich experience as a traditional photo album without handling and without occupying the computer or the TV set. Eye-catching in the room, it is also a easy way to show off pictures to visitors. It provides an immediate way of sharing photos.As prices for digital frames are falling sharply and innovative features such as transferring photographs instantly in your parents wireless digital frame while you are somewhere else, is making this gadget a must buy for every family!

It was interesting to read about Dame Anita Roddick in a book named Exceptional Entrepreneurship, which reports real life lessons from top business leaders!

Dame Anita Roddick was owner of Body Shop,which, has 2,400 stores in 61 countries, and is the second largest cosmetic franchise in the world, following O Boticario, a Brazilian company.Body shop is now part ofof the L’Oreal corporate group.

During her lifetime, Body Shop founder Anita Roddick had built a reputation for innovation, integrity and social responsibility. She died at age of 64, in 2007 as she suffered from major brain hemorrhage.

Dame Anita set up the first Body Shop in Brighton in 1976. She pioneered cruelty-free beauty products and turned them into a highly profitable business. She is a real inspiration to all businesswomen. To quote her from this book-

“ I am aware that success is more than a good idea. It is timing too. The Body Shop arrived just as Europe was going ‘green’. The Body Shop has always been recognizable by its green color, the only color that we could find to cover the damp, moldy walls of my first shop. The company went public in 1984. Since then, I have been given a whole host of awards, some I understand, some I don’t and a couple I think I deserve. Businesses have the power to do good. That’s why The Body Shop’s Mission Statement opens with the overriding commitment, ‘To dedicate our business to the pursuit of social and environmental change.’ We use our stores and our products to help communicate human rights and environmental issues.”

It is so inspiring to know about the passion of Anita Roddicks to work for climate and environment safety through her work. Her campaigns are the reflection for her motives in life to make this world a safe place to live.

Some of her campaigns-

· 1985 – Stop the dumping of toxic waste in North Sea, Greenpeace

· 1986 – Campaign against whaling of sperm whales, Greenpeace

· 1987 – Acid Rain pollution, Friends of the Earth

· 1987 – Published first ‘Green’ Diary, Friends of the Earth

· 980s – Against Animal Testing for cosmetics, collected 4 million signatures through shops

· 1990 – The Body Shop Foundation set-up. Over first 6 years of operation donated more than 3.5 million pounds to 180 charitable groups

· 1990 – Set-up project to refurbish 3 Romanian orphanages. Work extended into Albania and Bosnia

· 1991 – Funded Unrepresented Nations and Peoples organization

· 1993-98 – Ogoni Campaign against Shell and Nigeria

Anita Roddick was having a basket full of various awards from various governments like in 1984 – Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year, 1988 – OBE – Order of the British Empire , 1996 – Women’s Center’s Leadership Award, USA and many more.

Some of her inspiring quotes which I came across this book-

“When enthusiasm comes from heart its unstoppable because its driving your life and its part of the template of who you are.”

“Women are good at combining their interests with their skills and transforming them into a livelihood.”

“Entrepreneurs are anti hierarchical creative people who are obsessed with their businesses. They are also a fountain of ideas but often need others to help make them happen.”

Anita Roddick  is an inspiration to all those businesswomen who want to do something in life with a difference!