We are proud to nominate Manju Latha as our next HumanStar under our "Day out with a Human Star" series. Manju is the originator of #Ricebucketchallenge that catapulted her in limelight on the world stage! You can now schedule a one to one meeting with her either over a cup of coffee in Hyderabad or virtually through skype/ Whatsapp etc. and help her spread the mission of serving the needy all over the world.
Chandra Kishore, Founder , Dayoutwith.com sat down for a virtual cup of coffee with Manju on February 25th 10 AM US EST, 8:30 PM India time. The event was broadcasted live on the facebook page of Dayoutwith.com , https://www.facebook.com/dayoutwith/. "Like" the facebook page today!
Manju's most recent brush with fame has been the Rice Bucket Challenge. When most Indians were either amused or annoyed by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, this Hyderabadi journalist gave it a desi, practical twist to tweak it into India’s Rice Bucket Challenge - one that is apt for the hunger-ridden and rice-loving India! What started as a simple, gut-level reaction by donating a bucket of rice (22 kg, $12) to a hard-working man with a Facebook post stating: 'Why waste water when you can donate rice' on August 22, 2014, went on to spread like wildfire in India. In the last three years, the page has garnered 67,000 likes and more than 1.8 lakh kg of rice has reached the poor through individual and corporate participation India, Philippines, Bangladesh, Singapore etc. That it continues to garner donations for the poor purely through motivation and inspiration and not through advertising or promotion even today proves the sustainability of the initiative. The most recent has been 16,000 kg #RiceBucketChallenge in Kolkata by Mr Tauseef Rahman and friends on January 28, 2017. The Indian community in Singapore has reached out to her in February to convey that they would be doing the challenge in the first of March 2017. Most recently, the National Geographic Learning, based in Chicago, IL, have considered her initiative for a case study along with the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Among the accolades she has won so far are the JFW Women Achiever Award (social initiative), the Karamveer Chakra Gold Award, Govt of India – Women Achiever Award and was nominated for #SocialInfluencer the L'Oreal Paris Femina Women's Award 2015. She has spoken in over 15 platforms and given over 70 television and press interviews where she shared her experiences as a journalist and as an activist.