by Anuradha Bakshi | Feb 12, 2008 | fostercare, planet why, two indias
“Creation is a manifestation of the one’s many ideas… every idea one step away from being alone… The meaning is for us to discover. Creation is only a stimulus. All we have to do is respond. And respond well. Everything is a great question waiting for a great answer.” Al Raines
These words dropped quietly into my inbox this morning. A quote from a just published book appropriately called Soul Search Engine. Prophetic words for one who spent the night searching for answers and wishing for sibylline insight.
Project Why has, over the past 8 years, sprung a string of questions needing answers and we have have to their best of our ability attempted to find the appropriate ones. Some have been easy, some more demanding and some even troubling. Yet each one has been portent of a stronger will, a greater manifestation, and each no matter how difficult or seemingly impossible has found a relevant answer.
The past weeks have been a roller coaster ride where dreams and reality have somehow taken a life of their own and left us all breathless and bewildered. We find ourselves with more than we visualised and planned. The foster care programme was not part of our original plans. And yet when it come our way we somehow knew it was to be. No matter how huge or daunting there was something compelling us to embrace it. It was a great question that required us to find a great answer.
From the instant we decided to once again walk the road less or actually never traveled, we have been faced with a deluge of adverse reactions, some biting , some more gentle; some steeped in cynicism, some simply seasoned with caution. This of course led us to try and assess the situation in the hope of discovering the true cause of such a backlash.
What we are trying to do is simply give a few children a chance to a better morrow. It was time to delve further and find out the reality. Somehow the situation was akin to the one I had faced many years ago when the apparently harmless work I was doing had led to a vicious attack from local powers that be. At first I had been perplexed and at a loss to explain matters. I was only attempting to educate slum children. I understood later that the real reason for the onslaught was that I had dared disturbed the existing social fabric and what was held against me was that I had empowered people particularly by giving teaching jobs to people who were meant to do menial ones.
Once again by giving hope to a few children of a Lesser God we were again guilty of the same deadly sin. One did not disturbed existing patterns. To have the audacity to do so was anathema to everyone. In a land where society has been divided in every which way possible, comfort zones have been created and we have all sunk into them, this is part of our atavistic fears. What is troubling is that this attitude is prevalent not only with the illiterate multitude, but even with the likes of us who are supposedly educated. There are things good for us, and things good for them. My child had the right to an IIT whereas their children can only reach the portals of a Polytechnic. What is even more disturbing is that in spite of the apparent economic and social growth of our land, the disparity between them and us has grown with quantum leaps, part of a tacit covenant.
Thus any attempt, no matter how tiny and infinitesimal at truly bridging the gap is bound to be met with strong resistance. Sadly few will have the honesty and courage to accept this fact and will find a host of reasons to explain their reticence: too much money spend for too few, money that could be used for a large number and so on. One will just have to find the right words to counter the attacks and maybe gently lead them to some honest soul searching.
That much for the biting and cynical detractors, but we also need to address the fears and apprehensions of the gentle critics urging us to caution. And I must confess that at the initial stages I was one of them. It is easy to help children the way we have done for years. Giving them a few hours of sound learning and happy moments and seeing them go back to their homes is a safe option. But when one takes the step of wrenching a child from one world and taking them to another, the equation changes. We are not talking of a few hours but of long years, each with its set of challenges. And even though we can sit and plan to the minutest detail, there is no guarantee that things will go our way. We may hope and think and pray that things go well, they may also go wrong and it is essential that we build safety nets at each step to counter them. What me must never forget is that each child that comes our way becomes our responsibility one that we have to fulfill all the way finding the best solution to every problem that may appear.
The easy way could be to once again find a via media, a solution that would assuage the situation and allow us to sink back in our comfort zones but can we actually do so now. It is once again a matter of some serious soul searching!
by Anuradha Bakshi | Feb 11, 2008 | fostercare
I was recently asked to write a blurb that would describe project why. I knew this was no mean task as in many ways pwhy defies all logic and all attempts at containing it within any limits are vain.
I did set about trying to find the few words that would at best describe who and what we are and was soon lost in the maze of all the things we have done in the past 8 years. Are we an education oriented organisation; but then why do we fix broken hearts. Are we a children’s organisation then why do we reach out to women? Are we based in Delhi, then why do we help children like the ones in this picture?
Risteh, Yogita and Rahul live in Rohtak. They are very bright kids and are doing extremely well in their studies. A few months back their father, a mechanic in an elecronic shop, suffered a major accident that left him incapacitated and hence he lost his work and the ability to earn again. He was the sole earner of he family. Their mother who is illiterate can barely bring food on the table. Their school fees were not paid. And they were on the verge of being thrown out. Their plight was brought to our notice quite back accident. Needless to say we decided to help them could we have done otherwise.
So coming back to trying to seek a set of parameters that would define project why should we say that we are an organisation that functions by accident and twists of fate. Not a very pretty picture ans certainly not one that would endear us to anyone. And yet is not true that it all began because of one day Manu came into our lives by accident..
I would rather think of these as a series of serendipities that are orchestrated by the ones that I like calling the God of Lesser Beings, the one to whom distraught mothers send desperate prayers and who works in his own ways.
So are we just an answer to prayers? I guess not as that would not explain planet why or the foster care programme as these emanate from our own desires and dreams. I guess I will one again have to go back to the Little Prince and the Fox and their secret and simply say:
Project why is where you see with your heart!
by Anuradha Bakshi | Feb 10, 2008 | Uncategorized
Last Friday our very special friend Andy had a haircut. But this was no ordinary haircut. Everything about it was noteworthy. It brought together a wonderful human being from Seattle, a hearing impaired girl from a Delhi slum and a little cat who decided to grace the occasion with its presence. The location was no beauty salon or barber shop; it was the terrace of the pwhy building!
It all began in our special section with Andy tugging at his growing locks and someone suggesting he have a haircut. Rinky our resident beauty consultant who is not only a trained beautician and hair artist but has now almost one year of work experience immediately offered to do the needful. In our own inimitable yet eloquent sign language she offered to take him to her salon. However the suggestion was shot down as the said salon is for Ladies Only and Andy’s presence there would have been anathema!
After much deliberation a solution was found. The haircut would be done at pwhy itself and the terrace was the designated salon of the day. So come Friday our tiny terrace was converted into a barber shop and Andy got his haircut! For Rinky it was a very important and serious moment. It was the very first time she was cutting a man’s hair. But Rinky is one of a kind and she set out to accomplish her task with professional prowess and extreme composure and the result was quite stunning. Even the little cat was impressed.
It was yet another perfect moment; one that can only happen at pwhy!
by Anuradha Bakshi | Feb 7, 2008 | planet why
Citizen why is the name of a new blog created by our dear friend and supporter Andy. The base line of the blog says: A place for the people of Planet Why to share their stories.
I met Andy a few months back on the net, in one of those dark moments when one is desperately looking for help wondering how one would get through the night. Andy immediately offered to help, and as time went on I found myself sharing may of my dreams with him.
Andy was perhaps the first one who urged me to hold on to my dreams, particularly the one of seeing planet why become a reality and promised to help in any way possible. he even wrote: As things move forward on Planet Why I’d love to come and visit to help in person, if that would be alright.
True to his promise Andy came and is now an integral part of pwhy. When he suggested he start a blog where those who came to planet why could share their thoughts and stories, I was thrilled as I have always held that pwhy is what it is because of the spirit and love of all those who have come by and shared some time with us, all the precious Citizens of the incredible place that is planet why!
As I read the first posts on this new blog, I also realised what an invaluable mine of knowledge it would be for us, as we see pwhy through fresh eyes and become aware of things that we did not know and look at ourselves as others see us!
Thank you Andy!
by Anuradha Bakshi | Feb 6, 2008 | Uncategorized
There are moments at pwhy which are incredible and moving. These are the moments that make you forget all the bad times, the struggle, the dejection, the angst that is part of any one engaged in the kind of work we do and these are the tiny cameos that make it all worthwhile.
Courtesy our dynamic volunteer Mathilde the special section of pwhy has been having weekly karate classes. As the class has children with are differently abled to use the politically correct word, they were divided into two groups. Preeti, our spirited polio affected 12 year old, who walks with the help of her hands, was relegated to group B as the class was going to concentrate on kicks and everyone felt that was something she would not be able to do.
The class started and everyone was busy kicking. A few minutes into rthe class and Mathilde felt someone tugging at her pants. It was Preeti who wanted her attention as she set about showing off her version of kicks: furious movements of her useless leg achieved with the help of her had!
Needless to say we all felt tiny and like heels. Mathilde stopped the class as place was made in the centre for Preeti who joined the class and proved to everyone present that she was as good of not better than all of them.
We had our new Karate Kid, one who called us back to order and ensured that we did not forget that if your spirit was in he right place nothing was impossible.
