It was French Week at Project Why. A group of members of Enfances Indiennes,  visited Project Why and gave its children a French Break!

Project Why’s French Connection is strong and steadfast. Not surprising as its founder had deep links with France! But the real bond began over a decade ago when the visit of a man with a huge heart led to the setting up a support group in France called Enfances Indiennes. Every alternate a year a group from this organisation visits Delhi and spends time with the children of Project Why.

This year the children were in for a surprise. Enfances Indiennes decided to take some of the children for an outing.  But that is not all. This visit would be the coming together of the two Indias. Let me explain. Another man with huge heart -who has been providing lunch to the Yamuna children and spearheaded a donations campaign through his many restaurants across India- decided to board the wagon. The result: a visit to an industrial kitchen and a talk on career options followed by a scrumptious lunch and a special treat for the Yamuna children.

The chefs who brought the food to the children experienced a magical moment as the chefs discovered the little persons they had been cooking for. Their resolve to do more was visible in their eyes. Again one India was meeting another.

There was another added surprise: a visit to the Science Museum and India Gate for all the Yamuna centre kids. These children had NEVER been out of their fields.

Xavier (Enfances Indiennes) and Kabir (Mamagoto) were there too to make the picture perfect.

The Yamuna children, who live in a bubble in the heart of the big city they have never visited set off in the big blue bus. There were many such sights, ones we take for granted and have even stopped seeing. For these kids, however, all was new and welcomed with loud clapping and joyful shrieks. A real eye opener.  After visiting India Gate came ice cream time: the famous orange bar! They had completed the rite of passage of every Delhi kid.

The visit to the museum was also exciting. The children were welcomed by the staff of the museum who guided them through the many wonders. Our thoughts go them as a day later this very museum was completely destroyed by fire.

The last event on the calendar was a lunch at Anou’s with the 7 boarding school kids. Everyone had a great time.

Project Why’s French Connection is one of a kind as it has the magic wand that brings the two sides of India together in a celebration of all that is good in the world.

Enjoy some special moments

Six years ago, I gathered the courage to write a requiem for a dream. The dream was Planet Why the guest house with a difference that would have allowed Project Why to be sustainable. In a nutshell, Planet Why was a guest house indeed, but would have also been home to Project Why’s special needs children when their family support dwindled with time as parents faded away and the next generation took over. The gentle souls once loved and cared for would suddenly find themselves at the mercy of people who considered them a nuisance. That is the plight of mentally challenged people in a country that has scant support for them. They too fade away in a tiny corner of a home where they are not wanted, let alone loved.

This happens across the board, in rich as well as poor homes; the difference is an invisible golden cage versus iron bars.

This was a reality one became aware of very early in Project Why’s journey. Manu was the perfect example.

Hence, no matter what direction the dream took, there was a constant: Planet Why would be a place where the special children of Project Why could live and die with dignity, a place where they were loved and tended to till their last breath.

Planet Why was not to be. At first a series of serendipities made us believe that everything would happen. The land was bought, feasibility studies done, architectural plans drafted, budgets made. However we were unable to find the needed funds, in spite many promises. Finally the dream had to be laid to rest. Manu for whom it all began breathed his last leaving us lost and looking for direction.

Planet Why too was relegated to some obscure corner of our minds.

But  dreams have a nagging way of remaining at the surface and need a simple prompt to come alive. They never truly die.

This is what happened recently.

For the past weeks S our die hard special section inmate has been absent. In the initial days we thought it was yet another mood swing and she would be back. When more days passed a phone call was made and we were informed that her mother was sick and wanted Shalu near her. This was understandable as her mother had been ailing for some time. More time passed and it was decided to go and visit her to find out the situation and offer assistance if needed.

The reality left us speechless. S’s mom is in a bad way and the house in being looked after by Shalu. That is not all. There is a baby a few weeks old that is also left in her care. It was heart wrenching to see her scuttle around trying to do her best with a smile, knowing in her heart that her mom is very ill. It was heartbreaking to see the unspoken question in the mother’s eyes” what would happen to her child after she left? It was heart wrenching for us to have no answer.

The  girl we saw was a far cry from the often stubborn and yet adorable little woman who is the soul and spirit of her class. A mean dancer S is always at the forefront of every fun activity and can bring a smile on the sternest face.

It was uncanny how everyone who visited her immediately thought of Planet Why! Never was the need of Planet Why more real than at this moment. It was for people like S that Planet Why was conceived. A place where she could dance with abandon into the twilight.

The Planet Why Land

This is what Planet Why would have looked like!