by Anuradha Bakshi | May 2, 2007 | Uncategorized
Sapna, a real dream come true..
She come to us almost five years ago and f you drop by this page, this is part of what you will read:
She is four, has delayed milestones, as she cannot walk or talk. She came to us about two months ago. Listening to her story left us all stunned beyond words. Sapna’s father does not work. He is supposedly unwell, but spends his time gambling and abusing his wife. Sapna’s grandmother has a small tea stall, and Sapna’s mom, Bimla, spends her day washing the dirty utensils. At the end of the day, she gets some food, not always enough to feed Sapna and her small brother, let alone herself! We soon discovered that much of Sapna’s delayed milestones were due to malnutrition and neglect. Sapna joined the early education programme, and with the help of Gaelle, our physio-therapist volunteer, she has slowly started catching up.
Since Sapna has learnt to walk, talk a little, make friends, play, interact and much more. And though we know that she will never lead a normal life, each achievement of hers is cause for celebration.
Imagine my surprise when while downloading the day’s pictures to my camera I found this one. sapna having a whale of a time on the trampoline. To many it may seem innocuous as any 10 year old should be able to jump on a trampoline. But in sapna’s case it is nothing short of a miracle..
I do not even want to begin to imagine what her life would have been had she not come to phwy – thanks to utpal’s mom – . Sapna has never been liked by her father or her grandmother for whom sh is an impediment. Her mom does love her as mom’s do but can do scant else. In a land where social support is nonexistent her life seems doomed as she grows into a young woman.
It is for the likes of Sapna that planet why becomes imperative as it would giver her a fulfilling life tailored to her needs. That is why I know it will happen one day..
by Anuradha Bakshi | May 2, 2007 | Uncategorized
Four point five and dropping. This is no winter temperature chart but little Anil’s weight.
He underwent close heart surgery for the placement of a pulmonary artery (PA) Band till more surgery could be done when he was older and stronger.
Anil is 15 months old and his weight was 7 kilos before surgery. After the placement of his PA band something seemed to have gone wrong as his ribs looks displaced and his breathing awkward. Moreover he had given up food and is losing weight at a frightening pace. His mother has tried every trick in the book but to little or no avail.
The doctors at the Institute have washed their hands off by telling the young mother that his loss of appetite was not their concern.
All this makes us wonder whether something went terribly wrong and no one is taking responsibility.
With the terrible heat wave in the city dehydration lurks at every corner and Anil’s home is a tiny airless room with a tin roof!
We have asked Anil’s mom to bring him to the creche in the day and will try and feed him so that he starts putting on some weight and once again appeal to the god of lesser beings to guide us in the right direction.
If you read this post do send a prayer.
by Anuradha Bakshi | May 1, 2007 | Uncategorized
Was it only a year ago that I wrote about my worst fears in a post I entitled plastic fantastic lover. I have been watching in helpless horror the gleaming bikes and big cars that landed in the darkest lanes of the slums around us, courtesy a pyramid sales company promising an El Dorado t any one who joined them. I have watched with extreme sadness young people falling prey one after the other to this hoax, many leaving their studies midway, many our very own students. I have screamed myself hoarse trying to guard them from the pitfalls I could see. I have prayed hard for them to fall before it is too late. But the enemy was too formidable and the lollies to attractive.
Day after day more bikes, more cars, more white shirts and blank pants, more frenzy, more euphoria. The voices of reason were silenced and many even gloated at all that had been achieved.
I just sat silent wondering when the pyramid would crash, I sat silent asking myself how did one pick the pieces of broken dreams and shattered hope, how did one clean up after the storm has passed. My worst case scenario was huge debts leading to despair. And though the idea had seeded in my mind, nothing could prepare me for the news I heard this morning: one of the young kids had taken is own life this morning as he could not face the creditors knocking at his door and had no one to turn to for help. He was twenty one.
And as the story unfolded, all apprehensions and fears stood validated. Many young boys and girls were faced with huge debts. The dreams of early days now lay jaded. The careless freedom had taken its toll as many girls lost their way in a world they could not master. Some of the ring leaders were faced with lawsuits and had gone in hiding. Reality had caught up with these misguided children who had no one to turn to.
My mind went back to the innumerable posts I had written about my fears. My mind went back to some hate mails I got where young people lauded the work of MLM. I kept some of them and paste one here as it was sent to me without editing :
myself ebizzer amit
ebiz.com (p) ltd
The power of right decision
ebiz become the best network marketing company of the world by touching millions of people around the world by essential komputer eduction, quality produts and service at vrey reasonble and offardable costs, to help them achieve financial freedom.
I have nothing to say as these words spek for themselves. I just hope and pray that no other life will have to be lost.
by Anuradha Bakshi | Apr 30, 2007 | girl child
Modigliani could have painted her. Were she a few inches taller she could have walked the ramp. But little Mahajabi’s mom was born in a poor Muslim family in India a land where little girls are not welcome, a land where they are often done away with, a land where they just go missing.
Their fate if they do survive is no bed of roses. Mahajabi’s mom does not even know her age but seems barely out of her teens, but unlike her peers in well to do homes or other lands, she looks used and abused. She has five children the eldest 5 and the youngest 10 months. She must have been married at a time when girls are normally carefree and got pregnant soon after. Since, her life has been spent being pregnant and breastfeeding while caring for her ever growing family. In her world any form of birth control is sinful and blasphemous. As long as her body is capable of bearing children she will continue doing so. She has no choice. Hers is a life devoid of rights; just a string of duties defined by traditions and mores made and defined by men.
Her husband is a daily wage labourer and barely earns enough for his family. Mahajabi’s heart condition has come as a bolt from the blue and thrown the family out of gear. And yet she is a mother and cannot remain silent so she has moved in with her parents till the child is attended to and healed. With a courage and determination well beyond her years, this woman who does not know her own age, requested her neighbour to accompany her to the hospital as the child was sick. She had dropped by to ask us for some proof she could show the doctors who had earlier refused to attend to the child as they must have thought that this poor family could never gather the required 60 000 Rs.
But they were unaware of the power of a mother’s prayers and the ways of the God of Lesser beings who is beyond religion and faith. Mahajabi will have her operation and will be given a chance to live.
But as one watched them leave, one wondered how long would little girls have to wait before they were given their rightful place in society.
by Anuradha Bakshi | Apr 29, 2007 | two indias
I met Mallika on the net a year or so ago. It was a time when we were desperate for funds and I use to knock at every id or site in the hope of getting some help. A common net friend connected us and as luck would have it she came to Delhi and we met.
The next day she came by to visit project why with her parents and her two daughters. It was a blessed moment and since they have supported us in more ways than one.
That was time her first book had been published and even though I was past the age of young motherhood I tried to find a copy of 100 promises, thinking it would be a way of getting to know Mallika better. I must confess that I was utterly surprised by the wisdom and sagacity that permeated this tender book and found myself reading it with intense pleasure, regretting that in our days such books did not exist. Dr Spock or Laurence Pernoud was what we read as we went on learning to be and making innumerable and iretreivable mistakes.
More than a book on motherhood, it was a reflection on life itself and a celebration of the often neglected link between a mother and a child. I saw my mistakes and shortcomings andadmired wondered the depth of understanding of this young mother. Many of the promises were shared with my teachers as maybe I was lucky to have been given a second chance with the project why children. And of all the promises the one that touched me the most was: I will hold you, but never hold on to you.
Imagine my surprise an delight when I received a mail from Mallika where she introduces her new book 100 questions from my child and writes: For this book, I am donating a portion of my proceeds to ProjectWhy, an organization in New Delhi that provides educational programs for underprivileged children.
What makes this gesture special is that project why is about trying to find answers to the innumerable questions that come up when looks at the plight of the children of India. I am sure that once again it will guide me in finding the right answer.
Thank you Mallika.
