by anouradha bakshi | Aug 6, 2019 | Anou's Blog
Remake the world
With love and happiness
Remake the world
Put your conscience in the test
Remake the world
North, south, east and west
Remake the world
Gotta prove that are the best, yeah
Looking at this picture I am reminded of Jimmy Cliff’s beautiful song Remake the World. Chanchal, Anamika and Khushi are students of our Khader centre. They are in class II and are best friends. Last week, after school the three sat on the steps of the centre lost in their own world. They were busy remaking the world! They stopped to smile and pose for a snapshot that would freeze this magical moment for eternity and then went back to business. I would give my anything to know what was going on in their little heads, what dreams they were crafting, what morrows were they conjuring. But I will never know.
Like most Project Why kids, these three come form humble homes, where life is a struggle, children’s dreams are rarely fulfilled, and girls are often low priority. Chanchal has three siblings. Her father irons clothes on the road side and her mother is a house maid. Anamika’s father is a security guard and her mother attended our sewing circle and now stitches clothes at home.She has three siblings. Khushi’s has two siblings, her father works in a private company and her mother is a housewife. Life is no bed of roses. The only space these little girls can call their own is Project Why.
As I watched this picture I realised how in a manner of speech we at Project Why were actually remaking the world for children like these. Not only were we giving them an education and making sure they finish their schooling even if it means battling with the parents as is sometimes the case with a girl child, we were also giving each child a space to dream. And that is not all, we also gave them a voice and the courage to stand for themselves if and when needed. And wherever we could, we were there to give wings to their dreams. With each dream fulfilled we would in Jimmy Cliff’s words be able to remake the world with love and happiness, one dream at a time!
by anouradha bakshi | Jul 30, 2019 | Anou's Blog
At a time when the future of Project Why is hanging by a thread as we struggle to find our feet and long term sustainability, I sometimes find myself in need of a feel good shot to reassure me and give me the needed impetus to soldier on. One of the things I find myself doing is looking back at the two decades gone by and reliving a chapter of the Project Why story. Today I look back at our Khader women centre as it is one that may have to be shut by March 2020 if we are not able to find funding for it.
Like every part of Project Why, the women centre has a wondrous story. Though I have always believed that true change is to be routed through women, something Kamala my mother firmly believed in, it took some time for the women centre to see the light of day. The obvious way would have been to seed a women centre at the very outset but that was not to be as Project Why grew organically answering the whys that came its way. It would be the same for the women centre, a why that needed to be answered.
When two marginalised women one an alcoholic on the road to recovery and the other needing post surgery care came our way seeking help, we had to step up and give it. The need of the hour was to create a safe place for them to help them rebuild their lives. We did just that: set up a small residential facility for these two ladies. Easier said than done as when the community came to know about them, we were asked to vacate the premisses. Society is not kind to marginalised women. That is when we realised that to be able to find a place to house our ladies, we would need to do more than just that. We decided to follow the pattern of the other centres and set up a children centre next to our residential unit and also run a vocational centre to empower women of the community. We were lucky to find the exact space we needed at Madanpur Khader and the women centre began its activities in 2007 with two ladies in a residential facility, scores of children in an after school study programme and a handful of women in a stitching course. Our women centre was well on its way.
We would go on to close our residential centre as sadly one woman went back to the bottle and the other healed and went back to normal life. The space reclaimed would be used to extend our work with children and women. We would add a beautician course, secondary classes, a library and a computer centre as well as adult education classes. Today the Khader centre is a family of over 350 souls with a team of 15 people gently but firmly guided by the incomparable Dharmendra. One of our funders wrote beautifully about this centre. I share her words here.
Needless to say, I dedicated the centre to Kamala as every lesson I learnt at her knee was fulfilled within the walls of this beautiful centre.
The Khader centre is also dear to my heart for many other reasons. It was Utpal’s home for a while as that is where his mum was recovering before she finally left to disappear. It was the place where we first saw Meher and were able to conjure a better life for her. Today both Meher and Utpal come back and volunteer at Project Why during their holidays. There is really a kind of magic in this hallowed place.
So closing it is not an easy option. I will have to do whatever is needed to ensure that our work carries on. Today I want to believe in miracles and pray for one.
by anouradha bakshi | Jul 9, 2019 | Anou's Blog
One can hardly imagine how things unfold, almost serendipitously! Since last year our boarding school kids have been spending their holidays at Project Why teaching the younger children and participating in all activities of the centre. It all began in April 2018 when Utpal and Babli started going to the Khader centre to ‘pass’ time as they had just finished their Boards and had a lot of time on their hands while waiting for the results. They both taught junior classes and Utpal also taught he children dance. They enjoyed the experience and were all set to return during the winter holidays.
During the winter holidays as the children were preparing for their New Year Party and Republic Day celebrations, Utpal, the born entertainer, took on the role of master of ceremonies and choreographer. Needless to say the shows were perfect.
Volunteering became a part of these kids life. Every holiday they would return to Khader soon joined by Manisha, Meher and Vicky.
They did it with love and dedication, as if they knew in their hearts that this was the right thing to do. They were paying back!
This summer they would go one step ahead.
One fine morning Utpal told me that his Ma’am Madhumita was going to visit the Khader centre. I was pleasantly surprised but did not give it much thought at that time. Madhumati Ma’am came and taught at both our Khader and Yamuna centres. I put up a post on facebook thanking her for her visit and it is only when I saw her answer that I realised how Utpal had organised this visit. He had taken ownership of the Project. I share her post here: But I am really grateful to my dearest Utpal who had called me up one fine afternoon , when I was in Kolkata, requesting me to take class it was as though he had heard my hearts wish. I had been always wanting to pay a visit but due to my ill health , I was unable to do so but Utpal’s call came to me as a blessing from heaven, and Utpal was that messenger of God. Madhumita Nag Pathak Teacher CSKM
My heart filled with gratitude and joy. Looked like we had done our job well and instilled the right values in these children even though they were away from us in boarding school. Utpal had felt the desire to have his beloved teacher come and share her knowledge with the Project Why children. It was his initiative. He had taken ownership of the Project.
Utpal even invited the manager and of his school canteen to discuss funding options as he knew we were short of funds. Mr Sharma spent time talking to Dharmendra and sharing his ideas. It was a fruitful interaction that opened other ways of thinking and new possibilities.
At a time when we are all worried about the future of Project Why, these small initiatives are like a breath of fresh air. They are also proof of the fact that the next generation is ready to take the lead of Project Why 2.0. It was simply a matter of time.
It is also time for the likes of me to realise that our ways may not be the right ones anymore and that one has to accept change and go with it. It is time to pass the baton. We have done our bit and done it well. Now our role is to help the new generation take ownership.
by anouradha bakshi | Jul 2, 2019 | Anou's Blog
It is customary for the special needs class to celebrate the end of their summer camp with a memorable outing. Normally they go to a park or to their favourite place the Lodhi gardens. But this time would be different. They would visit a mall. A first for most of them. Everyone was very excited as they set out bright and early. The idea was to walk though the mall and have lunch at the food court.
Our special meeds children are to the major born as no one would have guessed that they had never set a foot in a mall. They walked through the mall looking at everything around them with interest, stopping at some shops longer than the other, fascinated by the sight they saw but extremely well behaved. They posed for photographs when asked. They enjoyed their walk through the mall working an appetite for the treat to come.
It was soon lunch time and everyone headed for the food court. They waited patiently as the teachers purchased the coupons. Every one was given a choice and the children zeroed in on scrumptious dosas and chola bhatura. Everyone enjoyed the meal!
It was soon time to head back to school. But not before enjoying an ice cream!
Outings are very special for these souls who rarely go out of their homes. At project Why we try and take them out as often as we can but not as much as we would like to for want of funds. Taking them out and seeing them enjoy themselves is a real treat for all of us as you witness pure unadulterated pleasure.
by anouradha bakshi | Jun 25, 2019 | Anou's Blog
Bhutan has just made teachers and medical staff the highest paid civil servants in the country. Let us not forget that Bhutan is the country where Gross National Happiness is more important than the GDP! Education and health are now the highest priorities in the tiny country. This means that Bhutan puts its children and people first.
On the other side of the planet a young Prime Minister has also turned things on their head. Jacinda Ardern presented a budget “where spending is dictated by what best encourages the “well-being” of citizens, rather than focussing on traditional bottom-line measures like productivity and economic growth.” The young New Zealand Prime Minister also puts people first!
I wish we did the same in India!
In the last week over 170 young children have died of encephalitis in Muzaffarpur Bihar due to poor medical facilities and most of all due to malnutrition and poor care. According to data this was mostly due to the indifference of the state government towards nutrition and healthcare in spite of many schemes in place. Let us not forget that 5000 children under five still die of malnutrition in India EVERY DAY. A statistic I have often quoted as it makes my blood run cold. And in Muzzffarnagar every second child under the age of 5 in stunted. Had a simple programme like ICDS launched in 1975 worked then no one under age of 44 should have been malnourished in India. Where are our priorities!
The same is the case with education. In spite of a Constitutional Right to Education the education system across the land leaves a lot to be desired. Again it is not a priority. There are schools with no teachers or with one teacher! There are schools without desks or books. There are schools were more than 100 kids are cramped in a single classroom. There are over 15 million of children out of school. There are over 33 million children engaged in child labour. There are children begging at every red light. Something is not right. We as a nation have lost the ability to see with our hearts.
It is time we prioritised education and health care. For those who cannot afford a private hospital, the only option are the state run facilities. If these do not work then a large chunk of the population is again left out and forced to go to quacks or even faith healers. The other option is a private hospital but that entails high debts.
Making teachers and health staff the highest paid civil servant would ensure that the best opt for such jobs and hence the quality of education and public health would improve in quantum leaps. Government spending as Jacinda Ardern says should be on ensuring the well being of every citizen particularly the poorest or most marginalised. This is the way governments should go as this is what would bring the much needed change we all aspire for.
Children are the most precious asset of any country and we must ensure that each and every one of them get the best.
