by anouradha bakshi | Nov 2, 2019 | Whats new
At Project WHY, our greatest assets are our teachers. By adopting a teacher for just INR 10,000 (USD 145 or Euro 130), you enable a good teacher to reach out to 50 underprivileged children that need educational support to complete their schooling years. Without good teachers, this is not possible.
Help support our initiative by adopting one of our teachers as an individual, or a group of friends.
To know more and see the teachers you can adopt click here
by anouradha bakshi | Nov 1, 2019 | Whats new
Amazon-bestselling author Damyanti Biswas is donating all her proceeds from her debut crime novel You Beneath Your Skin to Project WHY and @StopAcidAttacks
Our share of the proceeds will be used for women empowerment programs.
The story of You Beneath Your Skin was written while volunteering at Project WHY. It is an intelligent, socially engaged thriller which talks about the issues that are faced by women and underprivileged communities in Delhi.
Check it out, and if it catches your interest, please buy the book.
Within India: https://www.simonandschuster.co.in/books/You-Beneath-Your-Skin/Damyanti-Biswas/9789386797629
Outside India: mybook.to/YouBeneathYourSkin
by anouradha bakshi | Oct 26, 2019 | Anou's Blog
Last week the special class of Project Why put up stalls in many places to sell their beautiful Diwali diyas (earthen lamps) and other Diwali ware. Of all the sales the most touching one was undoubtedly the one held at the CSKM school. Anita, Himani and Geetu were the ones who were to man the stall and everyone was most excited. Shamika accompanied them to get things going and I too tagged along as I love visiting this school as it is after my heart. By the time I reached everyone was busy opening boxes and setting up the tables with the help of Deepika the headmistress and some other staff members.
Once everything was set up it was time for the children to come and make their purchases. First ones to come where the middle school kids and within a jiffy the huge AV hall was buzzing with activity with children examining everything, asking the price then moving on to something else and coming back, calculating in their head what they would buy: diyas for the puja or a bracelet for mom, or both. After a while with some gentle and not so gentle prompting by their teachers sales were made and it was time for the next batch to come in. Things flew off the counter as class after class came and selected their ware.
The tiniest ones were adorable. They clutched their money in their hands and went around the tables looking at everything before deciding what they would buy. They knew their mind and got what they wanted. By lunch time they had sold a whopping 7000 Rs worth. The team was elated. But there was more to come. Angels were at work.
The Project Why team was graciously invited to share lunch with the children in the main dining hall and they all enjoyed the lovely dal, rice and vegetable curry. Then it was back to the exhibition hall. In the morning as there was a cross country zonal event many children had not been able to come for the sale so they turned up in hordes in the afternoon. The senior children helped our team with the sales and post lunch the coffers filled fast! At the end of the day they has sold for 15000 rupees, the biggest sale they ever made. Everyone was on cloud nine.
It was time to pack up and head back. Everyone was tired but it did not matter as the day had been magical with hordes of little Angels with big heart at work. At CSKM everyone sees with their hearts.
Thank you for a wonderful day!
by anouradha bakshi | Oct 22, 2019 | Anou's Blog
Miracles are what happens when you get out of the way of yourself wrote Brad Szollose. Words of wisdom I need to heed as I am seriously in need of a miracle at Project Why. A grant we were confident would come our way slipped by and we also lost a substantial chunk of money from a regular donor by force majeure! This is a setback for us as we are still recovering from the loss of a large donor whose donation stops in March 2020 and we were hoping that said grant would make up for part of what we were losing. But that is not to be. We are not back to square one, but a few steps behind square one.
There are many adages the prepare you for such a moment promising windows will open even if doors shut, or that better things are around the corner or that there is always light at the end of a dark tunnel. And true we take comfort from these. What else can we do?
As I sit and write these words I cannot but think of the 1200 Project Why children, of the almost 50 souls on my team, of the hundreds of women whose dreams we help fulfil and wonder what would happen should no window open? My spiritual teacher says that the Universe always works in our favour and that we should release all our fears. That is what I intend to do. Release all my fears and let the Universe show me the way. Be in equanimity though some time it is not easy. But I need to keep calm and keep the faith alive in me and accept with grace whatever the future holds.
It does not mean that I stop doing anything. Far from that. It is all hands on deck. The only tiny and yet momentous difference is that this time I am at peace within me and ready to accept whatever comes.
So what is the road map? To push our new Adopt a Teacher programme and find people or groups of people to reach out and adopt one teacher. To reach out to institutions and organisations and companies with renewed effort. To seek the support of friends. To ask the Board members to help find new avenues. There is a gala dinner on the anvil for March 2020.
But that is not all. What is the most important is the innumerable souls around the world who are rooting for us. When I shared my dilemma on social media I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who reached out with their love and good wishes. That is when I understood that for miracles to happen one has to get out of the way and let the Universe take over and as Fannie Glad says: Not give up before the miracles happens.
by anouradha bakshi | Oct 15, 2019 | Anou's Blog
Project Why is the land of miracles. I have always believed that even in the face of adversity and have not been proven wrong. In the past twenty years miracles have come our way with almost obsessive regularity. They have come in the form of Angels of all sizes, who do not wear wings or have halos but have one thing in common: they see with their hearts. Over the years these miracles have renewed my faith in the one I call God of Lesser Beings to whom I pray every day and to whom I surrender. These miracles happen to remind you that there is good in the world, and that you should never give up.
Miracles happen every day. They are the hands that reach out to you when you feel lost and alone as I have been for the past few weeks wondering how I would keep Project Why safe. In times like these, all you need is that little miracle to just tell you that all will be alright. This time it came in the form of an email that simply said : My uncle wanted to know of any place that looks after women and their education. I gave him your contact details. The Angel this time was a wonderful soul who I have not yet met in person but who has reached out to me virtually in more ways than one. Her name Sunita Saldhana! Soon after we were contacted by a person who informed us that Mr Victor Lobo had donated one lac rupees to Project Why for women’s education. Mr Lobo is Sunita’s uncle.
In moments like these you remain speechless and simply look towards the heavens with immense gratitude. The clouds lift and you know you are safe. True you will have to work hard and face hurdles but the miracle sent your way is there to tell you: everything is going to be alright.
Thank you Sunita. Thank you Mr Lobo. Stay blessed.
Miracles are what happens when you get out of the way wrote Brad Szollose. Maybe the message this time is just that: get out of the way and let the Universe work for you.
Thank you Sunita. Thank you Mr Lobo for believing in us and trusting us. We hope to see you at Project Why.
If you want to help some very brave women and children make a life for themselves, you can donate here. Every little bit counts.
