by anouradha bakshi | Jan 26, 2019 | WATWB
There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million. – Walt Streightiff
For We are the World Blogfest I want to share the story of the education of a bunch of children who took it upon themselves to change their futures.
I came to know of this Blogfest through my dearest friend Damyanti and warmed up to the idea immediately as we need stories to renew our faith in humanity.
At times, we lose the ability to revel in the joy of happy occurrences around us. We’re simply too busy living our daily life. I would like to share the story of a bunch of children who motivated us to set up the most dynamic and endearing centre of Project Why: the Okhla Centre.
It was way back in 2004 that we were told about the plight of a children living in the Okhla Industrial area, in tiny tenements tucked in between factories, close to the railway tracks. Most did not go to school as there were no schools in the vicinity and their parents were too busy eking out a living. They roamed around the area and were often targeted by mafias who would use them to steal from the goods trains or push drugs.
Our best effort to find a suitable place to begin a centre met with scant success. But we were determined to reach out and provide education to these children who were eager to have us come to them. Finally we found a garbage dump that we reclaimed and set up our centre with 4 bamboo sticks and one bright blue plastic sheet. Two extraordinary women: Sophia and Pushpa took on the challenge of ensuring the centre ran no matter what. It was the eagerness of the children that propelled us not to give in.
Slowly more and more children would appear from nowhere and want to join the centre. We knew that there was no going back as Project Why became one of the wonders in the eyes of many children. The centre continued to thrive day by day and grow in leaps and bounds. From a flimsy structure that was pulled down ever week by our detractors and set up every time by our brave ladies, the centre acquired brick walls and we had over 100 children studying from class I to V. New teachers joined the initial duo and it was soon a well settled centre providing primary education. We thought it would remain so but when the year came to an end, the class V children insisted we open a class VI. We had no option but to do so. It was their school as they had taken ownership and we had to follow.
Today the Okhla centre has a class XII!
But kids dream, and they dream big. They wanted a computer centre as no centre existed in the area. God listens to children. Thanks to the kindness of Kabir Suri of Azure Hospitality, we were able to build a proper roof, shift secondary classed on the terrace and open a computer centre for the children.
Today the centre welcomes over 300 children who are taught by a dedicated band of 12 teachers.
True, the school is in a garbage dump and the surroundings are far from pretty, but walk into the door and you reach the happiest place you can imagine. A visit to the Okhla centre always lifts my spirits up. A sure feel-good shot! If not for these incredible children, this centre for education would not have happened.
At every step the God of lesser beings ensured that someone came by and helped us fulfill the wishes and dream of these children. Our gratitude to all of the donors.
Today we are praying for another miracle. The Okhla centre funding is coming to an end in march 2019.
If we are not able to come up with a solution, the centre is in danger of closing. We are looking at various initiatives to bridge the gap but above all at long term sustainability to ensure that these wonderful children continue to have their happy place. It is they who wanted it and they who deserve it. We will simply follow.
Do you believe all children have a right to education and see their dreams come true? Can education liberate children from the vicious cycle of poverty? If you ever stop by in Delhi, or if you live here, would you like to visit the Project WHY Okhla centre? Will you support our funding efforts for this centre?
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Please consider collaborating with us! We welcome visitors, volunteers and anyone who can give us advice on how to improve our practices and processes. Check out our Facebook page for information on the events that are held at Project Why.
You can also support Project Why through a small donation. Even a small amount helps us support a child’s education.
by anouradha bakshi | Jan 23, 2019 | Whats new
We were honoured to welcome Mrs Hiramatsu, wife of the Ambassador of Japan, and the Japanese Volunteer Group to our Yamuna Centre on January 15th 2019. Mrs Hiramatsu graciously donated school books to all the children. We are deeply grateful for this donation.
The ladies organised an origami activity with the children that was enjoyed by all.
Our association with the Japanese Volunteer group began in 2006 and is still going strong.
ありがとうございます Arigatou gozaimasu.
by anouradha bakshi | Jan 22, 2019 | Anou's Blog
The Annual Status of Education Report 2018 has been published and there is little cause to rejoice. True there are more children in school and less drop outs but most of the children who ‘pass’ out are unable to read or do basic calculations. There has been little improvement in learning outcomes. The report states that: the story today is far worse than what it was a decade ago. In 2008, 37% of Class V students could do basic maths; now less than 28% can. Children are not learning what they should.
The full report is available here.
In spite of gaining the Right to Education, it looks like not much has changed on the ground and this is extremely disturbing as education is undoubtedly the only path to meaningful social transformation. At Project Why we have innumerable examples of how education has changed lives for the better.
When Project Why began almost two decades ago, it was my hope that the day would come when the education scenario would improve and we would be able to redefine ourselves and bring new perspectives to our children. But that did not happen. We are still engaged in helping our children cope with their school curriculum and enhance their learning outcomes. We strive to give them an all rounded education that goes beyond textbooks and that can make them lifelong learners.
In the wake of the present education scenario, the work we do at Project Why is still very relevant as children have to pass their examinations with good marks in order to get access to higher education and we need to work within a system that judges a child by the marks s/he gets in a school examination. Our effort is to try and weave in as many ‘other’ skills as we can in order make them ready for the world that awaits them.
Many countries have reformed their school education to attune it to the demands of the future. Finland is an excellent example of how an education system should be run. There are no mandated standardized tests in Finland, apart from one exam at the end of students’ senior year in high school. There are no rankings, no comparisons or competition between students, schools or regions. Finland’s schools are publicly funded. The people in the government agencies running them, from national officials to local authorities, are educators, not business people, military leaders or career politicians. Every school has the same national goals and draws from the same pool of university-trained educators. The result is that a Finnish child has a good shot at getting the same quality education no matter whether he or she lives in a rural village or a university town. This would be an ideal situation for India as it ticks all the right boxes.
Educationists have defined the skills every child should master to succeed in what is know as the Information Age. Some of them are: Critical thinking; Creativity; Collaboration; Communication; Information literacy; Flexibility; Leadership; Initiative and Social skills. Thinking out of the box seems to be the key to success in the future.
It is obvious that our present school system teaches none of the above. In India we have chosen to commercialise education instead of strengthening the state-run schools and make them the first choice for parents. The curriculum is dated and the emphasis on marks does not reward the creative or innovative child. Thinking out of the box is almost anathema.
At Project Why we strive to teach children to be creative, take initiative and also hone their social skills. We hope that our efforts will bear fruit and pave the way for the future of every Project Why child.
Do you think the education system in India needs to be reformed? What is the education system like where you live?
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Please consider collaborating with us! We welcome visitors, volunteers and anyone who can give us advice on how to improve our practices and processes. Check out our Facebook page for information on the events that are held at Project Why.
You can also support Project Why through a small donation. Even a small amount helps us support a child’s education.
by anouradha bakshi | Jan 18, 2019 | Anou's Blog
He is an extraordinary man. Humane, kind, gentle, unassuming, generous, compassionate. A successful corporate honcho who makes the impossible seem commonplace. But that’s just half the story. I will tell you the rest.
When I think of Kabir, I get reminded of the words of the Turkish playwright and thinker Mehmet Muran Ildan who wrote: “The first step to be a good man is this: You must deeply feel the burden of the stones someone else is carrying” or of the wise lesson of the Fox in St Exupery’s Little Prince : It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. Kabir Suri, Co Founder and Managing Director of Azure Hospitality, is a man who sees with his heart.
I met Kabir for the first time at a dinner party where we happened to be seated next to each other. No one could have imagined that this would be the beginning of a beautiful story with all the makings of a miracle. It was a chilly autumn night in 2014 and a time when Project Why had hit rock bottom. We did not have money to pay salaries for the next month and I was at my wit’s end. Needless to say it took me no time to start pouring out my heart to this gentle dinner companion who seemed willing to listen. Unlike many others in the past he did not look for a quick exit and kept on listening with interest, asking pertinent questions time and again. The dinner came to an end, and before leaving Kabir gave me his number and asked me to call him and come and meet him. The rest is history.
In spite of his busy schedule and numerous travels, we met and the first thing Kabir did was to dip in his pocket and ensure that the next month’s salaries were paid. That would have been enough to win my heart forever but there was more to come. Kabir had become Project Why’s friend forever. He made it his mission to ensure that we become sustainable and left no stone unturned to do that. He introduced us to the Savitri Waney Trust and they helped us bridge the gap for the year. They also reached out and funded two of our larger centres, Okhla and Khader, for the next two years allowing us to set our house in order and become eligible to other funding avenues.
Kabir also agreed to join our Board of Directors and is one of the most engaged members of the Board. He is actively involved in ensuring our long term sustainability.
In 2015, when I told him about the plight of the Yamuna centre children, Kabir immediately decided to provide them a hot daily lunch and has been doing so for the past three years. The children look forward to this delicious daily treat. Watching them enjoy their food is a humbling experience.
When I shared with him the wish of our Okhla children for a computer centre he immediately agreed to build a concrete roof to replace the temporary one we had and thus allowed us to set up a computer centre in the middle of the community. Today many students have been able to get good jobs thanks to this initiative and thus broken the cycle of poverty in which they were born.
I could go on speaking about Kabir and how he has changed my life and the future of Project Why. Today he is helping us ensure that thousands of children see their dreams secured.
Kabir is one the the messengers of the Universe who renew our faith in humanity and tell us that no matter what, good will always prevail. I am privileged and honoured to have him as part of the Project Why family
Have you ever been helped when you most needed it? Has a chance encounter ever changed your life?
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Please consider collaborating with us! We welcome visitors, volunteers and anyone who can give us advice on how to improve our practices and processes. Check out our Facebook page for information on the events that are held at Project Why.
You can also support Project Why through a small donation.
by anouradha bakshi | Jan 15, 2019 | Anou's Blog
Dharmender better known as Dharmender Bhaiya, is someone I have grown to admire by the day. His story is one that needs to be told as it epitomises the spirit of Project Why. Over the years I have realised that we share a common vision and dream for the children and ladies we reach out.
Dharmendra came to Project Why way back in 2004 as a humanities teacher for the secondary classes. He left a well paid job in a multinational to follow his calling. His stint as a teacher was short lived as I soon realised that he passionately wanted to change things and was willing to walk the road less travelled. We use to spend a lot of time sharing our thoughts and in him I found a soul mate.
He soon became involved in a wide range of activities: solving problems with the community, dealing with the many detractors we had and lending his hand with every crises of problems we faced. I could see that he was born to lead. I had to find a way and it would happen earlier than expected in the most unlikely yet amazing way.
Two ladies in distress landed our way. They were both abused and from dysfunctional homes and we had to find a way to care for them. This could only be done if we ‘created’ a residential facility and it was Dharmendra who took on the challenge. The rest is history. A place was found for them and this became the springing board for what is known as the Project Why women centre. It was Dhamendra’s idea to juxtapose a children centre to our residential outreach and to also begin a vocational centre to empower women from underprivileged homes. In the span of a year, he had the women centre up and running. It had been an uphill task with our two ladies being demanding and difficult. Dharmendra would not shun from driving in the middle of cold winter nights to go and solve fights and arguments. The residential programme came to a close once the ladies were healed and ready to move on and we felt that a residential outreach did not make financial sense unless we had a larger number of women something we did not want to do. In its place emerged the women centre, an outreach for 300 children and 120 women.
Dharmendra always has his heart open and he was the one to spot Meher when she was rummaging in a dustbin looking for food. He took on the challenge of giving her a better morrow and patiently accompanied her in her healing journey through several reconstructive surgeries. Meher never looked back. Today she is in boarding school, an impish creature you simply fall in love with.
Dharmendra runs the centre with a velvet gloved iron hand. His gentle demeanour can be extremely firm; He does not tolerate nonsense. His never say die attitude ensures that every problem that comes our way is dealt with in the best manner possible. He has earned the respect of the community he works with and ensured that they stand with us at all times. The women centre is one of the jewels of Project Why.
Dharmendra is also the one who found out the plight of the children of agricultural labour who live along the Yamuna river and conjured a way to start a centre for them. The Yamuna centre is definitely one of our most vibrant centres.
Dharmendra has always taken ownership of what he set up and is open to ideas and ready to implement them. He also comes up with his own ideas that often adds value to the work we are doing. I often find myself seeking his advise and am impressed by his innovative ideas. I have learnt a lot from him and am deeply grateful for this. It is a privilege and honour to have in my team.
He never ceases to amaze me and his latest feat was to get a community workshop organised by IGNOU (Open University) where people were told about the possibilities of learning from home at all ages. Actually this was a double whammy as it solved our problem of getting our Yamuna Centre class X kids to appear in their Board examinations. We were truly worried as these children did not attend school or have any civic papers. With one master stroke Dharmendra ensured that they would be admitted in an open program and able to sit for their exams.
It is a privilege and a blessing to have someone like Dharmendra in my team.
Have you also come across someone you have grown to admire?
Please consider collaborating with us! We welcome visitors, volunteers and anyone who can give us advice on how to improve our practices and processes. Check out our Facebook page for information on the events that are held at Project Why.
You can also support Project Why through a small donation.
