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!

Project Why has taught me two values often forgotten: compassion and gratitude. If one is the art of giving, the other is that of receiving. When we talk of giving, our minds tend to veer towards money; often charity is equated to funds and undoubtedly it is a huge part of any charitable venture. Yet the kind of giving I am talking about here is not at all about money.

I write this post to convey my deepest gratitude to a wonderful soul who has never stopped giving to Project Why.  I am talking of Damyanti Gosh of Damyanti (w)rites! From the very instant she came into Project Why’s orbit and adopted us as a preferred child, she began giving. This was before she even met any of us in person! Damyanti has always been there for Project Why. She has helped us in every way possible and is still doing so by giving us her time, her knowledge, her counsel, her advice, her love, and even funds when needed most.

Today she is helping us put our house in order and take our first steps on the road to sustainability by giving Project Why a much needed makeover.

When I first met her I was bowled over by her incredible smile that can light up the darkest hour; probably that is the biggest gift of all for me personally. I do not feel alone anymore.

I thank this beautiful soul for a very precious gift. For any writer, creativity is a very personal space you do not want to share with anyone. It is your personal happy place, the bubble you hide in when you want to be just you and one that you jealously guard. Imagine my absolute delight when she told me that she would ‘give’ that space for one whole month to Project Why as part of her A to Z challenge.

For the past 26 days every story in Damyanti’s blog has been a Project Why chronicle, each crafted with love and tenderness. She evokes every aspect of Project Why, be it the people or the causes, with  restrained and dainty strokes that make you want to know more. And that is what she has set out to do: take Project Why to the world even if it meant sharing her own personal world.

No words can express the feeling of gratitude that overwhelms me.  It is a privilege and honour to know Damyanti. There must be some higher force at work here.

If we exist then He exists; if we do not then how can He! (on the existence God) Tau Head of the Rana Pratap Lohar Camp

“Have you ever met someone for the first time, but in your heart you feel as if you’ve met them before?” wrote JoAnne Kendrick.  This is exactly the feeling Project Why had when it first saw the Lohars of Rana Pratap camp.

The Lohars are a nomadic Indian tribe of ironsmiths. They hail from Rajasthan (Chittorgarh) where they accompanied the ruler in battle to repair arms and shoe horses. When Maharana Pratap Singh lost the battle of Haldigath in 1576 and went into exile, the Gadia Lohars swore to wander and never settle. And they have been wandering ever since.  After independence in 1947, about 100 clans came to Delhi and settled in different parts of the city, along roadsides where they continued to practice their trades and live under the sky. One such camp was located close to Project Why.

It was in 2005 that Project Why first saw the children of the camp and was completely bowled over. These were bright kids with sparkling, eager eyes and smiles to die for. Unlike other children they seemed fearless and eager to connect. Here was another Why that needed to be answered but there was a hitch: convince Tau, the Head of the Clan.

It took a few minutes for Anou to succumb to the wisdom and kindness of this gentle soul. An unlikely yet real friendship was born between them. For the 5 years the camp remained standing, Anou would often go missing to be found sipping tea and in deep conversation with Tau.

Life in these makeshift camps in not easy. The camp is located next to a red light where cars rev and the air is foul. And yet over 100 people, old and young lived there with utmost dignity. They never stopped smiling. Never mind if water had to be carried across a busy road; never mind if every so often the authorities came and destroyed the camp in a cat and mouse game that had its own rules; never mind the bitter cold or scorching heat that entered their flimsy homes. Life was a celebration and who better than gypsies to celebrate life to its fullest.

If the men beat the iron it is left to the women to sell the wares. The money collected would determine what would be eaten in the evening.

Project Why ran a creche and a primary centre for the children of this camp and it was a joy to teach these eager beavers.

That is not where it ends. The plight of these people and the discovery that there were promises made to them- as validated by the few scraps of official papers that had survived the many destructions of the camp- led Project Why to taken on its first activist challenge. A PIL (public interest litigation) was filed in the High Court. Sadly nothing came of it.

The Lohars of Rana Pratap camp survived many destructions but the Commonwealth Games in 2010 would be their nemesis, as the camp would be destroyed and the 30 odd families scattered across the city.

The stretch of road where they lived that was such a vibrant and happy place is now a stretch of sidewalk. Each time one drives past, one is overwhelmed by a feeling of loss and sadness. The Lohars are missed dearly by all at Project Why.

Nomads always move on, don’t they

You can share some glimpses of their lives in these images.

waiting for water

This picture was taken near the Project Why Okhla Centre at the time when the tanker delivers water for an entire community. This is when children dash out of class to reach the tanker in time, having already placed their buckets or cans well in advance. This is also when we do not interfere, as Project Why is no match for WATER!

In most slums in Delhi taps run dry in summer and water is supplied through tankers. You have to fill enough water for all household chores until the next tanker arrives. For those of us who have access to tap water and the means to create sufficient back up, it is impossible to imagine what it means to survive with a few pans of water.

The heat is on and the mercury is rising. It touched 44 C a few days back. A few moments in this scorching heat is enough to send your head spinning and make you long for an air conditioned room. Some of us have that luxury, but for those living in slums the story is different.

Many of the homes in the slums have corrugated iron or asbestos roofs and ceilings that are so low an adult cannot stand. The only opening is the door. There are no windows or any form of ventilation. The tiny space is often shared by five or six people.

In the day these tenements turn into ovens, making it impossible to sit inside them. This is when women sit outside their doors, the men simply go out, the children run around in the sun. The sky is better than an asbestos sheet.

Project Why is a place where children can come to stay cool. The space is large; we have fans and coolers to provide respite and a place to study. That is one of the reasons why from day one, Project Why decided to remain open during the summer holidays as that is a time when children need us most. Boys and girls come together and as many have gone to the villages, we are able to accommodate the ones who stayed behind.

Summer is another moment which requires the survival tactics of those who have so little. Complaints are few if any and smiles are ever present.

a house in the slum

Durga’s home

welcome drink

cooling in the park

Ice cream man

orange juice to the rescue

The Project Why Women and Children Centre saw the light of day to answer yet another deafening why.  It was 2006 and we had two women in a desperate state who needed help. One woman was ready to get out of rehab and needed a safe place to stay, a kind of midway home. The other needed financial assistance for a hip surgery, but more than that, needed a place where she could stay during her recovery. And here began the story of the Project Why Women and Children Centre, one that grew organically like all else at Project Why.

The first hurdle was to find a place for these two women to stay. Easier said than done. In India women from the lower strata who drink and suffer from mental conditions or women who are HIV+ are not welcome anywhere, and in a land where nothing remains a secret you cannot hide reality for long. In the span of a few months we had to move three times! This could not continue. Our two ladies still needed help and a solution was critical.

After much thought we decided to alter the approach and expand the scope of our intervention. The only way to be accepted in a community was to answer a need and often children were the ones who helped get acceptance. The rest is history.

A quaint building was found where one wing was perfect for a residential programme and the other was ideal for a children’s centre akin to the ones Project Why already ran. It worked.

When the two ladies were ready to take leave and resume their lives, Project Why decided to again alter the women’s outreach and use the space vacated to run vocational programmes. Stitching and Beautician Training were the two skills Project Why chose, as they enabled women to work either outside or within their homes, as many come from traditional families.

For the children Project Why ran an after school programme.

The Project Why Women and Children Centre is a no-frills affair. Space is used judiciously and the terrace has been turned into a space where multiple classes are held simultaneously. On the children’s request computer classes were started and the computer section is also a big hit with some of the ladies.

The Project Why Women and Children Centre is a vibrant and spirited place where women and children are busy transforming their lives.

The Project Why Women Centre is a large family of 300 children, 150 women and 15 staff members under the patient but firm direction of Dharmendra.

Enjoy some glimpses of the Project Why Women and Children Centre.

Dharmendra in charge

Classroom being set up

Class in session

Class in session

Showtime

Computer Class

Stitching Class

Learning to repair the sewing machine

Pedicure

Facial

Women’s meeting

Recently some of our secondary Govindpuri children informed us that they may have to stop coming. Why?

These were some of the brightest of the lot who attend government school. The reason they gave was shocking. Their school teacher had told them that unless they attend the tuition classes he gives, they would not pass in the subject. This of course costs 1000 Rs a month. The children are devastated and so are we. 1000 Rs multiplied by the large number of students in a state-run school classroom is good money.

And this too seems to be an accepted norm as we were told that in another government school 80% of the class failed a particular subject and were told that if they wanted to pass the supplementary examination at the end of the summer holiday the students HAD to attend the tuition the teacher would be giving during the holidays. The less said the better.

This shadow education is a true reflection of the social strata of India and hence it goes from über expensive teachers that come to über rich homes to expensive tuition given in the tutors’ home, to group tuitions in air conditioned swanky classrooms to spaces like Project Why.  Every one has a commensurate price tag of course.

Children as young as 6 ‘go for tuition’ everyday, often to a local tutor. The price tag for such support is around 600 to 1000 Rs a month and if you have more than one child then it is often the boy who is sent and the girl kept back. As the child grows the tag becomes costlier as then you are charged per subject at a rate of 1000 or more Rs for 3 sessions a week.

What is worrying is that this ‘shadow’ system seems to be here to stay. The very basis on which it stands is faulty as it presumes that the hours spent in school are not sufficient if one wants to succeed. The hard day school hours are its cornerstone.

Education does not stop at academics but with this dual schooling there does not seem to be much time left for anything else. When does the child play, read books, meets friends or relax?All these are essential for wholesome growth.

One hopes that decision makers will look at this aspect when the next reforms are envisaged.

The Project Why creche is a wonderful place;  even father Xmas knows that!

Over the years many children have “graduated” from the Project Why creche and entered school. Many come to one of our centres for after-school support. We feel a sense of pride at seeing all these little children ready to take on their future but at the same time feel sad because there are so many children who are not able to aspire to education and a better future. We wish we could do more.

The creche is Project Why’s Neverland. The children are eternally tiny and the moment any adults steps into the classroom, they too become children, filled by the laughter and joy the children share. It is the world of Peter Pan where smiles abound and laughter is ever-present.

 Why is Project Why even necessary?

Sadly, this is a question we often get. There are many reasons, but the main reason is to provide shadow education to underprivileged children, an education that has become sine-qua-non to success in India.

Shadow education is a term coined to encompass all private coaching and tuition outside of but parallel to the mainstream education. The statistics are mind-boggling: over 71 million students take some form of outside coaching in India today, which comes at a staggering cost. The main reason given during a survey was to ‘augment basic education.’ Both rich and poor parents estimated that education given in school was not adequate. Supplementary education has become a requirement.

Parents from poorer homes are aware of the poor quality of education imparted by government schools with overcrowded classes and few resources. But not all are able to pay for supplementary education, which comes at a steep price. Very often boys are sent to private tuitions and girls are not. Education for girls is not considered important.

Project Why provides this supplementary education for free and, yes, this is extremely relevant and needed for slum communities. Children come to Project Why outside school hours and teachers ensure that they are taught everything that needs to be learnt. At Project Why, children are taught in small groups and the teachers make sure they understand and comprehend what they are learning. Project Why teachers are patient, caring and students feel confident and loved.

Interventions like Project Why are crucial. This is demonstrated by cases like a young class V student who could barely read or write when she came to us. This same girl topped her class VII.

In India education is marks-oriented and thus performing well makes all the difference in getting access to higher education.  Private institutions of higher learning have proliferated in recent years but these come at a high cost and are not an option for slum children. Admission to state-run colleges is based on marks. The option available to underprivileged students if they do not meet the required cut offs are evening colleges or distance learning institutes. Not the ideal.

We need education reform that would introduce vocational skills in high school that would make entry into the job market easier. Till then all children, rich and poor, have to compete on a level playing field to get into University. The problem is, this level field doesn’t extend to the quality of primary and secondary education. Project Why allows our students to have a chance at succeeding.

This is Project Why’s special class as it is today. And here is how it looked in earlier times.

Did you know that 5,000 children die everyday from water related diseases?

There is an odd phenomenon at Project Why where children, often girls, get up in the middle of a class and leave in a rush. Our teachers finally why and the answer they received was: “it is time for the water to come.”  In many slums, water comes in a communal tank for a fixed amount of time so all abled bodied people- children included- are needed to fill as many receptacles a possible.

Different containers for different needs: drinking, cooking, cleaning, washing, etc. In some areas water comes on alternate days and so the need of keeping water clean is imperative. Sadly, the water does not often remain clean and that reason why so many children under the age of 5 die of water related disease.

Spare Grace, Lemongrace, Red Cabies  and Badycon were the words proudly displayed by the local vegetable shop now catering to the growing expat clientele. To the uninitiated this translates as asparagus, lemongrass, red cabbage and baby corn!

India is a land with a multitude of languages but English has become the administrative language and is quickly becoming a vernacular language as well. Today, even the poorest parents understand the necessity of English for their child to succeed, and as a result signs reading “ENGLISH MEDIUM”  dot the city.

So do all Indians speak good English then? The answer is no.

English medium schools in poorer areas often do not employ teachers who speak English- at least not a form of English a fluent speaker would recognise.

The job market today requires a working knowledge of English and the students at Project Why rely on our resources for their English education. Project Why relies on the resources of our dedicated volunteers and on workshops.

Recently we bid farewell to Eva who taught the Okhla teachers and children for  one year. Her intervention went a long way in building confidence in the teachers. The importance of volunteers able to teach English cannot be stressed enough.

n January 2016, Damyanti held a week-long spoken English workshop under the aegis of the Book Council of Singapore that culminated in a bi-lingual poetry and story reading event. The use of pod casting has helped us continue this venture and we have regular in-house reading events.

Project Why has adopted these measures to help teach our children English. What ideas do YOU have for expanding English literacy?

Do you think English is a skill that spells success?

Do you think children from deprived homes should learn English?

Can YOU come to Project Why to help teach our children?

Sometimes you do not have to look far to find things to celebrate. You simply have to look with your heart. I sometimes kick myself for not taking time to simply stop and savour things around me, more so because I’m blessed to have Project Why which is a constant source of celebration. This week I did just that by slowly browsing the pictures taken in the last seven days.

There was much to celebrate, from the birthday party of a young girl who has chosen to mark her special day year after year by giving a special treat to the students of our special section.

Let us shift gears and peek at the little ones. Silence please, kids at work. Some are creating,

Child labour is cheap. A child is submissive, and can be made to work under poorly lit and poorly ventilated spaces.
A child can be used for stitching, embroidering, weaving rugs and carpets, making matchsticks and firecrackers, and rolling beedis in backbreaking conditions.

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 is being amended and is now in Parliament. According to Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, two of these amendments may defeat the very purpose of the Act. 


The first is the one allows children below 14 to work in family enterprises.

Helping out after school is acceptable when it is truly a family business, but what stops anyone from exploiting this law? Anyone can claim a child as ‘family’ in the Indian poor classes, and even if a child is truly family, it is hard to ensure he or she will be sent to school once this amendment comes into force. Most of the children that land up in big cities are often brought by ‘uncles’ from the village who turn out to be middle men and traffickers. When Project Why opened our Yamuna centre we were faced with parents coming during class and asking for the child as she/he was needed to pluck vegetables. It took us a long time to get make the parents understand.

Another amendment is even more detrimental to child rights.  At present, Child Labour law prohibits employment of a child in 18 occupations and 65 processes. The proposed new amendment reduces the prohibited occupations to three: Mines, Inflammable substances and Explosives. So the children under 15 working in ‘family-run’ businesses like domestic work, bead-making, carpet-weaving will be legal.

The question that needs to be asked is whether the child making beedis in his family business will be able to go to school? The only caveat one can think of is to define ‘family’ and limit it to parents and legal guardians, but in India, where the record of implementation is very low, that seems impossible.  Children can help their families and even learn their skills but this should not come in the way of their health, education and leisure time. But these options aren’t available to the poorest of the poor.

Sanjay, a  Project Why alumni, a gypsy ironsmith’s son, and a Project Why teacher, today walks the ramp in the world’s fashion capital, Paris. That was possible because his family allowed him to study and work in a trade other than theirs. Sanjay made his dream come true.

Project Why is a place where children are given the RIGHT TO DREAM.

Do you think that  every child has the right to dream, and dream BIG? In a country like India, should children under 14 be allowed to help in family enterprises? Should any child, under or above 14 be allowed to work in factories making matchsticks or firecrackers or as domestic help?

There is so much to celebrate at Project Why each and every day, but this week was a very special celebration: Utpal’s 14th! To the uninitiated it would have looked like any birthday with cakes and candles and singing and cheering. However, Utpal is a very special child.

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The project Why Women

Project Why is primarily a children’s organization yet right from the beginning, we instinctively reached out to women, the true game changers. No wonder then that it was a woman who helped me seed Project Why.

Mataji, the formidable local healer and Rani’s mom, whom I had gone to meet to ‘cure’ an everlasting depression post my parent’s demise did so with a few words: Do something your parents would be proud of. With those words, depression and accompanying backache flew out of the window and Project Why was born and so were the women of Project Why.

A slightly diffident and shy Rani  jumped at the chance of working for Project Why and stayed on: a sterling leader of Porject Why. Today she runs a large part of the Project. When we needed teachers, we first looked at the women around us. We found many who had several years of schooling but had dropped out because of an early marriage.

It is sad but true that the parents in underprivileged homes in India want their daughters to marry, above all. After marriage, very few can continue with their education. Project Why gave many such women a second chance at education, and more than that, at employment– something they’d never dared dream of.

Some of these incredible ladies grabbed the opportunity with both hands and went on to complete their schooling and study further. Many obtained graduation degrees. Today, 30 women form part of our team. Some have been with us since day one.

Project Why believes that women should be financially independent, so vocational courses were started at the Women’s Centre in 2006. Today over 120 women attend our six-month course on beauty and tailoring. Several hundreds have benefited and are today gainfully employed either as small entrepreneurs or employed in factories and beauty parlors. We organize regular meetings with the women where we share our thoughts on social issues like child beating, gender equality, early marriage, nutrition, women’s rights etc.

adult literacy class

We hold compulsory adult literacy classes for all women who register for our vocational courses. No one receives a certification unless they clear the adult literacy course. The literate women are given spoken-English classes.

Over the years, Project Why has reached out to women in a variety of ways. Nutrition for pregnant women and lactating mothers. Care for a woman who had contracted bone TB and would have become paraplegic unless she spent six months on a bed– today she works in a beauty parlour. Support for omen who suffered injuries and needed care, women undergoing rehab who needed a place to heal.

The women of Project Why come with different stories, but they have one thing in common: an indomitable spirit. Project Why encourages this spirit: women are given all the support they need in order to flourish in New Delhi, and this is our #PledgeforParity this year.

Would you consider helping these underprivileged women? Even a small amount goes a long way towards helping these women find a new life.

To donate follow this link!