Medical tourism of another kind
This morning a neighbour of Mehajabi came by. Actually he was the man who had first brought her to us. He had come to collect the precious receipts that would ensure that the child was operated. After collecting the two pieces of paper and listening to the...
a room with a view…
This morning I went to Mehajabi's home. I had thought that seven years had inured be to most things but I was in for a surprise.I must confess that I have been haunted by Mehajabi's mom's face since the time I laid eyes on her and I decided to accompany Rani on as she...
both sides now – the sustainability factor
How to sustain project why is a question that has been haunting me for some time now, I guess time waits for no one and the writing is on the wall! It is a question many have raised, some gently others even brutally. I must confess that I spend many hours thinking...
bahar tak to ajao…
Utpal came home for a few hours on Sunday. It was the last Sunday of the month and normally one should have made the trip to his school and shared his lunch of beans and rice but the extreme heat made me change plans and have him come over instead.We spent the morning...
a dream come true
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...
four point five and dropping…
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...
a senseless death – he was twenty one
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...
To be a girl…
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...
a note of gratitude
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...
a precious heart
Her name means beautiful and Mahajavi is undoubtedly beautiful. She is just under one. She was born with a hole in her heart that needs fixing.The youngest of 5 kids - though her mom looks like a kid herself - she has a right to live a full life but cannot unless her...
more project stats
A few posts back we shared some of our achievements with a sense of pride. Today I was given another set of statistics and once again one felt elated.My mind travelled back almost 10 years when project why began, or rather when the organisation was set up. To me it...
holding on to dreams
Last week two men came to help us with some work at home. Like many others who eek their living on a day-to-day basis they were picked up from the chowk or road side where they sit from the early hours of the morning in the hope that someone would come by and give...
the orphan and the one eyed child
I had heard the story of the the one-eyed child who lived in a small village and was the butt of cruel jokes and a sad laughing stock. His mother climbed a rocky hill on her knees to reach a shrine where it was said miracles happened. Sometime later her child lost his...
gift unwrapped
Some of you may remember the very special gift I had sought this year for my b'day. Yesterday was unwrapping time as team project why gathered for a day long workshop and everyone read their essays ( for want of a better word). I must confess that I was really...
sunshine smile
Whenever one feels low or a tad dejected a miracle drops by to lift one's spirits in a nano second.This week's miracle was a visit by little Anisha and her sunshine smile. All woes and bad thoughts were whisked away as she entered the room in her mother's arms and...
project stats – budget 2006
Our new budget for 2007 - 2008 is on line. Normally a budget is not something you blog on. However project why has reached a stage where in a case of force majeure it has become necessary to review and reinvent.The Damocles sword of the now (in)famous sealing laws...
admission woes
Some of you know Kiran. She has been part of pwhy since its very inception. She was actually born the day we began our work in Giri Nagar.Kiran is a lovely child in more ways than one, and she is an extremely sensitive and humane person. Her favourite place at pwhy is...
snapshots – two Indians
Tow separate incidents occurred last week and somehow stayed in my mind. To many they would have gone unnoticed and yet they say so much about the India we chose to ignore.It was election day. We have a new live-in maid at home. A middle aged lady who hails from...
Reinventing a future
Remember Babli? Yes the one whose heart was fixed with success but life was not. The little girl who wanted to be a police? Seems she needs us again as she of all the 12 children who have had heart surgeries is the one who has not grown an inch or put on a pound.Babli...
when ruchi primps champa
Thursday afternoon is grooming and self-care time in the special section of project why. This is when the students are taught all about looking after themselves and even looking after each other.Manu gets a vigorous pedicure courtesy Shalini Rinky tries her hand at...
smiles to die for
This is a sneak picture.. it was not a PTA day. Dharmendra had gone to Goyla to meet Utpal's school principal and while he was waiting for him, he managed to get a glimpse of Popples surreptitiously.This picture will set to rest the minds of all the die hard Mr P fans...
India at 60 – the plight of children
It took a shocking story to get the Government to look into the matter of burial sites for little children in India's capital city. Politicians ignore Nithari in the run up to the state elections in Uttar Pradesh, as the families of the dead children are simple...
a tale of two indias – the plight of dead children
Bachha ghat is not a play ground for children, it is the only place where children under three can set be to rest after their death. Hinduism does not allow them to be cremated as it is said that their soul is not connected to their body! This was brought to light in...
electoral results
The verdict is out in the municipal election. The party in power was routed, or almost as most of Delhi, or let us say the 43 odd % who went out to vote seemed to blame the party in power for all their woes ranging from the sealing drive to the lack of civic...
creating with your spirit… planet why
For the past days I have been overwhelmed by images of Planet Why that keep surging into my mind, often unsolicited and unsought. These images are amazing in their clarity. They extend beyond the visual and stimulate every sense: I can see, hear, feel and even smell...
project stats
There was a time not so long ago, when we waited with bated breath for march 31st. That was the day results were declared in both primary and secondary municipal schools.As mark-sheets landed on our desk and children dropped by with sweetmeats, our excitement grew...
Electoral games
The municipal elections are over.. They were less noisy and almost poster free but candidates did make their presence felt in novel ways: loads of street ambulations that looked like marriage parties where the well garlanded candidates paraded as grooms (never mind...
a huge moment at pwhy
Manu, a young physically and mentally challenged young man lived on the street, neglected, dirty and soiled. People would feed him but like you feed an animal. Children threw stones at him. His family abused him in all conceivable ways. No one touched him, when things...
a peek into planet why…
This is where planet why will be one day....believe it or not this place is in Delhi!
a one of a kind birthday gift
At my advanced age one does not celebrate birthdays or expect gifts. Yet this year I decided to mark my double five by unabashedly asking for a present from my crew even using the power of being captain of the ship!I must confess that it is part of a game plan I have...
The debate continues…
The supreme court order staying the OBC reservation issue has leashed out a series of reactions across the land. This time I kept my pend in check waiting before adding my two penny bit.Last summer was one of discontent as many young students took to the streets to...
planet why – sustainability factor
Seven years ago we set out to create a model whereby underprivileged and illiterate or semi-literate parents could be empowered to steer the educational needs of their children with local resources.The model proved doable as in the last 7 years drop out rates were...
planet why – hope and believe
When a package enclosing two healing stones marked 'hope' and 'believe' landed on my table after travelling an incredible 12 000 km all the way from Ontario, I knew something huge was about to happen in the existence of project why.The stones were actually meant for...
seeding planet why
Many things have been happening at pwhy and some of them point towards the indubitable yet maybe invisible reality that Chapter I of pwhy is slowly coming to a close. Most of the slums we work will eventually be relocated as metro lines extend and the dream of some...
planet why
Life is a strange and fascinating journey. It is said that when a child is born his brain has the possibility of learning anything he is taught. After that begins a selective process that mirrors the child's environment and hence appears the choice of language, likes...
give me five!
Miracles happen to those who believe them says a quote, but some are a little difficult to imagine let alone believe in. And yet on that long hot drive back from the grim rehab centre to my home about a year back, there was a picture that flashed in my mind as I held...
mother and child reunion
A mother's arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them wrote victor Hugo and yesterday after on whole year Utpal must have slept soundly.It has been a long solitary journey for utpal and his mom, but they are both survivors.It was also the first...
why ki tazaa khabar
why ki tazaa khabar is a new blog that saw the light of day on March 17th. The idea was mooted by the following words sent by a long time supporter: I find a major problem which is lack of information... my only problem is that I never get any information about that...