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.
by anouradha bakshi | Jan 13, 2019 | Anou's Blog
When I look back at 2018, I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude. Strange as had anyone asked me during the year how things were going, gratitude was not the word that would have come to mind. You’re so bogged down by day-today chores, that you lose the ability to truly comprehend things in a larger perspective.
My life has two distinct parts: my work at Project Why and my home and family and for both, 2018 was a watershed year.
It was the year where I had to come to terms with accepting to give up the house I had built with my parents almost half a century ago. After their demise, it had become almost my only anchor. It was the house I came to as a dreamy teenager, the one I was married in, where I became a mother and even a grandmother. Over the years the house had aged and become a liability and it made sense to bring it down. 2018 was that year. It was heart wrenching and left me rudderless for a while till I found my moorings again and realised that memories are not cast in brick and stone but live safely in your heart.Today I feel deeply grateful for having understood this as it freed me of invisible chains I carried for far too long. I made peace with my past and was ready to move on.
On the work front, the year augured well as we were financially stable and engaged in a host of activities aimed at enhancing the quality of our work. But the sense of security was short-lived as somewhere in the middle of the year we were informed that one of our main funders would stop their commitment in March 2019. They looked after 50% of our needs.
It was a huge shock an
d for a while I was at a complete loss. We set out to find new avenues but things looked bleak or so they seemed.
It is only now that I realise how the universe was at work and how many people came into our lives creating a new network that would weave its magic and bring us out of the woods. We are nowhere near the end of the tunnel but I can see the light and for that I am again deeply grateful.
I realise how many miracles came my way in 2018 and feel immensely blessed.
There is one such miracle I would like to share with you.
2018 was the year that saw my darling Utpal come full circle.The little scalded child that I had brought home way back in 2005 and nursed back to health was now a confident and happy teenager, who was now back at Project Why as a volunteer teacher. Again I felt deeply grateful and realised that no matter what happened in life, it was always for the better.
So my word for 2019 is SURRENDER.
I have been blessed with so many miracles in my life that I feel that the Universe is always on my side and works in my favour. I simply need to surrender and watch more miracles unfold.
What is your word of the year? Why did you choose it?
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 10, 2019 | Anou's Blog
I am almost 2000 posts old!
I’ve been blogging for more than a decade and yes I like to know how many people drop by and read what I write. I know many of you read my blogs but only some take the time to comment.
The days there are comments are truly special as I somehow feel I have connected with someone and added one more soul to my journey, one more voice to the cause I espouse. It also gives me the chance to say thank you.
It would be lovely to know where you are from, how you made it to my blog, anything to get to know you better.
You cannot imagine what a heartwarming feeling it is to read that someone has enjoyed your story and even been inspired by it.
Recently I had blogged about Sanjay who went from street to ramp, the gypsy lad who became an international model, and having so many bloggers respond and comment was a very special feeling that I cannot describe in words. I am sharing some of the comments here:
I too like commenting on your blogs. It is my way of saying hello, well met and I look forward to the ‘like’ as it means we have connected.
So today I ask you to leave a comment on this blog. It will bring a huge smile on my face. I promise to leave no blog I read without a comment.
Don’t leave without at least saying hello.
——-
Do you believe in miracles? Do you think each life has a purpose? Have you met anyone who changed your life? Please share your experiences.
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 8, 2019 | Anou's Blog
For the past 8 years, come January and my thoughts turn to Manu who left us all lost and bewildered on a cold morning in January 2011. On that day I must admit, I was close to giving up, as Manu, I had come to realise, was the one who had given me the strength to pick myself up when I lay broken and bereaved and given meaning to my life once again.
Who was Manu you may wonder?
To the uninitiated a mentally and physically challenged bedraggled, half-clad beggar, the kind you pass by without a second glance. So your next question would undoubtedly be what does such a being and a middle-aged apparently well-to-do lady have in common? Nothing and everything. I could either write volumes to explain our relationship or simply use one word: love. Manu simply redefined the world love and gave it a whole new meaning.
I came to know that he had lived on this street un-cared-for and unloved and it felt like he had circled the same path over the years to ensure that the day I walked it, he would be there. When we met, we both knew we had come home. There was no looking back.
It was for Manu that Project WHY was set up in the quaint street where he had been born and where he ‘lived’. To care for him, I had to find a way of being accepted by the very people who had riled and abused him, and Project Why was the answer.
For a decade our lives were entwined. Manu trusted me implicitly and knew I would be by his side till the end. But he gave me more than I ever could give him. He gave me a reason to live and showed me that no life is useless, however wretched it may seem. Was he not the best example! Had there been no Manu, there might have been no Project Why. Today, thanks to him, thousands of children are seeing their lives change for the better.
The other lesson Manu taught me was to never say die, no matter how hopeless things may seem.
And today when one of our main donors ends their commitment in a few months, and I face the prospect of seeing two of my biggest centres, Okhla and Khader shut down, it is Manu’s gentle smile that comes to my mind. I somehow know that the clouds will lift and the sun shine again.
He was a gentle soul with a quirky sense of humour. We shared many precious moments, dancing and laughing and many meals too! Spending time with him was a blessing, an intense feeling that all was well and one was safe.
I do not know what saints look like; I think Manu was one, a true child of God.
And Project WHY has to continue to honour is memory.
Manu remains safe in my heart.
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 1, 2019 | Anou's Blog
New Year is the time when you reminisce about the year gone by and make plans for the one to come. Normally that is what I do but this year I would like to share the story of four lovely souls who have been part of the Project Why journey for many years, each with a heart wrenching story, each having beaten many odds to complete the virtuous circle.
Utpal, Babli, Meher and Manisha, four of our boarding school kids are spending their winter break volunteering at the Project Why Madanpur Khadar Centre bringing their own special touch to the children studying there. Utpal taught them dance and was actively involved in the preparation of the Xmas party where his pupils performed and where he also was an ace MC. He is now teaching the children drawing and craft, two skills he has mastered well.
Babli is teaching class VI children and is an incredible teacher as she is patient, gentle but firm. Meher and Manisha lend their hands where needed and help the kids practice English. The four are extremely committed volunteers who beat the biting cold and never miss a day!
Watching them gives me immense joy and pride and fills me with gratitude.
They have come a long way, these four little souls and are miracles crafted by Project Why.
Utpal’s entered our world after sustaining severe third degree burns having accidentally fallen into a boiling pan and became an intrinsic part of Project Why. He is now in class XI and a lovely lad who has taught me the meaning of unconditional love.
Babli came to us many years ago in need of an urgent open heart surgery. Thanks to a kind donor, the surgery was performed and she got a new lease of life, but we soon discovered that her education was in peril. We stepped in and Babli is now in boarding school in class XI ready to take her place in the sun.
Meher suffered terrible burns when she was just a baby. Thanks to Nina, a wonderful volunteer and to Chess Without Borders we were able to craft a future for her and get her the much-needed reconstructive surgery and admission in a boarding school. She is an impish, delightful girl who can walk into any heart.
Manisha is a quiet child, or so you may think at first sight. She comes from an extremely poor family, her mother being a rag picker as her father is often unemployed. A kind donor wanted to sponsor the education of a girl child and Manisha was the chosen one. Manisha took to school like a fish to water and has never looked back.
When these four little bruised souls landed at Project Why we saw the huge dreams they carried in their heart and the trust they had in their eyes, we knew we held their dreams in custody. We began our journey to fulfil them and though the path was difficult and the road less travelled, we feel we have come a long way and know that these stars will shine one day. For the moment they are busy helping others fulfill their dreams.
On this New Year Day we renew our commitment to these children and to all the children of Project Why and assure them that we will leave no stone unturned to see their dreams come true.
We need to come full circle.
Happy New Year!
Do you believe in miracles? Do you think that dreams can come true? Please share your experiences with us.
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 | Dec 25, 2018 | Anou's Blog
For the past week Project Why has been in Xmas mode. At Project Why we celebrate all festivals with fervour and joy and it is heartwarming to see how children get involved. Xmas caps have been made and donned for the camera! Every centre is busy making decorations for the tree that will grace every class. There is a festive mood all around.
The Yamuna centre children were busy making a snowman. These are kids who have never seen snow or even celebrated Xmas before Project Why began its classes, but their fervour is palpable as they too set about decorating their classroom and preparing for Xmas day!
The special kids are old hands now as they have been celebrating Xmas for almost two decades. Each year they set about making new decorations for their tree and class and it is a joy to see them at work.They have wowed us many times with their creativity!
Xmas has been celebrated every year, as is every other festival, as festivals are about joy, laughter, fun and bonding. That is the common denominator. It does not matter what faith you belong to, festivals are inclusive and the best way to break barriers. This is what we strive to teach the Project Why children.
Merry Xmas
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.
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.
