by Anuradha Bakshi | Apr 24, 2008 | okhla
Temperatures have almost touched 40 C this week. The heat is on. In many of our centres children sit in makeshift classes.
Okhla is one such centre. Normally the children sit in the outer place under a tent. But yesterday a bunch of drunks soiled the entire space and in spite of heavy cleaning a lots of phenol poured the smell was unbearable and the kids had to shift to the inside room under a hot tin roof. The fan blew hot air and the place was blistering. But this did not deter the kids for coming for class and studying.
I am always amazed at thirst for knowledge that the pwhy kids have. Nothing compels them to come to us and they already spent many hours in school. But come the appointed time and sometimes even before, they are at the door step, bag in hand rearing to go. Seems like they know that this is the only way they can accede to some education.
It is sad but nevertheless a reality that the present state run education is a total failure. The state of municipal and government schools is deplorable. In Delhi capital city many have no desks, no chairs, no fans, no teachers, no drinking water, no proper toilets! Wonder what they have?
Every Indian child has a right to free education till the age of 14 and yet again the government has failed them. Some like our Okhla kids know that the hot tin roof is at present their only option!
by Anuradha Bakshi | Feb 14, 2007 | okhla, two indias, utpal
Today being the much and over hyped St V’s day, I decided to give my acerbic pen a rest and write about love, albeit a different kind from the one flaunted at every corner!
This post is not about red roses and heart shaped cards, but about Amit Bhaiyya whose unwavering brand of love has infused many a moments at pwhy with a warm glow.
Amit is your regular boy next door, with an engineering degree and a smart job in a smart MNC. But that is where the comparison stops as Amit has something his peers do not normally have: a heart of gold!
He dropped by our forsaken planet about two years back quietly promising to help us. At that time we took his assurances with a pinch of salt as many had come , promised, and gone! But not Mr A. He slowly and unobtrusively crafted his space at project why and stayed on. What made him special was that he did it without the usual fanfare.
Today, two years down the line he teaches at our Okhla centre whenever he has time, has organised shows and even a fund raiser, and has given up many a Sundays to spend them with Utpal in his boarding school.
Just yesterday we needed blood for our little Nanhe and not knowing how to get it, we called dependable Mr A. Without much ado he took his lunchtime off and travelled in the rain to donate that unit of much needed blood.
His gentle smile and quiet ways has warmed the cockles of many a heart and to us he is precious. His brand of love is rare in today’s India as it transcends all social and other barriers so what better love than this to be celebrated on this day.
Happy St V’s!
by Anuradha Bakshi | Nov 15, 2006 | okhla, sustainability
One of the devious ways to disrupt pwhy in the (mistaken) hope of wishing it away that local politicos have adopted is to first get some simple minded staff to commit a serious lapse that forces us to take action and then edge that person to take us to labour court.
This often makes many friends and detractors question my decision of employing people from the community. And each time I find myself wondering whether that very stubborn and intuitive decision needs to be reviewed.
There are many reasons for my decision ranging from giving employment, raising social status to ensuring sustainability if and when slums are relocated.
But the incident with babli took care of the last vestige of doubt, if any. No matter how much we help people, there is no guarantee that they will continue to follow the course charted for them. The only way to ensure that children remain in school, are not used and abused, and so on is to have your own staff right there almost 24/7.
Babli is now back in school in the morning and at pwhy okhla in the afternoon and many hawk eyes now ensure that this continues.
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by Anuradha Bakshi | Oct 8, 2006 | okhla
Some of you may remember the incident when cupid was responsible for the breaking of a wall at our Okhla centre. The wall was repaired by the very boys who broke it.
But the matter did not rest there. The words of the fat man were still buzzing in my head. Today I finally met all the boys in question. Actually I first saw them peeping from a tiny hole in the tent, as the children danced merrily. You could almost feel that somewhere those boys everyone had given up on, were longing to be part of the fun.
I slid out quietly and went to where they were calling out for aiyya, as he, I was told, was a leader. A nice kid, with a broad smile jumped down and introduced himself as aiyya, a little perplexed he stood in front of me like a little boy caught on the wrong foot. I felt immense tenderness for this child that unknown circumstances had branded a goonda.
I told him how glad I was to meet him and wondered if there was something I could do for him. English, he said, I want to learn English and computers. Consider it done, but you have to look after the safety of the computers and this school, was my reply. We chatted for a while and I told him that the fat man had warned me about him being dangerous, but added that to me he was a child in need of love. And that very moment a well meaning but insensitive man told me to ask them why they had not studied when their parents told them to?
I shut him up by telling him that what was past was past, and that today was another day and a first step to any dream. We talked for a long time about many things and the boys just stood there and listened.
An extreme sadness filled me as I watched this young men who could have been so many things had we adults played our parts correctly; had the powers that be given them everything that was rightfully theirs, had vile people not used their tender minds to fulfill hidden agendas, had someone been there the first time they made a mistake to gently set them back on course, had someone been there just to tell them they were the best..
So many questions that will remain unanswered, so much hurt to heal, so much time to make up for.
As I left, I realised that I had been made leader of the pack, a huge responsibility if at least I had the courage not to let them down.
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by Anuradha Bakshi | Sep 27, 2006 | okhla
Our refurbished school that sits on a garbage dump in Okhla is by no means a fancy one. Plastic sheets, a tarpaulin cover and a halfway brick wall is all it is. But to us it is a place where many children learn and are able stay in school, it is also an option for kids the other being petty robbery and even drug pushing.
I had thought that finally people around had understood that we meant no harm were, not land grabbers and hoped that the initial reticence was now a thing of the past.
This morning the teachers found that a wall had been broken at night. I find it hard to explain such an absurd action. What would instigate someone to break a pathetic looking structure that has never hurt anyone. For me the pain is deeper as I realise that maybe the adversary is too big, to strong and too unprincipled for an even fight.
What stops me in my thought is that ultimately it is children who once again are the soft target that everyone is willing to trample on. If I give up I will once again hurt kids.
I know I will carry on, but I also know that every act of this kind takes its toll on my very spirit.
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by Anuradha Bakshi | Sep 25, 2006 | okhla
At a time when much seemed dark, a ray of sunshine was brought by little children who decided that they would be better than big people and help their friends who are not so lucky.
These kids belong to countries as far from each other as France and Singapore but be it Maxence, Natasha or Haimuel.
When Maxence saw the Okhla centre sitting in a garbage dump he did not have the kind of reactions that adults have, he did not smother us with meaningless words, he just looked with his heart and made a decision that he did not even disclose then. he went home, fished out an old detergent box asked his mom to print out some pics from the pwhy site and made a donation box where he asked his pals to put in the money they would have spend on buying him birthday gifts.
Last week he came clutching his little box that had a fair amount of roupies! That money is priceless as it is steeped in so much love.
Natasha and Haimuel, 9 and 7 respectively decided to forego their pocket money simply after reading about us. Another bunch of kids from the French school collected funds in the same way and today Okhla has a tent thanks to them.
What is it that makes little act in this way? I do not know but I hope that one day the children of my land will do the same
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