by Anuradha Bakshi | Dec 5, 2008 | Uncategorized
Sometimes I am at a complete loss in trying to understand the ways of the God of Lesser Beings . Little Radha has been absent from class for a while as she had once again broken her leg. We were expecting her back as was usually the case. She simply loves pwhy and let us not forget she still dreams of walking one day. But this time the God of Lesser Beings had other plans for her.
Her plaster did come off and she was ready to come back but then a false move by her sister and her brittle bone broke again. Her father was planning to take her to the hospital the next day but that was not happen. That night her father fell ill and died on the way to the hospital: a victim of hooch and life itself.
Radha’s father had lost his job some time back. His health did not allow him to get another one so he sold tea and some eats from a stall in front of his tiny home. The family of 6 barely survived. Radha’s mom is illiterate. They have no source of income, no land in the village, simply nothing. An uncle performed the last rites of the father as Radha’s only brother is still a babe in arms. Now they need to perform the burdensome rituals in the village that will cost an arm and a leg: noblesse oblige!
What will their future be? I cannot even begin to imagine what awaits them and am at a complete loss to see how we can help them. I simply know that we have to. Is the God of Lesser beings listening?
by Anuradha Bakshi | Dec 3, 2008 | Uncategorized
This morning I got a lovely mail for Harriet. She is the young girl who had spent a few days with us at project why and promised to help us when she got back to her school in London. Some time later she wrote again saying that she was planning a Xmas sale at her school the proceeds of which would come to us.
Harriet is a very special person, one that truly walks the talk. The sale was held and she informed me that a whopping 50 Pounds had been collected. It may seem a tiny sum to many, but to us at pwhy it is more precious than the largest donation we get, as it is one that is laced with love, compassion and tenderness. We fell humbled.
Harriet also had one more surprise for us: her very first article in a local newspaper simply entitled A Ray of Hope in the New Delhi Slums. It is a very touching article on project why as seen by a young girl from a privileged country.
Harriet’s mail brought joy and healing at at time when we are truly in need of it. India is still trying to make sense of the terrible week gone by. Thousands are on the street trying to find an answer to questions that seem hopeless. There is talk of war and aggression. Anger is tempered with helplessness and people seem terribly lost. In the midst of all this madness, this simple gesture from a young girl is the message we all needed to hear. It does not take much to reach out another, to help change a life or to bring a smile on a face that had forgotten to smile.
Thank you Harriet.
by Anuradha Bakshi | Dec 3, 2008 | Uncategorized
Bernard Ray gently left this world today after a long illness. He died peacefully. Who is Bernard Ray and why am I writing this post today?
The answer to these questions are simple. He is what we hope every human being aspires to be. In simpler terms he is Xavier’s dad and Xavier is undoubtedly the cornerstone of pwhy.
When Xavier decided to set up Enfances Indiennes as an organisation to support pwhy, Bernard was its very first member. He somehow knew that in spite of difficult moments it would not only happen but grow and thrive. 700 children today vindicate his belief!
I am reminded of St Exupery words when he wrote: To be a man is … to be responsible. It is to feel shame at the sight of what seems to be unmerited misery. It is to take pride in a victory won by one’s comrades. It is to feel, when setting one’s stone, that one is contributing to the building of the world. He was just that kind of man.
A few years back he came to project why and spent many hours with us. We were all touched by his warmth and kindness. What we did not know at that time was that his short transit via planet why was his unobtrusive way to bless all of us and to leave a little of his magic in our hearts.
Yesterday he left this world for a new one, a better one, one that is filled with light and love. We will miss him but somehow I know he will be there for the family his son made his own: in the soft ray of sun that warms a cold morning, in the cloud that gives respite from the scorching sun, in the first drop a rain that quenches the parched earth and the whiff of wind that gently blows on our face to remind us that we are protected.
Today we do not mourn him but celebrate a life well lived and again say with St Exupery: he who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man.
by Anuradha Bakshi | Dec 3, 2008 | Uncategorized
The latest addition to the ever growing dowry of a slum brides is believe it or not a washing machine. Even the humblest of families are ensuring that every girl reaches her new home armed with a washing machine. Often, as was the case in a recent wedding I attended, the machine is too big for the jhuggi in which it will have to find place. More often than not such homes have no bathroom, let alone a water point to feed the machine. Yet it faithfully accompanies every bride. It lies for some time in its packaging at the entrance of the home, for all to see and I guess the bride’s family gets the required brownie points. Then after herculean efforts and some astute maneuvers its is dragged within the home and placed in a corner often hogging space that could be put to far better use. It may just lie thus for a long time and things are piled on it. Then perhaps one day it will be taken out of its dusty packaging and with more maneuvering inaugurated by dragging some hosepipe after having been plugged to an illegal power connection.
The washing machine is a symbol of urban success . It has replaced the now jaded TV and motorbike. No one bothers to think of all that is needed to get the machine going: water, electricity and above all space.
We have never owned a washing machine. For over twenty years Lakshiamma and her husband have come faithfully every day to wash our clothes. The thousand rupees or so they get every month feeds their family. It is true that sometimes the clothes are not quite as clean as one would like, or sometimes in heir hurry they soak a coloured cloth with the others and thus a white shirt gets some pink stains but what the heck. It is lovely to hear their voices as they babble to each other in Tamil. They are one of the thousands who leave their home to make a life for themselves and brighten ours.
In a world where water and electricity are getting scarcer by the day, they are true green warriors. For nothing in the world would I buy a washing machine! And yet I find it quasi impossible to explain this to my slum friends. I guess it will take a long time to teach them to walk to the next block rather than use their new bike. Let us not forget they have just acquired urban dreams.
by Anuradha Bakshi | Dec 3, 2008 | Uncategorized
My family is very poor and I dropped out of primary school revealed the lone arrested perpetrator of the attack on Mumbai. The words sent a chill down my spine. For the last decade we at pwhy have been striving to ensure that such children do not drop our of school and do not become easy fodder to lurking predators. Our efforts may look herculean to us but are just a drop in the ocean. Delhi alone has hundred of thousands of children who still drop out of school.
Everyone is today trying to find ways and means of ensuring that what happened last week in India’s financial capital never occurs again. Suggestions of all sorts are being held forth and many are indeed worthy. I am no politician, nor strategist, neither am I part of any intellectual group of think tank. I am a simple citizen who has for the past few years been trying to answer a simple question – why do children drop out of school – and find simple solutions. I can say with pride that for the last almost ten years every child we have reached out to had not dropped out of school. True that what we do is a tiny drop in a huge ocean but nevertheless we did what we could within our very limited resources and we did it without government or institutional help.
Let me assure you that this post is not meant to be one that extols our work. Far from that. It is a very humble plea to all those who today are looking for solutions to also take into account an important factor that often gets forgotten. To perpetrate terror predators need vulnerable minds that can be manipulated and brain washed. One must think of drying that source once for all and one can only do that if children are given a proper education an equal opportunities. I admit that this is not the solution everyone is hankering one. It is not the one that makes you feel immediately safe: an AK 47 to answer an AK 47. Nevertheless it is one we have to consider and moreover it is one everyone can contribute to and participate in.
During the past few years I have often been told quite bluntly by those I approach for help: why give quality education to the poor! The answer is obvious if we chose to see it.
by Anuradha Bakshi | Dec 1, 2008 | Uncategorized
More than ever today I remember the lyrics of Jimmy Cliff’s song:
Remake the worldWith love and happinessRemake the worldPut your conscience in the testRemake the worldNorth, south, east and westRemake the worldGotta prove that are the best..
The terrible week that has just gone by has perhaps – and I say perhaps – woken India from the ataxic and catatonic state it had allowed itself to sink in for reasons better left unsaid. The people are angry. There is a permeable sense of outrage. Everyone seems to want something done. Some want extreme measures, others seek softer solutions but everyone wants to see some action.
The picture you see was taken last week, probably when most of us were glued to our TV screens trying to make sense of what was enfolding in front of our eyes. These are the children of our Sanjay Colony primary centre. Most of them belong to migrant families and they are from all caste and creed. Even their teachers are a motley crew: one from what we call the lowest caste and the other a gypsy whereas the third is from a educated home. That afternoon was geography class and hence time to play with the big inflatable globe. For me the picture was portentous of a message. It was time to remake the world, if not for us, at least for these children as they trusted us implicitly. One just could not let them down.
And the world cannot be remade by apportioning blame to some outside foe: be they those that rule us or those that follow a different faith. To truly remake the world we need to look deep into ourselves and see were we have gone wrong. How have we allowed the world to be what it is today. People are on the streets, each one expressing his or her anguish. For the first time politicians are being riled. Suddenly people have found their lost voice. But for how long is the question begging to be asked.
The little kids hugging the world are looking for answers long owed to them. Will we have the courage to remake the world?
