ProjectWhy
answers so many whys for so many people ….it lets children dream, hope
and aspire…and answers the incessant drone within us when we see a
child begging on the road, a disabled child who is not educated or a
toddler who is not cared for
Good News India
(www.goodnewsindia.com) introduced me to Anu and ProjectWhy, the name
intrigued me and I read fascinated .I wrote to Anu and her reply
dropped into my mailbox even before I could think why? Anu explained
Projectwhy to me, her inspiration, her motivation and extended an
invitation to visit Pwhy. I was in Delhi
last January and spent a week with the Pwhy team and got hooked to
them, Manu the lost man who is the raison’d etre of Pwhy, Rani who is
Anu’s Lady-Friday and Shamika who inspired Anu to ask the question why?
I
met and became friends with Shipra the dignified teacher who joined
Pwhy to contribute to the community, Manju the pretty vivacious woman
who discovered that she could teach, Savitri, the slim, smiling 10th
pass girl who liked children and the emotional Sitaram who ferries the
children on his cycle rickshaw and ever-present Radheshyam who is the
Man-Friday and the historian at Pwhy (a 5 yr history of which he
remembers every detail, every person). I spent a week with them,
sharing their communal lunch of Dhal-roti-sabji, waiting for hot chai
from amah in the bitter January cold, helping setup classrooms in the
sun for the children.
The
children were a delight, hungry for affection, trotting up cheerfully
with ‘good morning maam’ some bundled up against the cold others barely
protected (leading to a scramble with us rummaging the clothes bags for
socks and sweaters). Who do I talk about, Sivam who sees the world
through voices or Sanju the speechless-smiling-spark or the Preeti the
19 yr old who looks 9, each one of them a symbol of courage, joy and
the will to survive. It was a beautiful week full of joy, friendship
and laughter where I re-learnt that happiness is a state of mind.
Anu began Pwhy to support children on Delhi’s
streets, children living in the slums, poor, destitute, victims of
crime, disabled or just unlucky, children who had no future and no
present. They were not educated till their parents thought them old
enough to go to the nearest government school if they thought it worth
at all to send them….
This
prompted Anu to start pre-primary classes in the slums for the young
children and the classes are full with new children joining almost
every day. The teachers are from the slums where Pwhy has established
itself. Anu trained them to handle children and the office work. Young
men and women with high school diplomas, without jobs, with a desire to
support themselves while helping the community. Every child who is part
of Pwhy is enrolled in a school after they complete the pre-primary and
Pwhy keeps track of their progress
I
saw a new pre-primary class come into being on an erstwhile rubbish
dump in Mazdoor camp Okhla the polluted industrial underbelly of Delhi.
Pushpa and Sophiya two smart staffers at Pwhy decided that their effort
and skill should be used in their own neighborhoods. They scouted for
space ,negotiated with slum lords, cajoled policemen and got ‘consent’
to use an erstwhile dump to run their pre-primary class.
To
the perplexed reader, why Rs 30 from each parent: the Pwhy philosophy
is to make every beneficiary pay something for the school so that the
parents are committed and do not let the children drop out. But does
this Rs 30 pay for everything and can every student afford to pay Rs
30? The answer to both these questions is ‘No’, that’s where we come in
with our Rs 30 each. Each of us can help Pwhy by contributing Rs 30 a
month (or Rs 360 a year which translates to 8 dollars per person per
year) .I am sure every one of us can do it .That’s what Pwhy’s ‘Just
one rupee a day ‘campaign is trying to do. Read about the one rupee
festival and donate here http://herewego.wikispaces.org.
Pwhy
is a planet of hopes and dreams for the 500 odd children and the 40 odd
staff members; already established at Lohar camp, Tilak Khand and
Mazdoor camp Okhla, a new center at Sudhar camp and growing as we read.
All they need from us is a helping hand to keep their planet going and
growing……..
Would you like to help? You can sponsor a class or a group; the details are on the link http://www.projectwhy.org/expenses.htm . Do you want to know more, please read about Pwhy at www.projectwhy.org or email Anu at anouradha.bakshi@gmail.com or email me at l.sreedevi@gmail.com
Devi Lakshmi Kutty currently lives in US and volunteers with organizations in India and US
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