project to planet

Planet why is the logical outcome of project why and answers a whole new set of whys that came our way during our seven years on the field.

We began this incredible journey with a simple question: why do so many children drop out of schools in India's capital city? We slowly crafted a model that we feel is one that can be replicated as it draws most of its resources from within the community. Our model has proved successful as we have had no drop outs in the last seven years and this achievement goes to the credit of a team entirely drawn from the community we work with.

It has not been easy as social transformation has inherent problems but we overcame them one by one.

It was an an intuitive feeling that made us choose this model seven years back. Today we stand vindicated as 2010 looms on our head heralding the inevitable relocation of many of the slums we work in. hence our choice of staff from within the community and our choice of classrooms (from reclaimed garbage dumps to road sides via rented rooms) was the right one. The only thing that is still not resolved is the sustainability factor as our one rupee a day programme did not quite get off, though one again intuition says it will some day.

Working with a community means working with individuals too and the last seven years has dropped in our lives many children of a lesser god that we need to walk through life. But come 2010 and even earlier places that were available to us will be gone as the sealing laws will take away from us all affordable space.

These are all the new whys that need an answer and planet why is the solution we seek.