the orphan and the one eyed child

I had heard the story of the the one-eyed child who lived in a small village and was the butt of cruel jokes and a sad laughing stock. His mother climbed a rocky hill on her knees to reach a shrine where it was said miracles happened. Sometime later her child lost his other eye and turned blind. At first she was unable to understand what had happened till slowly she realised that people had stopped making fun of her child and were often seen helping him and being kind to him.

This story has many explanations and many lessons to be learnt. But it came to my mind as I battled a real life situation today. We have been trying to find alternatives for Babli and Jeetu. Whereas many know Babli's story, Jeetu belongs to times before one actually became a blogger. He lost his Mom when he was still a tiny baby. Now almost 8 he is tended for by a father who barley eeks a living. The father, like so many others, drinks and becomes abusive and violent. Last week he was seen threatening his son with a tyre that he was about to hurl on him when one of our staff members intervened.

Babli and Jeetu have parents but just in name as in either case these parents have scant time for their progeny. We were hoping to send them to karammarg but were told that a recent decision of their Board was to only take orphans.

Babli and Jeetu are not exceptions. There are many like them who though having parents live a life of abject neglect. They are left to their own devices. Jeetu does not even go to school in spite of all our efforts. Babli is a surrogate mother to her family. Her father even makes take care of the tobacco and cigarette cart he has while he is busy gambling. One year after her heart surgery she has not grown an inch or put on a pound. Having parents who do not care is worse than being orphaned as orphans are quite often taken care of by relatives and treated with kindness.

Jeetu and Babli are muck like the one eyed child, their lives worse than that of the child with no parents. Their homes situation is so hopeless that it becomes impossible to help them in situ. Their only hope is that their family - or what goes by that name - accepts to give them a better chance.

Sometimes decisions are taken in a hurry, one can only hope that they are not irreversible. It is the plight of children like them that made us seed planet why. If not for all the children at least for those who drop by our way.

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.

Images of a planet

For the past days I have been overwhelmed by images of Planet Why that keep surging into my mind, often unsolicited and unsought. These images are amazing in their clarity. They extend beyond the visual and stimulate every sense: I can see, hear, feel and even smell planet why and revel in it

This is an entirely new experience for me as I normally tend to be governed by a well honed Cartesian mind and need to find reasons for everything placing myself in the centre and attempting to be in control. The success graph has been mixed and always carried a heavy price. In order to do things 'right', I needed to allow myself to be intercepted by outside factors and often have my true desires hijacked unknowingly, while I sat thinking I was on the right course.

With Planet Why I find that things seem to have taken a 180 degree spin as I know it will happen and the usual doubts, angst and fears that normally accompany any new venture seem strangely absent. In its place there is a fervent need to share, talk and make my vision known, no matter how incredible it may seem. Even the routine voices of doubt one hears and that usually take on huge proportions are cast aside with a smile.

We all love looking for reasons for the things we do and once again we try to find those that make us look or feel good. And if one was to look at Planet Why from this angle there are many reasons that one can find, but any attempt dwarf the spirit of this place that seems more and more to come from deep within as the only plausible path to walk at this moment in time.

So allow me to give you a glimpse of Planet Why:

Planet Why will be located in the sleepy village of Goyla known for its dairy and buffaloes. A pond sits nearby the chosen location and is surrounded by shrubs and trees, and like all villages in India protected by a tiny shrine to the faceless local deity. The village does have its share of urbanisation with many new structures, but one can still find some old homesteads and the local village council. There are several government schools and many children in need of educational support and guidance.

Planet Why once again aims at working with these children as is done at Project Why , but will also reach out to the community , something that was not feasible in an urban slum. Environment projects, rainwater harvesting, health related activities, imparting new skills, adult education, empowerment of women, civic responsibility are some of the projects we intend launch.

Our vision is of simple structure around a courtyard. Whitewashed walls, brightly painted doors and windows, mud murals, greenery will give a joyful feeling to the place. On the first floor we will run a guest house with 10 rooms offering two star comfort and decorated with local craft. These rooms will be for tourists transiting Delhi and who would like to spend a day or two with children before they set out to discover India. Goyla's proximity to the airport makes it an ideal transit point. For those who wish to see Delhi, a short ride to the metro station will be provided at regular intervals.

The ground floor will house three sections. One will have a large kitchen and a living room where guests can lounge, read or just while away time playing with the children; one side will be reserved for children where two large rooms will be converted into dorms at night for the little souls that have dropped by Project Why and who have nowhere else to go to. During the day the same rooms will be used for a host of child related activities for the neighbourhood kids. The third side will house staff quarters (mostly single moms) and all other housekeeping activities. Building material will be eco -friendly and recycled, and we will try to use as much alternative sources of energy as possible: solar panels to heat water, bio gas and green fuel.

All open space will be filled with trees, shrubs and plants of all kinds. The building activity will involve friends from all over the world as well as the local community each one leaving their own special mark.

Tourism with a meaning seems to have come to stay as many friends and supporters have expressed their desire to spend some time with children and local people before setting out to discover the country. Hence our rooms seem almost booked in advance! After cutting the costs needed to run the place, we will be left with a sizable amount that will go on to fund educational and other activities based on the model we have already run and validated for the past 7 years setting us free of the fragile situation we often found ourselves in.

The little guest house will also be a training ground for our own students who can then accede to a wider range of employment. Planet Why will also be an ideal place for short term skill learning workshops and related activities.

We invite you to join the exciting journey we have already embarked on and would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.