Friday, December 26, 2008

'Tis the season to ... help!

Going with the Christmas spirit, and for a cause VERY close to my heart, I urge you to help the kids that call Project WHY their shelter, their playground, their home and hearth! What is project WHY you say?

It is a non-profit organization based in Delhi helping out slum kids of Delhi and their families, in any which way possible. Yawwnnn...you go, yet another non-profit. Here me out, please, before letting out that yawn.

This is not just another non-profit organization. This one is special. Anou has made it special! They get NO support from the government or any other institute. Their teachers are from WITHIN THE COMMUNITY! Anou is known as the lady who made a sweeper into a teacher. Most of the teachers at their school are slum dwellers, with a minimum education of 8th grade. So the benefits are reaching every where! Everyone earns and learns with dignity!

They now have over 600 children and run two early education programs, one prep class, four primary and one secondary after school support programs, a day care and life skills program for 20 children with disabilities as well as a computer center.

Anou is indeed leading a revolution at the grassroots level. The primary charter for the organization is education support and life skill enhancement of slum children and their families. But believe me, they do more than that. They have helped a lot of these kids get life saving surgeries and other medical, financial and emotional help. They have helped get them out of the streets and into a classroom. Off the foot path and into a home! They help wherever they can, and NO ONE is every turned away.

I was introduced to this project through a comment on a friend's blog. She had written a poem promoting education for one and all. And someone had pointed her to this blog by Anouradha Bakshi, the director and founder of Project WHY. I dropped by, and have been doing so everyday now, even have Anouradha as a Facebook friend.
The poem by my friend was beautiful, but the blog is a private one, so I cannot share it here. (Ella, I am talking about you, dear!)

Anou's blog is a window into the lives of these children, the difficulties they face with so much courage, the basic rights that they have to fight for, the smiles on their bright little faces which are so innocent, and so unfortunate! And so much talent and potential! The stories Anou puts up are heart-wrenching, because the little ones face so many adversities, and at the same time they are heart-warming because the kids are not alone! pWHY is there for them!

Project WHY has started another initiative called Planet WHY. This is also a very very special undertaking. I will let you take a journey to that planet yourself and explore it with your own eyes. It is truly a world of its own.

I can go on and on about the project and the little angels. But now...lets get down to business, shall we? :D

I ask you to donate Just One Rupee A Day to Project WHY. What is this?
It is an initiative of pWHY where they make it possible for even the poorest in India to contribute and make a difference. It is only Rs. 365 a year. Less than what you would spend on a decent dinner. Less than a movie for your family at that multiplex. Less than a pair of shoes!

Think about the difference it is going to make! I hear a lot of fellow bloggers "wanting to make a difference". Here is your chance! And this here is a proof of how it is going to help us build a better India! Anou Didi approached a child who would otherwise have gone on to become a goonda, and turned him towards studying, towards a better life.

This is real! This is effective! And Anou Didi is there to take it further. I have so much faith in the project because of the faith she has in the kids!

So once again, I urge all of you to donate Just One Rupee A Day. And maybe take a step further and donate Just One Rupee A Day for each earning member of your family. The kids deserve this! India deserves this!

Here's a link to donate pWHY via paypal.
And here is a link to other other ways you can donate.

Merry Christmas everyone :) Lets spread some cheer, shall we?

17 comments:

Preeti said...

thats's a really nice gesture...will certainly do and spread the message as well...

merry christmas kash di! :)

aneri_masi said...

@Preeti! Thank you SO much! Please visit Anou didi's blog too, its amazing what they are doing there. And I sincerely hope you can spread this around!

ceedy said...

Thank you thank you...will do the needful :)

You are so right - instead of looking at the bigger picture and trying to make sense of it...little steps like these make a big difference....

btw you wanted some cheer ne....go check my new post ok....

I am said...

brilliant spreading kashmira :)
I will take some time to reach the actual blog but this was good..isko apnee side baar mein rakhdegi, incase it's not there now.. so that i remember to check every time i visit you.. :)

thanks again
tanu

Anonymous said...

:) I am ready to give 1 Rs a day :) :)

I am really glad you are doing your bite Aner! :) Thank You! this is a wonderful thing to do!

Anonymous said...

very kind gesture, Kashmira!

~ ॐ ~ said...

Beautiful gesture Kashmira !!!

aneri_masi said...

@ceedy, Thank you! I knew I could count on you...for helping the kids, and for making me laugh, LOL!

@tanu, hmmm...sidebar hi nahi hai mere ko :( I need to redesign my blog. I can keep a link in "My favorite posts" for now. And thanks for promising to help!

aneri_masi said...

@veensie, i knew it, i knew it you would :) But honestly, I did not bite anyone ;-)

@abhijit, thank you, hope I can count on your help :)

@prashant, thank you :) This is kinda on the same lines with your "Sankalp". I hope I can visit them when I am in Delhi next time. And I hope to get your support for this one too :)

projectwhy said...

bless you all
we really need help, particularly in these times when the present economic situation is making it easy to cross charity contributions from their lists.. when I first pitched the one rupee a day programme it was just to ensure that we do not reach a day when we need to give up for want of resources.
I am sure that with all you lovely souls who can still with their hearts we will overcome all odds..
love to all
anou

--xh-- said...

this is so thoughtful of you.. adn i will support this... thanks for sharing this post... hope you had a wonderful christmas, and wish you a very happy new year...

RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN said...

Good gesture. Shall certainly follow it up.

aneri_masi said...

@anouradha, so glad to have you hear, didi! I hope I am able to reach out to more people


@xh, thank you so much! Christmas was good, how about you?

@raji, thanks! It means a lot to me!

Renu said...

Very good initiative kashmira! I will also try to do whatever I can.
here in Chennai, I go to an orphanage http://www.nethajimercyhome.org/
regularly, and when i see the kids there, my heart goes out to them. What I do is a small drop in the ocean, so i keep writing about it on my blog, not because i want to blow my trumpet or something, but because i feel that if i can involve more people then it may make a big difference to those children.
,

megha puNAter" said...

this is a wonderful gesture aneri masi.will do :)

aneri_masi said...

@renuDi, thanks! I have never had a chance to visit any such institute yet. I am sure it would break my heart! And thanks for helping! Happy New Year, Didi!

@megha, thank you so much!

Anonymous said...

i read this.. awesome :) i will do something.. n a while though :)