as mentioned in an earlier entry, "chotti si asha" was on a look out for a new place...our old place (in sector 38 of chandigarh) was too far off from the new location that the children had moved to (naya Gaon - outskirts of chandigarh) so our attendance had really gone down.

Once we started looking for a place, we realized how expensive Chandigarh's real estate and rentals are!! So we gave up the idea of renting our own place and started talking to the chandigarh administration. The response was quite positive from their end. But before they could intervene and help us, we found a place in the heart of the city - a location that works perfectly fine for all the children at NO COST!!

It turned out that there is a government building in sector 15 (very close to sector 17 where all the children come to work) where all kind of non-profit activities take place like drug de - addiction center, yoga classes for senior citizens, library, exhibition hall etc. A few years back they had built a children section - a few rooms, a bathroom and a beautiful garden with swings and slides but it so happened that the project didn't work and that place was now abandoned and was being used as a store. we came to know about it and talked to the authorities and voila, they agreed without any condition…just like that!! It is a beautiful place...they have opened one room for us and have given access to the bathroom and the garden. So now we have our own open area as well as a room that can be used as a workshop by the elder boys to work on bags and files etc.

Yesterday, the elder boys and some of us got together to clean up the place...the boys were thrilled when they looked at the place and cleaned it up with full enthusiasm...infact, it took us about 6 hours to clean the place. Now, we are all set to start using it on Monday!!

It is amazing the ways things worked out...once again "somebody who takes care" proved to me that if you have a strong intention then something always happens and a way is shown!! We just have to keep our eyes open and keep trying. THANK YOU!!
PS: I will be posting some pictures soon.

Independence day...

yesterday, "chotti si asha" celebrated Independence Day at our old "adda" - rose garden...we got together and remembered the old days when we used to sit under the tree and study and listened to stories or played games. We also played our favourite game - "Dog in the bone". The kids simply adore this game and rarely miss out on the opportunity to play it when ever they get a chance. Jaspreet had joined us so we did a few minted of meditation also.

There were some new people who had come to meet the "chotti si asha" gang...while the circle of introduction and sharing was going on, it was quite amazing to hear some of the kids talking very honestly about themselves and what they have learn't or have not been able to learn in this last one year. it was really heart warming to see that most of them recognized their shortcomings and had the realization that they lack focus and they get bored very easily. Acceptance is the first step to improvement so i consider that quite a positive change

For the onward journey of "chotti si asha", please follow the blog -

http://chottisiasha.blogspot.com

I will continue to write about other things on this blog.

enjoy...

school?

Anike, Aakash and Bobby joined Sikhya last month...the initial few days were very tough for them as well as for me ...i was nervous that they would not get up on time so I would call their Uncle (Anike's Uncle is one of the smart members of their community...he is responsible and is working diligently with us on making bags and luckily, he also owns a cell phone) early in morning and ask him to wake the kids and then he took the responsibility of dropping the children to school on a cycle rickshaw that we rented.

The first day was the toughest...the kids came back and called me that they would not go the next day...and gave me various reasons...it seemed that they had a fight with some other children of their class and they also felt quite alienated with the whole environment...the problems were simple - they didn't know that after the bell rings, a new teacher would come to teach a new subject. So after each bell-ring, they would think that it is time to go and so they would rush out and get scolded by the monitor as well as the teacher. The other issue that they are still struggling with is that they are not able to sit and focus for such long durations...they are in the habit of sleeping anytime and that is what they did the first day....they would just lie down and sleep in the class and thus, invited the wrath of their teachers and their classmates made fun of them.

Anyway, i was able to convince them to go for a few more days and i also talked to the principal and the teachers and started meeting them everyday during their lunch break. Anike and Bobby have adjusted quite well...they do have issues but are willing to continue school but Aakash has given up. On hind sight, i think i should not have sent Aakash to school since he has some learning problems and he feels very left out and gives up very easily. So we have decided that we will not persuade him any further and will try to give him some coaching at Chhotti Si Asha.

Currently, the school is off for summer vacation and Bobby, Anike are back with us. Their school re-opens on 4th July.

school time...

now that the team is all pepped - up, i am looking for avenues to market the stuff that these boys are making enthusiastically and am also looking for more easy designs for
bags, cell phone covers, aprons, wall hangings, file covers etc.

please pass on any ideas that you might have on this…

meanwhile, i am also trying to send some of the younger boys to school. i have been working with these boys for the last one year but i have never directly talked to them about begging...i knew that the elder boys usually controlled one or two younger boys (generally their siblings) and made sure that the younger ones begged and gave their money to them or their parents at the end of the day...the elders also tried to earn by polishing shoes or begging but of course, are not as successful as the younger ones. i also had quite some idea as to who controls whom.

so last week, i thought that it is time to do some plain talking as well as to experiment to send some of the younger ones to school. i started by talking to 3 younger boys - Anike, Aakash and Bobby. the first thing that i promised them was that i am not going to send them to government school (they have heard horror stories about these schools where the teachers talk less and hit more). we decided on a school - Sikhya, which is free for such children. i took them and showed them the infrastructure, the computer labs, the clean bathrooms/shower and made them talk to the principal who assured that there would no hitting. So the trio agreed provided their family agrees.

getting Bobby enrolled is not an issue since his parents don't make him beg....he anyways, stays at home the whole day so his family agreed right away. anike's Uncle and brother and aakash's brother are learning stitching and are quite motivated after the exhibition. i did some plain talking with them and without criticizing or belittling them, i was able to make them realize (at least for that moment) about the exploitative cycle that exists around them and how they can help me in this experiment to come out of it. they agreed. Now the biggest hurdle was Anike's grandfather who controls everybody and gets Anike's earning at the end of the day. So i tried the "munna bhai's" way...i went to him with some mithai (sweets) and gently talked to him about Anike and his son (who is Anike's Uncle and is doing quite well in tailoring and earned the most from our first exhibition). he said that he will only send Anike to me and not to anybody else as he does not trust anybody. i explained to him as to how it was so difficult for me to teach the elder boys as well as younger ones and then i lied about that school and told him that it is being run by a very close friend who has offered to help me by talking in a few of the younger boys. He agreed to try out for one week :-)

i am keeping my fingers crossed and am now looking for an affordable conveyance to take these children to school in the morning (any sponsors for the conveyance are welcome J). will let all of you know once the school starts...

next step??

Now that the exhibition is over, the team is all pepped up for the next step…I do plan to continue the crafts and am working on marketing the stuff that we make. I am talking to a couple of stores where we can keep our stuff for selling and also, plan to do regular exhibitions till we come up with some solution that would ensure regular flow of income for these boys.

Apart from the work, I am also trying to convince the elder boys to start sending their younger sibling to school or to bring them to us. This will take some time because the younger siblings do the majority of the earning (begging) and if they go to school or come to “chhotti si asha”, they will not make as much money. I am making these boys aware of the exploitative cycle that these people have created for themselves where they were exploited by their elders and now they in turn are exploiting their younger siblings and how they can break that cycle for their younger ones. For me to be able to convince them, a regular income is a must and that is the challenge that is on top of my mind these days.

So any suggestions from anybody are welcome!!


*** since I have children from varied age group coming to me, it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage all of them in the same way. So I have to expand a little and hire atleast 1 to 2 people and also rent out a garage or a room for this activity. Anyone who would like to contribute financially for this effort, do write back at gagchaw@yahoo.com

the exhibition...

"Chhotti Si Asha" had it's first exhibition on 13th April in sector 17 - market plaza - the same place where these kids beg or polish shoes. It was a street exhibition and the "chhotti si asha" gang loved it...there were journalist to cover the event and a lot of friends and strangers stopped by to support and admire the beautiful bags, files, pencil stands, jewellary etc that we had put together for the exhibition.

the best thing about the whole affair was the smile and pride on the face of the boys...they loved the fact that people liked their work and that it was actually selling. we made about Rs.8000 in about 2 hours and all the money was distributed amongst the boys depending on their work contribution. needless to say that our whole team is really pepped-up and wants to do more exhibitions and learn to make new things.

here are some pictures from that day...

file cover - made out of waste

jewellary

Coasters (made out of waste)

Pen Stands(made out of waste)


bags - most of these are made of waste clothes

the bags and aprons

Bobby and Anike - these two are the most regular kids at "chotti si asha"...they are very naughty but love being with us. now, i am convincing their family to put them into a school.

We also had a section of "not-so perfect" items ...here is the write - up on that -

Expenses...

I have been getting a few emails about the expenses of this project. So far this project was mainly being funded by my family. But now i do have to expand the scope a little and get some more people to help me out.

So far my monthly budget is as follows -

Lunch (for about 15 to 20 children at Rs.10 each) - Rs. 7200
Teacher (who teaches craft work) - Rs. 1500
Raw material cost - Rs. 2000 (so far we have only purchased cloth for making bags...everything else has been made out of waste).

Going forward, i am planning to hire another person to teach tailoring to the boys (so far the boys had been learning at Jan Shikshan Sansthan - a vocational institute but the institute has added so many students in each class that the teacher is hardly able to give the extra attention that these boys need).

Expected salary would be - Rs.1500

i have been able to convince the family of 3 children to send them to school. the school - Sikhya is free but since it is far off from where these children live, we have to dole out money for auto or bus - Rs. 350 per child = Rs. 1050

let me know if anybody wants to contribute on any of the above mentioned expenses.

***I might rent out a place but am not sure on that since Chandigarh is really expensive. I am trying to convince the Director of Jan Shikshan Sansthan to give us some dedicated space for free.

latest at our end...

We, at "Chhoti Si Asha" are planning to put an exhibition of the craft work that these children are doing in the sector 17 market (the plaza where some of these kids beg) on Friday (13th
April). The money collected from the sale of the items would be distributed amongst the kids.

we all work from 10:00AM to 4:00PM and during this time, we provide the kids with lunch and give the kids money for dinner. Most of the stuff that we are making is by using waste material e.g. pen stands (using the yogurt boxes), file covers (using different packing material and waste cloth), cushion covers (using old saris and bed covers), hand bags (using waste
clothes and sari). Some of the stuff has really come out well...i will put up some photographs soon.

Here is the logo for "Chhoti Si Asha"

after the exhibition, i am planning to rent out a small space that we can use during the day...we plan to continue the craft work (as that has helped in increasing focus as well as
perseverance in children and is also providing some financial support to the kids), hold some theatre workshop and continue teaching basic numeracy and literacy.

the expenses of keeping this experiment running have already increased since i have started (about Rs. 10,000 per month). let me know if any one of you would like to be a part of this
experiment. email me at gagchaw@yahoo.com.

"Chhotti si asha"

So now we have a name – “Chhotti si asha”. I wanted the group to keep a name…so some of the kids and volunteers came up with their suggestions and voting was done to select the name.

Some of the other suggestion for the name were – “Apna Kal”, Jeevan Safal”, “Sahara”, “Sath Sath”.

Some tidbits…

* the latest at our end is that we have moved from the rose garden (the kids had some problems with the police there) to the parking lot of Jan Shikshan Sansthan (the vocational institute where some of the boys are learning stitching). i have hired Baljeet to teach the kids and i also have a few volunteers. Apart from baisc numeracy and literacy, we have started teaching some craft work as well as theatre to the kids...the theatre workshops have been real fun and we all have loved every moment of it.

* Recently, we have planned to put up an exhibition of all the craft work that we do (volunteers and the kids work together to make stuff that can be sold) as well as a small theatre performance in the same shopping complex where these kids beg. We all are working hard to make good quality items like bookmarks, shopping bags, coasters, magazine holders, pots, cards, cushion covers, cloth bags, apron etc.

* it is amazing the way people are coming forward to join us in this effort - a friend of mine is working on the logo and the brochure, somebody volunteered to make a "behind the scene" video, a couple of volunteers have agreed to come and teach and make various craftworks with us and yesterday, somebody came and volunteered to teach meditation and yoga to the kids. lets see how the kids respond to that :-))

* I have also started getting donations…without me having asked anybody for it! isn’t it greatJ

i will post some pictures soon.

I have been thinking of updating the blog about my experiment for a long time now but somehow i was not motivated to write anything...it was a mix of laziness, inertia and the conflicting emotions that i keep going through while working with these children/adults. sometimes, i feel great being with them and am happy with the way they are...then there are days when i see them being so mean to their younger ones, talking rudely, abusing each other and lazying around that i feel utterly disappointed and restless.

anyway, the key lesson is to accept them the way they are and then gently show them the other side. If they accept it - good. if not then try again :-)

The stitching and tailoring class at "Jan Shikshan Sansthan"

The gang with Jaspreet!!

Project Reach Out

while working with these children, i realized that the police as well as people in general eyed these boys with a lot of suspicion...they were blamed or picked up by the police for little or no reasons (most of the time they were booked under section 109 i.e. awaragardi - being on the roads without any reason). And the result is that even if these boys want to earn an honest living by polishing, they are not able to do so. I did talk to the police of sector 17 and the response in this regard was quite positive...their only demand was that these children should not disturb the people who come to shop in the plaza and they should stay away from the parking lot.

We also thought that it would be good if these people have some sort of an I-card that talks about these children and the effort that they are participating in. To that effect, we made the following I-card for the children/adults wherein we are requesting people to be considerate towards these guys -

I-card

Name: Anike
Father’s Name: Ramu
Address: Kumhar Colony, Sector 25, Chandigarh

Project Reachout is an endeavour to reach out to the children/adults on the street and to bring an inner change. The motive is to build a trusting relationship with these children and then provide guidance depending on their needs and circumstances.

Most of these children/adults live in the slums of sector 25, chandigarh and earn their living either by polishing shoes or by begging. Life on the street has hardened these boys and has made them quite different from what the *normal* society expects them to be…they are quick to start a fight or use abusive language or make up a story but deep down they are very simple, kind and even innocent.

As part of this effort, we are teaching them to read/write, we use the medium of games, painting, story-telling, meditation etc to bring out the innocence and love buried deep inside them and to improve their concentration. We are also encouraging the older boys to learn some vocation or to start some alternate work like selling corns, balloons, fruits or putting up a stall of tea etc. Some of the boys have already started going to learn stitching and tailoring in sector 37 (Jan Shikshan Sansthan).

This letter is written to request you to support these children/adults in whatever way you can - be polite to them and encourage them to work. I know sometimes these children can be very rude and rowdy but to bring a change in these children, we have to show them a more powerful way of communicating with love and we have to make the beginning.
Kindly co-operate and feel free to call me at 9872469046 for any questions or any complaints that you might have.

Thanks, Liza Tandon Chawla (9872469046 - gagchaw@yahoo.com)

acceptance is the key ...

Thanks for all the encouraging comments on this experiment (BTW, we have decided to call the experiment as Project Reach Out). Well, the corn-selling experiment was not quite successful (at least not the way we expected it to be...)...the boys were not able to sell roasted corn for more than a few days...there were varied reasons - the first and foremost was the lack of perseverance and hard work...and to top it all, the local police didn't support us...the image of these children was too strong for the police to believe that they genuinely wanted to sell corn and not ask for alms. So where ever they went in sector 17, the police chased them out (i also talked to the SHO of the area but he refused to support us and his reasons were simple - selling anything on the street is illegal). i suggested that the boys move their road side shop to a new sector but the gang was not ready for that and they gave it up too easily.

i won't call the corn-selling experiment a complete failure even though i was utterly disappointed in the beginning and felt that these people were good for nothing and there is nothing i can do to change their attitude. Like all experiments this one also revealed quite a few things to me - the most important thing was that i was trying to bring about a change in these people too soon...i wanted them to leave begging and instead of cribbing about their existing conditions, start thinking of alternatives. But what i didn’t understand was that the circumstances that they were brought up in taught them nothing else except to beg ...even if they polish shoes they generally ask the person to give more money than they deserve and people did give them and that is how they and their families sustained themselves...life on the street had really hardened them and nobody had ever talked to them about right or wrong, good or bad. ..they only learnt about survival and begging is what survived them and so that is what they did.

i understood that an inner change is a must for them to be able to adapt themselves to any kind of work and if anybody wants to start some work of their own then the initiative or the desire has to come from them. And i have to bring more acceptance for the way they are and that includes their laziness, their lack of initiatives, their unhygienic habits, lying etc and take each day as it comes. So now we meet everyday and study for an hour or so and then we do prayer and meditation for a few minutes followed by a circle of sharing where i talk to each person about something or the other and request the others to listen (this is mainly done to increase their attention span and also to teach them to listen to each other) and then we play games that help them concentrate or to listen or team work. The first week of meditation/prayer and circle of sharing was really tough....none of the children was ready to sit for so long or was ready to close their eyes...they kept laughing or throwing grass at each other or moved around the group that was sitting but Jaspreet (a very dedicated volunteer who recently joined our effort) and i didn't lose heart...the sign that we took as very positive was the fact that most of the children/adults did show up everyday and so we assumed that the prayer etc had touched a chord with them. But for the past few days, the prayer/meditation has been much better… (Some of the kids actually told me that they like this part of the day) and there is quite some change in their concentration levels.

i am not saying that everything is going perfect...infact, sometimes their rowdy behavior really disappoints but the only thing that i am sure is the fact they love to come to our little "pathshala" :-) And that is what matters…after all; i started this experiment without any agendas!

PS: the good news is that out of 15 boys who started to learn stitching and tailoring, 5 are regular and are doing pretty good...they are learning to stitch bags/purses and we are soon planning to stitch bags for selling.

what next?

what next??

there is a group of children and adults that i have been working with from the past 3 months...this group earn their living either by begging or by polishing shoes...i mainly started working with the children but slowly their elders joined the group...we would get together and learn to read/write, tell stories, play games or paint. the objective was to give them love and acceptance and get to know them and then bring about a need based change if required...the result was that in a short period of time, we all got to know each other well...i gave them my cell phone number and started getting 4-5 calls everyday...the calls were either just to say "hello" or seeking advise or seeking help if caught by the police (very common problem).

some of the elders have taken up to learn stitching and tailoring...there are a total of 12 enrolled out of which 8 show up regularly....rest of the crowd continues to come to the rose garden...i have also found a very dedicated volunteer - Jaspreet. Jaspreet comes everyday to teach the children and gets along well with everybody...i am also planning to start teaching theatre to the children... we are planning to do a street theatre on the song - 'Nanhe munhe Bache teree muthee mein kya hain".

Now the challenge that i am facing is that if i want the elders to stop asking their younger siblings or their children to beg, i have to give them an alternative...i tried the bhutta experiment (mentioned below) but it didn't work. Since then one of the boys has been asking for my help to open a small roadside shop to sell tea and bread (very common in India)...and another one has been requesting my help to buy a rickshaw. So i am thinking why not start something like the grameen bank for them. The idea is to collect a small pool of money (say Rs 10,000 ($225) or more) and provide loan to these boys to start their own work...these loans are going to be interest free and they can payback in weekly or monthly installments...and the money returned can be added to the pool again and can be loaned again. We will define some rules of giving out loans depending on the need of the community that i am working with.

I have talked briefly to some of the men i am working with and they have liked the idea though they are still trying to understand the concept...we still have to sit and discuss the rules that they would like to follow. Our first two case studies would be Jatan, who wants to start a road side shop to sell tea and bread and Kishan who wants to buy a rickshaw.

please let me know if you would like to participate in this experiment...i am not sure if it is going to work...if they will be able to return back the money or pay the installments but i am quite certain that if they take the loan, they would try their best.

Corn selling experiment...

One of the biggest challenge that these children face is that from police...as soon as the police sees these children they don't hesitate throwing their stick at them or chasing these children out of the market area...the police's reason is simple - the children move around the plaza and trouble people by begging...and then if anybody loses anything then their first suspicion is these children. The attitude of the people as well as the police towards these children is quite pathetic. They are always blaming these children without realizing that at some level each of us is to blame for the way these children have become.

Anyway, i have been talking to a few constables at the plaza and have been requesting them to change their attitude towards these children....some of the constables have been very understanding and have said that they would give their support while some give me a lecture as to how i am wasting my time etc but since i only request them to be a little polite, they generally agree. Their only request is that the children should not trouble the general public in the plaza. Now this is quite a valid request so i tried to talk to the children about it...but then if not begging what do they do? How do they put food on their table? A passer by who was listening to my conversation with the children came to me and gave me an idea of making these children sell roasted corn on the street. The idea was welcomed by the children as well as their older siblings...and we implemented it the very next day. We formed 4 teams of 3 each. Each team has one older boy and two younger ones. The idea was that they would sit by the road side (a very common practice in India) and sell corn as a team and then divide the money. They promised that they would not fight with their partners and not beg if this idea works.

Goli (one of the older street boy) and i went to the local sabzi mandi and got one big sack of corn, some coal, 4 wire meshes, salt, lime and 4 bags. Each team was given some coal, lime, salt, corn and a bag to put their stuff in. The biggest challenge again is the police...i gave each of these boys a letter which said that this stuff has been give to these children by me and the police can call me at my cell phone number to verify. This was given as a pre-emptive measure incase the police suspects them of stealing. If the boys continue to show enthusiasm, i plan to talk to the police superintendent to seek his support.

There were a lot of challenges that these boys had to face the first day like where to sit, the police chased them away from a few places but they did manage to sell quite a few corns the first day. Yesterday was their second day and last night i got a call that they have sold all the corn and need more. It was decided that i will buy corn for them twice and then they will start saving to buy the corn themselves.

Let us see how this experiment goes...i am keeping my fingers crossed.

Vocation Training...

There have been quite a few changes in the street school that we are running in the rose
garden. As mentioned earlier, a lot of grown up (above 17yrs) boys had also started
coming to the school...most of these boys polish shoes and encouraged their younger siblings to beg. The good thing was that all of these boys showed eagerness in learning to read and write and always showed up in time for the class. Apart from studying, we did a lot of talking during the class…this was mainly done to understand their issues, to win their trust and to encourage them to move away from begging.

We talked about various other skills that they could learn. They also understood that begging or polishing shoes would not sustain them for long… and showed interest in learning some vocation. With the help of Pramod (from yuvasatta), I approached the director of "Jan Shikshan Sansthan" – a vocational institute aided by the government. The response from the director was phenomenal…he agreed to send a senior manager from his institute to give a pep-up talk to the boys and to give a brief description of all the courses that are available and also what he thought these boys could learn. Finally, it was agreed that the boys would learn stitching and tailoring for two hours a day and continue with their regular work of polishing shoes in the evenings. Half of the cost of the course would be taken up by the institute and the other half would be taken up by us. The total cost to us is about Rs.1500 ($33) per month. Please email me if you would like to support this effort.

8 boys have started going to this institute regularly and so far have shown a lot of enthusiasm...they also didn't want to discontinue their studies so we have decided that i will go and teach them 2 to 3 times a week after their tailoring class. So far this has worked for a week and at the end of the class the boys feel a sense of accomplishment. It is a pleasure to see their beaming faces. i hope that the enthusiasm and the pleasure continues...

PS: some of these boys are also selling corns in the evening…see the next posting for details.

***the school at the rose garden continues since the younger children still come there.

Vocation Training...

There have been quite a few changes in the street school that we are running in the rose garden. As mentioned earlier, a lot of grown up (above 17yrs) boys had also started coming to the school...most of these boys polish shoes and encouraged their younger siblings to beg. The good thing was that all of these boys showed eagerness in learning to read and write and always showed up in time for the class. Apart from studying, we did a lot of talking during the class…this was mainly done to understand their issues, to win their trust and to encourage them to move away from begging.

We talked about various other skills that they could learn. They also understood that begging or polishing shoes would not sustain them for long… and showed interest in learning some vocation. With the help of Pramod (from yuvasatta), I approached the director of "Jan Shikshan Sansthan" – a vocational institute aided by the government. The response from the director was phenomenal…he agreed to send a senior manager from his institute to give a pep-up talk to the boys and to give a brief description of all the courses that are available and also what he thought these boys could learn. Finally, it was agreed that the boys would learn stitching and tailoring for two hours a day and continue with their regular work of polishing shoes in the evenings. Half of the cost of the course would be taken up by the institute and the other half would be taken up by us. The total cost to us is about Rs.1500 ($33) per month. Please email me if you would like to support this effort.

8 boys have started going to this institute regularly and so far have shown a lot of enthusiasm...they also didn't want to discontinue their studies so we have decided that i will go and teach them 2 to 3 times a week after their tailoring class. So far this has worked for a week and at the end of the class the boys feel a sense of accomplishment. It is a pleasure to see their beaming faces. i hope that the enthusiasm and the pleasure continues...

PS: some of these boys are also selling corns in the evening…see the next posting for details.
***the school at the rose garden continues since the younger children still come there.

Last sunday, we all got together at co-veda - (it is an alternate school for young children that lets us use their school building and play ground on sundays) and played cricket, football, badminton, carom board...some of the children did painting, played drums, harmonium, tabla etc and ended the day with dance and songs. there were a total of 35 childen who showed up....some of the boys were from the bapu dham colony and the others were the ones whom i teach in sector 17. they all had a great time....here are some pictures from that day ..

Uma and Nandini showing their artwork...















children loved using the watercolors..




















Commando (yes!! thats what is his name) trying his hands on tabla

a game of cricket and football...

more on the experiment...

here is a copy of the email that i wrote to a friend about this experiment....hopefully, this will give some idea as to how our experiment is going -

let me tell you more about this experiment. as mentioned in my blog, this started without any planning...i met a few children and i thought it would be great to connect with them and give them acceptance...teaching them to read and write was a way to connect with these children. so we started meeting in the rose garden...once a place was set, other people/children also joined us...the group dynamics really varied....there were rickshaw pullers, some children who make their living by begging or polishing shoes and a few ladies (who come randomly) who either beg or rag-pick...this group had never been to school and it seemed that they had never used a copy and a pencil before.

Then there were some boys who used to sell maps etc in the market. these boys are quite smart and had some exposure to education...some of them had also done their 10th. i felt that more than studies, this group needs guidance and so i thought of vocational courses for these boys and took them to various institutes....two of these boys have already started computer course...the others (who are not educated and cannot read and write properly) have decided to take the scooter repair course....as per their suggestion, before starting the course, we started a small pathshala in a park (under the shade of a tree) close to their locality...about 10 to 15 boys come regularly for 2 hours to learn to read/write english and hindi and also learn some basic mathematic skills. once these boys feel that they are ready then we will start their vocational training as well. to teach this group, we have hired a teacher (and paying him about Rs.1000). Since we didn't want to provide free education, these boys are more than willing to give Rs.20 a month to cover the expenses of notebooks and pencils. I visit the "pathshala" almost everyday and try to enourage them in every aspect. we also do some fun activities like painting or playing a friendly cricket/football match on sundays.

The other group with whom i originally started this experiment still comes to the rose garden...a total of about 10-15 children/adults come on a regular basis...it has been quite a challenge to teach this set of boys since their attention span is very very less (it started with a few seconds and now it is a few minutes :-)) so i try various ways like telling stories, making them paint, taking their pictures in digital format and exposing them to computer, encouragaing them to tell stories and also encouraging them to read and write....i have also tried to teach how to make paper bags to the younger boys so that they can sell the bags and earn a living...i have not been very successful in this endeavour as the boys are not very focussed and hard working...sometimes, the elder boys help making bags using newspaper and i give 5 bags to each boy (who beg) and ask them to sell it....they did come back for a few days saying that they got food (like paranthas ad chole/bathure) in exchange for these bags but lately, they have lost interest. my intention is to encourage (in a subtle way) these children not to beg. This i try to do in indirect ways by telling stories etc. For the other grown up boys (rickshaw pullers and boot polisher who are quite motivated to learn to read and write) - i think once they are a little focused i will encourage them to take some vocational course.

On the whole, i am having a lot of fun working with these children.

Physical Development

As for sports, these children are quite good at cricket and football (infact the boys who sell maps etc have formed their criket and foot ball teams and are always upto challenge any team in chandigarh for a match)...infact, we did do a friendly cricket match with these boys a few weeks back. Now, we are planning to meet again this sunday for some games and other fun activities.

Help Required

- The help that we need the most is that of volunteers with immense patience who can teach these children and at the same time provide guidance in a subtle way...so if any of you guys are visiting India then do plan to spend some time with us in chandigarh.

- we also need help in finding inspiring/entertaining stories that encourage these children to work hard and to stop begging and telling lies.

- apart from that, i need help in finding alternate ways of generating some income for the younger boys who beg...i cannot tell them to stop begging till i give them an alternative (which is important for them)...their parents would never send them to school and expect them to bring home some money to put food on the table. So any ideas in this regard would be welcome.
- toys, paints, story books etc are always welcome :-)

the experiment continues...

it is almost a month since we started this experiment (am still not what name to give to this effort or should we give a name at all??) with the street children in chandigarh...the objective was simple - to reach out to these who are on the fringes of our society and give them love and acceptance (something that i had learnt at manav sadhna and had found it very powerful).

i remember that on the very second day of this experiment Anike and Sunny (two kids who earn their living either by begging or polishin shoes)) were walking by my side to see me off and all of a sudden they just scooted off...and left me standing totally dazed wondering what had happened...then i turned back and saw a local police officer with a "danda" in his hand...it was obvious that this guy had created quite a terror in the mind of these children. he approached me and told me very politely (surprisingly)that there is nothing i can do for these children...they are hibitual liars and thieves and nothing can be done to improve them and that if ever i report to him of anything missing, he would not be responsible. i thanked him for his warning and told him that they have become what they are because of their circumstances and the environment...i want to do my part of giving them acceptance and showing them an alternate world where love exists.

And that is what we have been trying...for the first few days, nobody used to show up at the time we used to decide to meet...i had to go around 17-sector looking for these children and there were times when i was able to locate them but then a lot of times i was not able to find them...when ever i was able to locate these children, they looked at me and beamed a
smile and were always eager to scribble on their notebooks. they were proud that they had notebooks with their names on it :-)

today, these kids show up on their own (Anike is regular and Sunny also shows up sometimes)...we have a permanant place in rose garden where we meet at 10:30am. the kids don't own a watch but they are generally more panctual than i am :-)...the first day i saw them waiting, it was quite a joyous moment for me...it meant that they had started trusting me. now everytime i walk upto rose garden and see from a distant these kids hanging around that tree where we sit, a natural smile comes on my face...it is a delight to see them there ...waiting to start writing or scribbling or colouring :-))

i also made a few friends while i used to walk around sector 17 looking for these children...most of these friends are in the age group of 15-20 and sell maps and books in the market...they were always eager to interact and i came to know through these interactions that their sales were quite dismal in summers and they were looking for some work and that most of them have not gone to school beyond class 2 or 3. when i asked them if they would like to read and write...they showed a lot of eagerness. so they also joined the gang and started showing up for our informal school...again the motivation was to give them acceptance and then see what direction they give to this effort. they were also quite happy with owning a notebook and learning english (because they wanted to speak engish with their customers).

on meeting them everyday i realized that since the summer mornings and afternoons are so hot, they pratically end up doing no business in the morning. i suggested to them if they would be interested in taking vocational courses...some of them showed eagerness and i took them to an institue where they teach all kind of vocations - plumbing, electrical work, mechanical,
forging etc...i did not push them towards any course...i just showed them what all existed and left it on them to decide. after a few days of discussion they decided on learning scooter repair work. And they also wished to continue to learn read and write.

Now, they are helping us start a small school in their sector...we have hired a teacher (a young boy from their colony) and are now looking for a place to run this school. "Yuvasatta" is helping us in getting the place (who incidentally were starting a school for children in the same sector) and also providing volunteers. The desired date to start the school is 15th of this month...a lot of boys have already enrolled in and are eagerly waiting to start reading and writing.

At the same time, we are also trying to get the scooter repair training and computer training (for the boys are matric pass) started...there is an institute that has offered to provide training to these boys at a subsidized rate...i am keeping my fingers crossed :-)

we do need volunteers and funds (for vocational courses) for this project so if you would like to help in any way, let me know (gagchaw@yahoo.com).

more later...

***amit often accompanies me and is teaching photography to some of the bigger boys (who enjoy playing with the camera and the laptop). recently, a volunteer from yuvasatta - Puneet has also started accompanying me on a regular basis. And sometimes, random people who come to the garden stop and join the gang for a day. today we were joined by another young man - Devinder who had seen me teaching a few days back and wanted to help. this guy has come from Uttranchal to look for job. He has enjoyed the experience of teaching so much that he has offered to come everyday...infact, he said that he will now look for an evening job :-)

Chander and Laksman - they sell popcorns in the rose garden and are quite good in studies...

Rohit and Commando - they polish shoes in sector 17 market...


Raja, Shankar and Sanjay...

Vicky - he sells maps in sector 17 market and does not know how to read and write...he has been helping me in getting the school started in his sector and has been motivating a lot of young boys to come and study or do some vocational course.

Tulsia trying to scribble something on her notebook...

most of these boys sell maps/road maps etc in the 17-sector market and are uneducated. they have become a part of the experiment (mentioned below) and are very eager to learn to read and write.

knowing that most of these boys have never attended school for more than 2 or 3 years, they have amazed me with their mathematical skills!!

an experiment...

whenever i came back to chandigarh, i always felt restless and uncomfortable...reason was simple - i was not doing anything where my heart was. so the other day inspired by the street schools run by manav sadhna, i went to sector 17 (biggest market of chandigarh) with an intention to interact with some street children there...i did not plan as to what i will talk to them or what i will do ...i just walked into the market and kept my eyes open for any street children. i met two street smart boys - Anike (about 10yrs) and Sunny (about7 yrs)...they were carrying a bag on their shoulders...the bag had shoe polish and brush. i approached them and tried breaking the ice by requesting them to polish my "chappals"...they were eager to do the job and thus, our interaction started...

we had lunch together and chatted a little about their life ...they told me that they often have to beg for food because they are not able to find enough customers for polishing shoes (i later found out that most of these young children carry these bags with shoe polish and brush to escape the police...their real work is begging)...i could make out that there were a lot of things that they said were not true (infact, they did not tell me their real name till they thought they could trust me) but my intention of being there was not to judge them....i was there to be with them. they told me that they would love to read and write and that they knew how to write "A,B and C". then they showed me their skills by writing on the cemented floor with a stone. i asked them if they would be meet me the next day to learn to read and write ...they said "yes". and so the experiment started...with no agenda or plans...the only plan is to go out and give love and acceptancce to these children. everything else will hopefully flow from there...

i went again the next day with some notebooks, pencils, sharpners, erasers and a nailcutter...i was not sure if i would be able to find these kids or not...(since sector 17 is a big market) i went to the place where we had decided to meet...they were not there. then i went to the place where they said that they usually worked...talked to a couple of other street children and shoe polish boys and was finally able to locate them. Another boy - Raja joined me. these kids were happy to see me (they probably didn't show up at the place we had decided because they thought i would not come). we had lunch together and then we sat in a corner and i gave them notebooks and pencils...i had not planned as to what was i going to teach them but the sheer joy on holding a pencil and a notebook was such that i really didn't have to do much...they simply enjoyed scribbling on their notebooks. it was quite a wonderful experience to watch their street smart demeanor melting away with each stroke of the pencil...

it has been more than a week now since i started this experiment...so far it is going pretty well. i go there without much agenda. i get the direction from these children - we sit together and do whatever the kids want to do...if they want to learn to write a new letter or a number then they do that...if they want to draw then they are welcome to take a plain sheet of paper and draw whatever they like.

i might teach them how to make carry bags using newspaper. i have discussed the idea with them and they have shown enthusiasm to learn the skill but first i have to learn to make these bags :-) (i did take one lesson from one of the kids at manav sadhna but i do need to practice my skills).

more later...

being on the road...

being on the road...

one of the places amit and i had been really wanted to visit was manav sadhna in ahmedabad...after having read so much about Jayesh Bhai and manav Sadhna on Nipun's website, it was really not possible for us to be in India and not visit them. in February, i decided to head out...amit had some micro-hydel related work in Barot so he decided he would join me whenever he gets a chance.

i started with a visit to my sister in Jamnagar for one week...i got to spend extended period of time with my nephew and brother-in-law...it was great to be with them.


after that i headed to ahmedabad - i reached there in the evening and ShirishBhai from Manav Sadhna showed me the guest house where i was supposed to be staying....it was a beautiful 2 bedroom old house close to the Gandhi Aashram. the entrance had an old-fashioned swing made of iron, which gave it quite a rustic look. the place had a very serene quality to it…with peacocks freely moving around in the backyard….later, I learnt that Gandhiji and Vinobha Bhave had also stayed in this place.

i was a little skeptical on that first evening there...i was not sure what i was going to do at manav sadhna...i knew about their work via their website but i had not come to ahmedabad with any specific project in mind...i was there to volunteer in whatever way i could and in turn be inspired by these wonderful people i had so heard about. And so that night i prayed..for guidance...to get involved in whatever project that could benefit from whatever little i could contribute...with this prayer, i left it to the universe to take care.

believe me, the universe responded - to put it rightly - my first day at manav sadhna was quite effortless - no effort to make friends, no effort to get involved in any project...no effort to feel that I belonged there...the manav sadhna team is so loving and welcomes anybody who comes at their door with open arms. just be there and flow with whatever is happening around.

in the first few hours of my being there, i met Marielle who was volunteering for the Friends without border project and asked me if i could help her with sorting the letters (letters written by Indian children to the Pakistani children…read their website for more details on the project)!! And i got this opportunity to contribute a little to this wonderful effort.

thereafter, i just flowed and was touched in so many numerous ways by these amazing people.

PS: amit also joined me the my last week there and was able to share the beautiful experience.

a day in barot...

amit and i are in Barot – the closest village to our micro-hydel site - Rooling. It is a beautiful place with river Una flowing on one side and the hills on the other side. there are a couple of other small villages with funny names like Tikkan, Jhatingiri, Ghitasini etc around this place. there are no places to stay except for a PWD guest house and 2 small hotels that were built in the last 2 years. the road (that was build just a few years back) is wide enough for only one vehicle to pass. There are no vista points as is common in the US... every place offers a beautiful vista of the vast landscape.

A few kilometers from Barot is the micro-hydel site that was allotted to amit's dad in 1997. our project is on one of the nallah - Roolang that meets the river Una. we are here to get the detail survey of our site started. this survey is one of the steps to determine the feasibility of this project.

whether we do this project or not, the journey is quite interesting. there are a lot of questions, uncertainties and doubts - uncertainty about all the government clearances, land acquisitions (private as well as forest); questions and apprehensions about the impact of this project on the villagers - are we disturbing the environment by such huge construction in this beautiful landscape? are the villagers going to be happy? what about the people who would lose their land? these villages are already electrified and so the power that would generated would be added to the national grid. so honestly speaking they would not have any direct benefit from this project except employment for a few years. what we do plan is to understand the needs to these villages and help in what ever way we can.

so while the detail survey of the landscape is going on - amit and i are attempting to break ice with the villagers...we are trying to interact as much as possible and try to find out their feeling about this project and also to understand more about their life in this beautiful landscape.

In that attempt we set out on foot to explore the village…we noticed that almost all farms were filled with people picking potatoes...it seems the potatoes were ripe and ready and it was time for the next sowing season of jowar. we also noticed that a lot of children had taken off from school to work in their farms… we also walked into one of these farms where a woman and her son were picking potatoes and volunteered to pick some potatoes with them...the first reaction was obviously of doubt but then they saw that we were serious. the lady showed us the way ...picking potatoes is not a very easy task - you keep a small sickle in one hand and with your knees on the ground (these people sit on their feet), you keep digging the land to find potatoes and collect these in a basket. needless to say that we were quite pathetic and slow in the beginning but later got the hang of it...i am not sure for how long were we there but while i was doing this act of picking the potatoes, i realized later that i was totally in the moment...it was like life was moving slow - one potatoes at a time :-).

we were rewarded for our hard work with a lot of warm smiles and a bag full of potatoes!!

PS: we also barged into somebody's house to see a gherat (hydro-power flour milling machine). the owners showed us the operation with a lot of pride and enthusiasm. they also showed us their trout farming tank. while we were leaving the lady also presented us with "ghia". it was very refreshing to see their openness and unpretentious behavior.

pps: one of the good things about being in barot is that you get ample time to pen down your thoughts...once it is dark outside there is hardly anything to do...the village becomes very quiet with the only sound that you can hear is that of children playing and dogs barking...there is no TV connection in this hotel that we are staying... the cell phones don't work as well. So you either read, walk, talk, eat or write :-))

the "bhel" experience

there is this street hawker (thela) where we live, where Amit and i generally go to eat "bhelpuri". both of us like to engage in conversation with street vendors and while chatting with this guy, it came to our knowledge that one of the biggest issue these hawkers face is harassment from the local municipal corporation (MC). since the hawkers are not provided with any license to sell their wares, they are at the mercy of these MC officials. the MC personnel come anytime, confiscate the hawker's stuff and then usually demand a bribe to give them back their belongings. the MC officials obviously don't expect the street vendors to leave their spots once they leave – their only motivation is to make a quick buck. Which sadly, is what usually happens.

anyways, we have had bhelpuri from this vendor (thela) a couple of times and whenever it came to throwing the used paper plate - he used to ask us to discard it in the open – right next to the steel railing where he stands. It was not acceptable to us to throw trash there, so we would generally take it with us and throw it whenever we had access to a trash can. on this particular visit again the same thing happened but this time in the spirit of being the change we wish to see, we went to a store nearby and brought a small trashcan and took it to the hawker - urging him to use it.

We had hoped that the hawker would be happy seeing a solution to his littering problem, instead, he got a little edgy on seeing the trashcan and said that he would not be able to keep it because:

- if he keeps it next to his “thela” the chances are very high that somebody would steal it (since it is of good quality) when he is not around.

- he does not want to own it or tie it to his thela because that would mean extra load for him, which in turn would make it very difficult for him to run when the MC official come for their sudden raids.

at the same time, this guy did understand our sentiment and was ready to take the trash can only if we would accept the money we had spent on it ...we obviously didn't want him to pay for something that he does not want. so there we were ---trying to find a solution to a simple issue like throwing used paper plates, but we had failed. at the end of it, the "bhelpuri" guy proposed a solution – he would tie a "teen ka dibba"(can of tin) with a chain to the railing next to his “thela”. It will be something that he will not have to carry around and the “tin ka dibba” is not good enough for people to steal. we had no option but to take the extra trashcan home.



***we had read and heard a lot that no change is possible (or sustainable) till it is chalked in participation with the people who will be affected by the change. We also thought we understood this. But i guess, we did not realize that it has to be practiced in every little thing that comes our way....hopefully, this small incident serves as a lesson to remember:-)

reflections...

- today, while listening to Rev. Heng Sure , i once again felt the need to cultivate all that i cerebrally know...all what he said about awakening, spirituality, awareness, mindfulness in everyday life made perfect sense. the problem with us is that we cerebrally know and understand a lot of these things but to cultivate it in daily life requires deep sincerity...e.g. we all know that before reacting to any situation in anger or frustration, we should think and reflect and then act. but how many times are we able to practice it? isn't it easier to react at that moment? but isn't it also true that after reacting, we regret when our mind has cooled down and after we have reflected on the matter?? Won't it be good if we are able to control our reactions? And reduce the number of regrets in our lives?

- the key to all practice is awareness, awareness and awareness.

- i realized today that we often judge people harshly to feel good about ourseleves. so if we start loving ourselves, we might not feel the need to judge people harshly.

"black like me"

"Black Like Me" is one of the most revealing books that i have read. it not only reveals the racism that existed in america, it also makes you peep inside and look at the subtle prejudices that we form in our everyday life.

the author of the book John Griffin darkened his skin (through medical means) and lived in the world of the black man to experience their reality … this book is his journal of living as a “negro” and as he says “I offer it in all it’s crudity and rawness”. his sorrow, despair and shame when he realizes how deep the prejudices are and how there are so many people who are in complete denial of the issue is very heart rendering.

his analysis and conclusion about the issue are also very informative. one of the main reasons he cites for white supremacy is lack of communication amongst the races . as per his findings, the white man never communicated honestly with a “Negro”. as he says in his book - "always, in every encounter even with good whites, we had the feeling that the white person was not talking with us but the image of us".

even though this book is about racism in america, i think the book is relevant in all times and places. the prejudices, lack of communication and dishonesty within ourselves are prevalent everywhere and that’s what this book knocks at....

one of the passage from the book that really touched me...

“The music consumed in its blatant rhythm all other rhythms, even that of the heartbeat. I wondered how all of this would look to a casual observer, or to the whites in their homes. “The niggers are whooping it up over on Mobile Street tonight”, they might say “they are happy” or as one scholar put it, “despite their lowly status, they are capable of living jubilantly.” Would they see the immense melancholy that hung over the quarter, so oppressive that men had to dull their sensibilities in noise or wine or sex or gluttony in order to escape it? The laughter had to be gross or it would turn to sobs, and to sob would be to realize, and to realize would be to despair. So the noise poured forth like a jazzed-up fugue, louder and louder to cover the whisper in every man’s soul “you are black. You are condemned”. This is what the white man mistook for “jubilant living” and called “whooping it up”. This is how the white man can say “they live like dogs” , never realizing why they must, to save themselves, shout , get drunk, shake the hit, pour pleasures into bellies deprived of happiness. Otherwise, the sound from the quarter would lose order and rhythm and become wails."

quick update...

have not written about our journey for the last so many days…in between this time, we went for a back packing hike in the grand teton…camped in isolated wilderness with no body around us for miles and the only sound that could be heard was of animals or of the wind hitting the giant trees (we saw a woodpecker for the first time pecking the wood with all it’s might to look for something to eat)….it was a tiring yet refreshing experience. From grand teton we headed to the yellow stone national park – one of the most beautiful and dynamic park in north America…did a lot of site seeing and saw a lot of geysers and springs with amazingly beautiful colors formed because of the algae and bacteria that thrive in these springs…making us realize how resilient life is. Also got to see quite some wild life at the park - elks, bisons, marmots and even a bear though from a safe distance.

From Yellowstone we went to glacier national park….once again we witnessed so much of beauty outside formed because of so many forces of nature (including the destructive forces) that came together over a millions of years….all the beauty encouraging to cultivate the beauty within.

We were also lucky to be able to attend the 59th annual native American festival and got to learn more about the black feat native Americans in browning – native americans from all over the us come to celebrate this powwow….it was a wonderful and the most colorful experience…lots of dances, beautiful, colorful and elaborate dresses, broad smiles and excitement everywhere. It was quite funny telling these people that we were Indians from India J. Something that really impressed me was their way of singing and beating the drums…there was a group of 8 to 9 young men sitting around a big drum …beating it and singing with all their might, energy and passion. i don’t know how to describe the singing…at times it was like soulful and haunting wails…and at times it reminded us of howl of animals…we are not sure if they were using words in their singing or not….but watching them sing with so much of passion did touch our hearts.

Yesterday, we entered Canada and are now in the waterton park (Canadian side of the glacier national park).

*** did I tell you that in these last couple of days , we lost our car keys twice…once when amit threw the car keys into the garbage can with the other garbage…you have to realize that it was not easy to open the garbage can because it was one of those bear protected trash cans. eventually we were able to open the can but not before becoming an amusing spectacle for a lot of people….

The second key experience was at the st. mary campground where amit kept the car keys in his jeans pocket and then decided to change into shorts…neatly folded his jeans and kept it inside the car and locked the car…only to realize immediately that the key is inside!! Thanks to AAA we got our keys.

Will keep you posted on more key experiences.

Glacier National Park

beargrass valley..enroute to iceberg lake..

Glacier National Park

more dances...

Glacier National Park

iceberg trail..

Glacier National Park

spring flowers enroute to the hidden falls trail..

Glacier National Park

drumming and singing..

Glacier National Park

singing for the dance....

Glacier National Park

indian festival at browing

Glacier National Park

our campsite in the beautiful meadows of glacier national park..

glacier national park..

aspen, pine and fir growing together...