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planetWHYKids

one of a kind

a planetWHY child learns, to express his opinions and defend them with confidence... to stand without fear for what is just and to ask with conviction for it's rights... he discovers his country with pride and learns above all to be a true and honest Indian.
we invite you to meet the planetWHYKids!

Sonu

1987 2004

Sonu is 17, and the most beautiful thing about him is his smile... Sonu always smiles.... and seeing him do so, you would not believe that Sonu suffers from a life threatening genetic disorder.
Sonu has muscular dystrophia.
Born a normal child, Sonu started loosing muscle control over the years. Today his body is crippled and he can barely move.
But do not think Sonu is a unhappy young man... Despite all his problems, Sonu has a love for life that is infective and endearing.
He loves music, movies, computers and girls... he *is* 17 isn't he?
Sonu cannot move by himself, as he has lost the use of his legs, but can still use his hands a little, with lot of difficulty and pain...
Every morning,as he reaches the centre and is carried to class, he wants to 'rush' to the computer room. He has become quite proficient with mouse and keyboard, and despite his limited mobility, he has mastered many things. He is a wizard with MSWORD and MSPAINT, and can reproduce even the most complex ad from a newspaper.
Sonu loves people and gets along with everyone...
Sonu is extremely creative, and loves bead work. At the vocational centre, he makes stunning bracelets and necklaces in the brightest of colours...
Sonu has been with us for almost three years, and rarely misses a day at the centre.
But Sonu's unforgivable disease has a mind of its own, and is progressing far too rapidly. In the last few weeks, Sonu has been deteriorating, he is even finding it difficult to hold his head. At his home, gloom has descended as Sonu's elder brother succombed to the same disease, at about the same age.
At project WHY, we keep a brave face, but deep in our hearts we know that Sonu will soon leave us.
As I write these words I am overwhlemed by a feeling of sorrow and helplesness. When Sonu came to us, we knew this day would come. We wanted to make his life happy and full of joy. I think we did. Our only resolve today, is to ensure that Sonu's remaining days with us are bright and happy. It is not easy to keep a brave face, as Sonu is the darling of all. How can we not have a lump in our throats when we look at Sonu smile!
Today, I want to believe in miracles....
March 2004
the miracle did not happen, they never do.. such is life
October 2004

Sanju

the desire to learn!

as students and teachers were settling down for a secondary class in the park, a little fellow came by and started pulling at the saree of one of teachers to get her attention. when she looked down she saw a smiling face looking at her and wanting to say something.

that is how sanju entered planetWHY.
as he kept on tugging at her saree, she realised he wanted to take her somewhere. she followed him and he guided her to his home where he picked up a copy book and indicated he also wanted to *sit* in the class. never mind if he was 3 and the rest of the students in their teens. Sanju is 3, he is speech impaired and is now in our early education programme. but his desire to learn is such that he often sneaks into bigger classes and sits down to listen and imbibe almost intuitively the knowledge that is being shared. his dad is a bus driver and his mother a simple housewife and sanju has 3 siblings.
sanju understands everything though he cannot speak. he is bright, aware and loves the company of people.
sanju has a long way to go, but we know he will go far in life, for sanju is fired by the desire to learn.

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Shivam

learning to feel the world

Shivam is three. a lovely looking child who should be running and playing and laughing like all others his age. Look at him closer, you start why his eyes do not open. Well little Shivam is visually impaired since the day he was born
His mother brought him to us and our heart went out to this lovely lady as she carried her child, with hope written all over her face. A quick look at his medical records and we knew the tragic yet indubitable reality: Shivam could never see, his optic nerve was damaged!.
Shivam is now a projectWHY kid, and projectWHY is a place where hope and joy prevails. We will teach Shivam how to feel the world and experience things. What si even more poignant is that Shivam seems to also have behavioral problems and maybe shades of autism. As he rocks gently, or taps his head in an obsessive patter, we know that somehow, Shivam has landed on a wrong planet, where he will have to learn ways that are not really his. We will ensure that the learning is a pleasurable experience and see that Shivam gets the best life he possibly can

Sangeeta

my mom keeps my dreams safe

Sangeeta is 8 and is already in class IV. No mean feat for a slum child with illiterate parents.
Sangeeta's life is not easy. She has two siblings and an alcoholic father. He is a rickshaw driver, but does not bring a penny home. he spends it all drinking.
But Sangeeta has a mother with a fighting spirit who refuses to see the lives of her children ruined because of a careless and irresponsible father. She mom cleans homes in the day, and in the evening she sets a little corn stall where she toils till as late as 9 or 10pm. Not easy for woman, particularly in an unsafe town like Delhi. But she has her children's dreams to look after.
Sangeeta loves studying and works really hard. She also likes projectWHY and particularly Shipra ma'am. When she grows up, she wants to be a primary school teacher and wants to ensure that small children are educated..
we know she will do it, as sangeeta has the same spirit as her mother

Anita

a spirited young girl!

Meet Anita.
She is a bright, beautiful, vivacious young girl of 16. She is intelligent and good in her studies. She is in class X. A happy young girl one would think. Well far from that.

Anita is the eldest of 5 children. Her father is an abusive alcoholic who fritters away the little he earns as a junk dealer. Mine, her mom now works for projectWHY, but spent long years being abused by her husband. And those were anita's growing years. Every evening, she dreaded her father's homecoming, praying silently that he would just not come, as it happened some days. But when he came home, it was always a horror tale. He used to beat them all, and most of all her mother as she ran helter skelter trying to shield her children. Often he would throw the cooked food into the drain and those nights everyone slept hungry. There were even days when Anita had to call in the neighbours and take a bleeding mother to the hospital. There was no money for books or any thing else. She thoughts things could not get worse, but they did. As she grew into her tens there were nights when her father tried to assault her, those were the worse nights as her mother fought him hard and often got badly hurt. One night he even attacked her with a knife. That is the time when we started our centre and Anita was one of our first students.

very soon, we sensed that something was amiss. Anita was a good and attentive student but somehow we could sense a sadness in her. One day her mother came in tears, asking for help and the whole story unfolded.
Today Mina works for us and is the one who looks after all hospital cases. She is slowly getting empowered. She does not have to depend on her erratic husband for food or school fees and books.
Anita has started to smile, and trusts life again. she is determined to complete her studies, then wants to do a computer course and study to be a Chartered Accountant. She wants to make up for lost years and we are determined to see that she does. And believe it or not, this spirited young woman loves to play football and learn karate.

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