
Readers of Daily (w)rite, if you’re here, please welcome Anouradha Bakshi, my friend, philosopher and touchstone for more than a decade.
She runs Project WHY, a little non-profit with a large heart, in New Delhi.
For this whole week, she’s taking over Daily (w)rite.
Please give her all the love and attention you usually give me, because she merits it far more than I ever will.
For the Write Tribe Festival of Words it is my absolute pleasure to blog for Damyanti Biswas.
For this week I’ll be blogging on word prompts posted at the Write Tribe.
Nurture means to care and protect, help and encourage someone while they are growing. This is often the role of the parent or caretaker.
But there are instances when this role is taken on by other entities and we at Project Why feel privileged to have been given the opportunity of nurturing young minds and watching them grow and bloom for the past two decades.
Today I would like to share the story of Anita. Anita came to us when she was a little girl as she joined us in Class I. I remember her lovely face and her large dark eyes filled with hope and trust. She was a quiet child who never gave trouble and a was a very good student.
Our team of teachers steered her on class after class, from primary to secondary helping and encouraging her at every step. She sat for her class XII Board exams and passed them with ease. Most of our students leave Project Why and though they keep in touch, our role often ends there. But not with Anita. There was more nurturing to come.
A few months after graduating from school, Anita came to us. She looked a little hesitant and somewhat worried. We gently coaxed her and soon she shared her problem with us. She wanted to continue her studies and do a B Com but her parents were unable to support her financially. Moreover as they were very traditional they were not willing for her to take a job on the market. The only place they would allow her to work at was Project Why as it was a place they felt their child would be safe. She wanted a job!
We gave it to her as we realised that our role as caregiver was not over. Anita joined as a primary teacher and continued studying for her B Com which she again cleared without issues.
We encouraged her to start taking secondary classes, building her confidence and motivation. She also registered for a Masters in Commerce. Everything seemed smooth sailing.
One day she came to us in tears telling us that her parents had fixed her marriage and she was to leave for the village the same evening. We were heartbroken as that also meant she would have to stop her studies. There was nothing we could do. Her family had left us no time to intervene: perhaps they knew we would have done so.
But what they did not know was that Anita was no more a child you could bully but a young woman who had found her voice. A few weeks later she walked back into the office, a huge smile on her face and told us that the marriage was off and that she was back as a teacher. The groom’s family had made unreasonable demands and Anita had put her foot down and refused the marriage offer. We realised that it was Project Why that had given her the confidence to take charge of her life and live it on her terms. We had truly nurtured her.
Today Anita Verma is finishing her Masters and is teaching the senior secondary classes at Project Why’s Govindpuri centre. She also takes care of the documentation at Project WHY. She is now a mature and confident young woman who will make all the right decisions in her life. At every step of her life, not only did the team of teachers help her with her studies, but they also instilled life long values and built her confidence and belief in herself. That is what nurturing is all about.
At Project Why we do not only educate children, we nurture them with love and patience.
Who has nurtured you? Who do you nurture in your daily life? What do you think of Anita’s journey of being nurtured at Project WHY?
Anouradha Bakshi is the descendant of an indentured labour and a freedom fighter, and the daughter of a senior diplomat. She travelled the world before settling in India.
A professor in French, an interpreter and a conference organiser, she found her true calling when she set up Project WHY in the year 2000.
She is a wife, and a mother not only to her two girls, but also to the scores of children whose dreams she holds in custody.
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Kudos to Anita for being courageous in putting her foot down in what she did not believe and even more to Project Why for aiding her to develop her brave voice and become self-reliant.
Thank you so much. At project why we try to give every child a voice so that they can stand for what is right
How encouraging to know there are still some in the world who’s ambition is not the almighty dollar, but rather to serve those less fortunate.
Thank you so much for your kind words. helping change lives is really most rewarding
Heartwarming indeed. More power to Anita and to Project Why. May she be inspiration to many.
Thank you so much. I know Anita and many others like her will inspire their communities and bring about change.
Thank you for sharing such an inspiring story, Anou’di! Wishing more power to Anita! She did go after her heart.
Thank you Esha. Anita is such a gentle but powerful soul who follows her heart and I know will make all the right decisions in life.
Now that’s a great story. She could have settled for but didn’t. She went after what she wanted.
Thanks you Alex. Anita could do what she did because she had found her voice.That is what we strive to do at Project Why.
That is a huge achievement, both for the project and for Anita. Even if her story had been the only success of the project (which it clearly isn’t!), it would have justified its existence – changing a life for the better. And Anita is clearly someone who is going to be of tremendous benefit to her community. Fantastic!
Thank you Mick. We are so proud of Anita. We are changing lives one at a time. Hope to share more stories in the future.
I hope to hear them!
Wow, this is great. More power to Project why.
Thank Amarjeet. We try and nurture as many children as we can.
Nice to see Anita standing up for her self and this is true nurturing.
Thank you so much for sharing: that’s a great post!
Greetings from Italy 🙂
Thank you Giovanni. Hope you come to India one day and to Project Why!
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Anita has turned out to be stronger and confident. More power to her. If a child is nutured in the correct direction then no one can stop them from flying.
You are so right Shubhra. No one can stop a child from flying is she if given the right chance. And we are able to do that because of the immense help and support we got. Feel so grateful and blessed.
Great story. Anita was well nutured and no doubt nurturing others too.
Thank you Suzy. Anita is doing a great job and we are so proud of her.
Reblogging this to my readers at sister site Timeless Wisdoms
Thank you so much Ana
Thank YOU so much, sister!
Great story. Good for Anita or standing up for herself.
Thank you so much. Anita is truly amazing. Helping her has been possible because of the help and support we get. My gratitude to all those who have helped Project Why