Project WHY

Organisers believe that solutions lie in involving the community and the parents and making them aware of the role they have to play in the education of their children. Project WHY works to get the community to act and find alternatives to problems afflicting their children whenever possible. In keeping with these commitments, Project WHY is guided by a team whose members all come from within the community. The teachers at the centre are mostly from the slum itself; these personnel were, organisers claim, considered unemployable - certainly not as teachers (some had to leave their studies because of an early marriage or paucity of funds). Many of the centre's teachers are graduates of Project WHY; there is even one postgraduate teacher. The organisation's monthly budget of Rs 150,000 goes towards teachers' salaries and rental money that make up Project WHY. Today Project WHY runs 4 primary centres in different locations: one secondary centre, two early education centres and one day care for special children. It reaches out to over 500 children.

Project WHY began by offering the slum children a course in English. Then, with machines donated by friends, a computer centre was set up to teach the children basic computer skills. These offerings are not necessarily meant to replace formal education but to supplement and stimulate it: Children who attend afternoon school come to Project WHY in the mornings; those who go to school in the mornings drop by in the afternoons. Project WHY also cares for around 15 children with various forms of handicap; they are ferried to the centre in a 3-wheeler every day and are washed, fed, and taught self-care. Sewing, cooking and beauty care have recently been added.

Education is imparted at the centre in a simple yet creative way. For example, in an effort to bring to life a subject like civics, organisers devised the idea of drawing a detailed area map on a wall to which the children would relate. The "whyWALL" is the slum locality painted on a wall with all the salient areas marked on it. It also indicates the distance to the closest bus stop, dispensary, secondary school, and all other places that are of importance to everyday life. There is a space where children can write their findings and comments; organisers plan a series of activities prompted by what the children see. These activities cover topics like population, local administration, and essential services. Findings are included in a report prepared by all the children.

While continuing to provide education support, as it has grown the organisation has begun trying to solve other problems in the slum, taking up challenges and fighting for the rights of other underprivileged sections of society. One of the central areas of focus is the environment; "one of our most important task is to make every child that transits our planet, *aware* of the simple things around him that add value to life, and the ways he or she can make a difference." For example, "Once is not Enough" is a simple campaign that urges people to use things at least twice; children participate by suggesting to everyone they meet to carry tote and cloth bags when going to shops rather than using plastic ones.

Children, Education, Environment, Rights.

"We don't realise how much a dysfunctional school system contributes to social discord. The formal schools in fact end up convincing children from the slums that learning is beyond them. Add to that the abuse, mockery and caning and you have the perfect recipe for future outlaws," says Project Why founder Anuradha Goburdhan Bakshi. She explains that children from urban slums are unable to cope with their studies due to poor teaching conditions within the schools and lack of help at home. "Poor adults are without hope and their children will forever remain out of the 'good jobs' loop. Schooling for the poor, where it does exist, begins with the presumption that they can never be taught the core skills that good jobs need," says Bakshi.

What began in 2001 as a one-woman mission to address the capital's school dropout problem has turned into an initiative with 35 teachers addressing the problems of over 500 slum children, most of whom attend regular schools (the others are in pre-school or are differently-abled). Organisers claim that attendance at the centre is near 100%, and the enthusiasm to learn immense.

One of Project WHY's achievements has been the admission of all its school-going-age children into schools. No child has dropped out since Project WHY began; the Delhi drop out rates are approximately 58%. In March 2004, all Project WHY children passed their examinations; 5 students obtained their Class X Board and 6 students passed their class XII. In an effort to ensure that a centre like Project WHY can be created in any slum, organisers have formed a parents' committee - based on the belief that "What an illiterate parent cannot do in isolation, a group guided by an organisation like ours, can do extremely well."