about The Bicycle Project

Below is the jist of another article in the Reader’s Digest. And RD has one such article in every edition. One article about a person who made a difference to the people around him. India is still a developing country. We need to still conquer our major drawback : that the majority of our population is under the poverty line and without a decent education. The two examples from RD  that I’ve put in are but examples to show that the best way to transform our nation is if every person becomes responsible for their immediate surroundings. If we just have a heart and alleviate the pain of those that we can see suffering. Large scale ventures and NGOs help, but a more drastic change can be brought about if we educate and uplift the poor within our reach. If we all do a little, we can accomplish a lot.

Given what I’ve observed of people in our colony, some simple acts I can suggest to make a difference are:  sponsor your maid’s child’s education; don’t feed your maid what you wouldn’t eat; give free meals to at least one needy child; treat Indian streets, parks, places with the same cleanliness and awareness you would show if you were abroad; for every 3 new dresses you buy, donate at least one to the poor; don’t pluck flowers from public places ( I know you wouldn’t if you were abroad); treat the poor, plants and trees with compassion and dignity; contribute 1% of your salary to making your neighborhood, and the poor in it, better.

And here’s the jist of the promised article: Mr. Hemant Chabra, a 47 yr old businessman from Mumbai, started what he calls The Bicycle Project. During his visit to his organic farm, he was at a bus stop where he saw several school children walking to the school in rain. The school being more than 2km away took them about 2 hrs to reach. The distance and the subsequent effort was a major deterrent for the kids to continue going to school. Mr. Chabra immediately had an idea and with his friends started this project. The idea was simple. It was to collect old bicycles and repair them and give them to these kids. At first even the simple idea seemed daunting, cause where would one get these old bicycles? and how about the transportation of these bicycles for repair and then to the kids? But its like with all good ideas, everything, though arduous, was eventually accomplished. Mr. Chabra works on the bicycle project in all his spare time left from the business. I guess more details can be found in RD, and people from Mumbai should consider contributing used bicycles for the noble cause.
And lastly, Mr. Chabra sets again the example of the difference people can make to their immediate surroundings if only they have a desire to bring about a change. And everyone, despite their stature, can bring this change. All it needs is a desire to see people around you happier!

(guest entry by Padmini)

Videos

videos that were made in Aug’07 of the kids can now be found here

A note of Thanks

I felt so encouraged when people praised me for my environmental work. Then slowly some people like Mrs Mujumdar, Mr. Bhattacharya, Mrs Mahapatra, sent me 500 rupees each to buy clothes for the children, and with my contribution, I could give them good dresses twice on big major festivals like Holi, and Devipuja. The children were so happy. Besides this Mrs. Mahapatra, and Mrs. Mukherjee sent me bagful of old clothes too (which are in very good condition) to give the children.

Finally, I was thrilled to get a letter from Mr. Prashant Goswami, that he would contribute money for this purpose, and I could not believe such things happen!! Well, at present I am fully busy with so many thoughts and ideas about how to spend that money in a right way. First I would deposit that in bank and whenever any child needs any money I would help him/her either for food, clothes or educational purpose. Besides this, I will start helping some 10, or 12 very poor girl children , teaching them the basic alphabets, and provide them copies and stationery. I will try to give them food twice a week, and buy good clothes for them. In return I will ask the children to take care of 5 plants each. They should grow along with them. It was so depressing to think about the life of our freedom fighters in Andaman Jail (which I recently visited), how they struggled with a torturous life under the British for so many years, in those conjested rooms. Their lives were sacrificed to give a better life to the citizens, to free us from bondage. We should pay tribute to them by lifting up our society. We need not face so many hardships, we only have to contribute a little effort and money. I wanted to plant a tree each in the name of those freedom fighters, (750 people) if possible. I WILL DO THIS WITH THE HELP OF MY LITTLE CHILDREN.

AND I THANK MR.PRASHANT GOSWAMY THOUSANDS OF TIMES FOR GIVING ME A HELPING HAND TO BOOST MY MOTIVE.

THANK U PRASHANT, THANK U A LOT, MAY GOD BLESS U WITH LOT OF SUCCESS IN LIFE. U ARE THE TRUE GANDHIAN.

About Kamalabhai Parmar

This month’s Reader’s Digest (Indian edition) talks about a man named Kamalabhai Parmar. Born into the poorest class of society, being a son of a labourer, he abandoned studies at the age of 12 to join a scooter repair shop and eventually prospered to open his own repair shop at 25. His lack of education motivated him to provide his children with good education. But that wasn’t it.

One day, when talking to a school girl about her exams, he found that children going to public schools often learn nothing and their parents are too illiterate to help them themselves and too poor to provide them with any external support like tutoring. This is when he started his evening coaching classes for free on a footpath. He eventually acquired benches and tables for the children (who grew to a staggering 150 in number) and gave them an evening meal after two hours of classes. He also started cooking meals for them on Saturdays. At one time he engaged four teachers paying them 500 rs per month. Two of his students got 85% marks in their exams and aspire to become doctors.

Children from the poorer classes in India often are born into families of 8 to 10. They lack any form of parental guidance. Some manage to go to school for free government meals but its a fact that these schools almost always fail to provide any form of education. From hunger, lack of education, parental care or any direction in life, they seek out ways for sustenance and start working at exceedingly early ages like 8. Jobs that they can ever hope to acquire range from being maids, coolies, begging etc and lead to an income of not more than a hundred rupees per month (if they are lucky). It is indeed very few like Parmar who grow up to be anything more than a rickshaw puller or a labourer. For these millions of kids in rags in India, dreams can only be made up of having three meals a day and having a roof to live under. That is why people like Parmar should be lauded because they give aspirations to these children that would have been impossible otherwise. He is giving them an ability to change their future and rise out of the utter poverty they were otherwise destined to. And it is often seen that these people, who rise out of the dreaded circumstances, would help more in future.
After seeing all the rich with their luxurious homes, wealth and the extent to which they are parsimonious about sharing it, I have little hope that any transformation in society would be brought about by them. Amidst all this, it is really motivating to see people like Parmar. I wish more of the middle class would learn from him that change can be brought about by anyone of any stature. It just lies in the desire to effect a change in what one feels is not just. Poverty is not just. Every child must be given a right to rise above the condition he/she is born into. Cheers to people like Parmar!

guest blog by Padmini. This article was narrated to me by mom.

Here’s a picture (, thought a really hazy one,) of Kamalabhai Parmar

Members of Environmental Sena

As promised, here’s information about the kids and more

ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AND MY CHILDREN GROUP(Environmental Sena)

 

WELL, I myself don’t know when I started all this. I remember a small incidence. I was going to Bokaro along with my family and we were waiting in the station for the train to come. Usually the stations are crowded with lot of small child beggars. So two small kids came to me for a little money. I thought instead of encouraging them into begging, let me give them some small work and pay. There was a lot of litter (cigarette pieces, numkin plastics, biscuit wrapers scattered carelessly by the civilized world all over). I asked those kids to clean that area and I would pay them 5 rs. each. They ran immediately to do the task and within five mins the place was clean. They were so happy to receive the money. Then I thought society, the Govt, people would never really do anything for environment, it should be an individual attempt on warfooting manner to do things.

We started the saga of planting trees some 10 years back. There were small pepal and baniyan saplings near the overbridge in the mainroad. They were growing abundantly even on the walls etc.. where the birds leave excrements, where as they would live thousands of years if planted in a proper place. So we stopped our scooter and asked one rikshaw wallah to pull out some saplings for some money. We planted them in the public places (in the name of our children) where there would be lot of sun and where people could rest in their shade. And we used to water them regularly while we had our evening walks.. carrying plastic cans. They grew so well that we started planting wherever possible, if there is a small tap (for watering). And we needed help to water them. So we engaged two poor children who wanted to study, telling them that we would look after their needs. Slowly this news spread and more and more children (unfortunately, in country like India.. they are so many… some even don’t have both parents.. pulling on meager incomes…) started coming for work. Today they are some 20 children who formed a group and come regularly.

With their help we could improve many places, planting many trees (Like Cooperative Stores surroundings, Recreation Centre, Near the Temple, Near Central school, and few more places in our colony, and the big maidan where it connects R&D and Mecon etc.)

And in return I cook their favorite dishes, which they can only dream of like chowmein, halwa, and hot milk (ordinary needs every child requires, and they cannot afford to get!!! Recenly in a party many rich children filled their plates fully and threw the things in dustbin without even touching them!!!!!)

Some people started recognizing the work and helped with a little money too. So if a single middle class ordinary person with the help of few children can develop so many areas, I think the women who regret for being only housewives and not being able to work can do wonders for the society. I read daily in the magazines how the celebrities, artists, famous people spend lakhs of rupees on material pleasures like buying hundreds of dresses, watches, shoes, two three flats etc.. why don’t they try to spend a little to develop the area around them providing employment and the needs to the needy, then there will be joy in their lives too.. Believe me and trust me… start this and see… You will be addicted to this.. You will want to do more things in life for OTHERS, FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE.. It gives you tremendous satisfaction which cannot be achieved with pursuing material pleasures.

Every person should adopt an area and try to develop, there will be no global warming in this way. Moreover if the needy people get help from the people, crime rate will come down drastically. Some poor children who came to us in the beginning were drug addicts too as they had no access to schooling. We kept a strict displine code telling them only those would come to us, who bath regularly, and who don’t have bad habits. The surprising thing is they developed love and interest too in planting. And some asked for fruits bearing saplings to plant near their huts. So we decided to give them good fruit bearing trees too. Its distressing to notice the apathy and careless attitude people have towards the environment. But still, we keep doing things in the hope that a day will surely come to make people realise their duty towards Mother Earth who bears us smilingly providing us with enormous bounty of nature’s gifts, flowers, fruits, vegetables, material for houses, clothes etc.. LETS GIVE BACK A LITTLE FOR HER TOO!!!!!

poverty and the world

i have been doing “sundarkanda” from “Ramayana” for the past two years. Suddenly, one day in my dreams (its true) I met with the Lord Bhajarangabali”. He was sad, saying these following words,

Seeta mata is no one but “the wealth of the world” who is captured by Ravan, the few “rich people”, where as 90% of the world is suffering with poverty, malnutrition, diseases and hell of problems. The Lord said that Lanka has to be destroyed, the rich can no longer enjoy all the wealth alone…. it will be either put to flames.. or before this happens its wise on their(the rich people) part to distribute the wealth equally among poor!!!!

To my surprise, I was awakened by an alarm bell….but the memory was as fresh as if it happened just now. So it is up to us to decide.

How can these rich people buy hundreds of new pairs of clothes, jewelery, shoes etc.. when millions of little children roam around in rags in front of their eyes????? Millions of little children starve for a square meal a day…. Please help them.

share and care. spend 10% of ur savings on less fortunate people. Your treasure will not become less with this simple measure.