Pehal- An AID Delhi Initiative

Hey, I crib about almost everything that i dislike. Perhaps 3-4 years into corporate life, you just live to crib about every godamn thing that goesn't go as per your expectations. My idea of a perfect weekend is to catch up with friends, go outdoors, have fun and party hard. But at the end of it all, I had still been cribbing about the pathetic state of our income distribution system and social infrastructure. Yes, that's one of the things i have always cribbed about while sitting in my a/c car and listening to the best of Rolling Stones or Kailash Kher. I would just pass a comment on a kid, begging at the roadside, for money or food, but wouldn't dare to do anything concrete for them. No matter how much of money I give to any noble cause or how much of my time I give to an orphanage, but I couldn't dare to be a change myself i.e. to get my hands into dirt to clean it up.

Heard about Pehal from somewhere and felt as if it would be another of those NGOs which are money making machines, rather than a facilitator of social infrastructure and change to the society. Reached the so-called "DT City Centre" (I always thought that DT City Centre was in Gurgaon) at 10.10 AM and didn't know what to do. Started calling up all those people who always complain that I never talk and am always busy for them, and then Prachi called up and talked about the construction building opposite to the Mall.

Woahhhh .... that was a not-so goodlooking sight!! Traffic Police guys (just outside the building) asked me where i am going, and my reply was "Sirji, yeh construction building mein jaana hai!". The guy said, "yahan parking nahi hai; kahin aur karo". My reaction to him was "FO, I'm taking it into that construction plethora; None of your business, Sir".
Anyway, I was in there - the site for my first experience with Project Pehal. There she was ... Prachi ... ummm ... Why would a girl like her be standing in the mid of debris, waiting for people to pour in for the session? And the moment she started talking, I could easily judge the passion for the cause and the project in her voice. Oooops, the girl had just so much to say and that too so quickly - probably a zillion things going in her mind in a fraction of a second. And the first thought was - Is she a fakester who is just running a money-making business?? we will come to that later... ;-)

So Prachi and I reached a secluded room where around 30+ kids had assembled with an expectation that they can be a part of our formal education system. She started telling me about the initiative and how we plan to help these kids with proper education and a sense to live a dignified life. Fair enough, let's wait for the others to join in...

Then came a couple of more volunteers - Swasthik, Nikita ... ummm these are all the names i can remember for now! :-(
We started making arrangements for the health camp - getting our ammunition ready!! You know the funniest part about the morning - Mariam would pronounce her name as Mairam, and Ashradul would say it in such a way that you would hear it anything but Ashradul ... "Ashu, dost ... inke liye kuch tuo karna banta hi hai" ... ;-) Bas yahich tha woh moment when I could associate myself with the cause!

The health camp went quite well with basic profiles of the kids created by us and observations made by a nice looking Dr. couple! And they had a very cute baby ... touchwood!! Toh all in all sab mast tha, but i failed to understand how anyone can determine the age of kids by asking them to open their mouth. :-) Yaar, Swasthik ... yeh hamare saath inn medical waalon ne dhoka kiya hai ... aisa koi funda nahi hota! Sorry, couldn't resist talkin about it ... ;-)

On a serious note, the health camp made us aware of where we stand and what all we need to do for the kids, so that they can live a life with clothes on their body and dignity in their mind. We need to work for the infrastructure, their personal hygiene, nutritional requirements and everything that a respectable life commands from the society. Trust me ... they need a life better than this! As humans, they deserve a life better
than this.

Oooops, I missed an important part of the morning ... Story telling session"Cindrella" and guess what - Nobody knows the actual story of Cindrella ... ;-)

Well, I think the morning made me think about the value that I can add to the team and the initiative. Miles to go before I sleep ... Trust me, that's true for all of us if we need to convert this into success!

Take care,
Ashish