A Future for Meher

Back to School

2011-11-06T03:41:00.003+05:30

Meher and the other students from Project Why have headed back to school! As you can see from the photograph, they are all doing well and are excited to be back.

New Pictures of Meher at School

2011-09-26T05:47:00.004+05:30

This is a long overdue update, but Meher is doing extremely well at school, as she always does, and continues to receive straight A's. Even more importantly, she is very happy (as you can see from the pictures) and healthy and is enjoying herself immensely.

Emmy Nomination for "A Future For Meher"

2011-06-04T20:40:00.003+05:30

The documentary about our project, A Future For Meher, has been nominated for an Emmy award in the Community/Public Service (PSAs) category. The final revised version with the new score is here:

Many thanks to Joshua Avila and Ron Swanson for all of their work in putting together the final version.

New Score for "A Future For Meher" Documentary

2011-05-10T07:22:00.005+05:30

Thanks to Ron Swanson and Joshua Avila, musicians from Illinois who graciously volunteered their services to help support our efforts for Meher, the documentary now has a new score which sounds amazing!

You can view the film with the new score here:

Original Score Written and Performed by
Ron Swanson

Music Recorded and Mixed by
Joshua Avila
DUB VOX Studio Services
www.DUBVOX.com

Also, thank you to Rahul Chadha, our film editor, for putting the new version together.

Project Meher Chess Tournament and Fundraiser is a Huge Success

2011-05-05T05:21:00.002+05:30

On Saturday, April 30th, Chess Without Borders and Hough Street Elementary school held a chess tournament and fund-raiser for Meher's fund. The tournament was an enormous success, with both children and adults competing, raffles, and a concession stand.

Special thanks to Maggie Gruber and Canary Chia for organizing the event and of course, thanks to all the volunteers, competitors, and other supporters.

Documentary Featured at GiSCA Palooza at Teachers College

2011-04-27T19:46:00.006+05:30

On Saturday, April 23rd, A Future for Meher, the short documentary about our efforts to help Meher edited by Rahul Chadha was featured as part of the Global Initiative for Social Change Through the Arts (GiSCA)'s Spring Palooza at Teachers College, Columbia University.

The invitation to the event describes it as:
"The Palooza is GiSCA's signature annual spring event, a participatory, creative, meaningful, humorous and fun attempt to provoke and be provoked. Social Regime Change Begins at Home Too!! Join us to refill the soulful energies of students, faculty and staff to do effective work, while reinvigorating our commitment to living daily lives that resist and transform structural injustices in our communities and broader society.
The Palooza evening goes like this: we have a few 3-8 minute acts (theater, music, film, visual arts, sculpture, you name it), and then we have facilitated audience dialogue, then we repeat. Refreshments and an after-party round out the night."

The film was a big success and many people asked me about Meher and our efforts in India after the screening.

Program from the event (above)

Visit to Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School

2011-04-14T06:53:00.004+05:30

Today (Wednesday, April 13th) I visited students at the Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School in New York. The school is part of the Outward Bound network, and students and teachers embark on expeditions (similar to interdisciplinary units) as part of their curriculum.

Their current expeditions is called "Taking a Stand" and Ms. Shiney, a teacher at the school, invited me in to talk about fund-raising and advocating for Meher. The students had already learned a lot about India, Meher, and activism, and had great questions and ideas to share with me. After our discussion, the students made posters to show what they had learned and explain the issue and solution to the rest of the school.

It was a wonderful visit and I really enjoyed sharing Meher's story with the students.

Another Excellent Report Card

2011-04-07T18:42:00.003+05:30

Report cards have been issued and Meher has done excellently yet again. Her grades are straight A+s! She is now graduated from Prep (Kindergarten) and ready to enter first grade next term.

Happy Belated Holi!

2011-04-04T07:17:00.002+05:30

Here are some beautiful pictures of Meher getting ready for the Holi holiday (Festival of Colors that signals the beginning of Spring!) courtesy of Austen.

Spring Break

2011-03-28T01:23:00.004+05:30

href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YTJZL-2IaTk/TY-Wi3BaDcI/AAAAAAAABOs/-lIvLwWow34/s1600/IMG_0045.jpg">

Meher is back from school for a short break. She goes back on April 3rd, when the school will announce the end of term results. Then she will be entering Class 1! She is happy to be home and spending a lot of time at the Women's Centre, as always.

Visiting Day and End of Term

2011-03-23T02:20:00.005+05:30

Shanti Gyam International School's year just ended and all the students are now at home. Meher and Utpal will be returning for a little less than a month for a summer camp the school is running this year.

Here is a picture of Meher with Austen, a volunteer from Barrington who is working at the Women's Centre.

School Visitors Day

2011-03-05T01:14:00.002+05:30

Recently, Anou and Austen went to Meher's boarding school to see all of the Project Why kids. They are all doing well and receiving good grades in school as usual. Meher and Utpal may stay at Shanti Gyam International School over the summer, as there is a special summer camp program available this year.

Save the Women's Centre!

2011-03-05T01:11:00.003+05:30

I am including a link to a post from Anou here in an appeal to save the Project Why Women's Centre- due to lack of funds it is in danger of being shut down. It was while I was teaching at the Women's Centre that I first met Meher. 300 children, most of them little girls, are being educated there and countless work to benefit the surrounding community and women in particular takes place there.

http://projectwhy.blogspot.com/2011/03/save-our-women-centre.html

Documentary Completed!

2011-01-30T22:39:00.003+05:30

The documentary chronicling the story of our fund-raising efforts and the partnership between Chess Without Borders and Meher is finished. The first screening of the movie took place Saturday, January 29th at a chess tournament in Barrington.

You can view the film here:

A Future For Meher from Gorilla Face on Vimeo.

Special thanks to Rahul Chadha, our film editor.

New Pictures of Meher

2010-10-22T04:23:00.003+05:30

Meher is continuing to do well in school. She is enjoying herself as usual; here she is eating during a recent visit by Anou and Project Why staff.

Congratulations Meher!

2010-09-17T19:01:00.003+05:30

Results are out and Meher is first in her class! She received grades of A+ in all subjects. We are all so happy and proud of her.

Happy (Belated) Indian Independence Day!

2010-08-17T20:19:00.004+05:30

In honor of India's 64th Independence Day, there were festivities and performances at Meher's school. Here she is performing:

And here are all the kids after the ceremony:

Pizza!

2010-08-14T16:55:00.005+05:30

Recently Meher's uncle and some Project Why visitors went to see everyone at the boarding school. They brought pizza which was very warmly received. The children are doing well and enjoying school as always.

Here they are with the principal

Meher's Report Card

2010-08-03T12:48:00.004+05:30

Meher is doing very well at school, as you can see from her report card below!

Meher at School

2010-08-03T12:27:00.005+05:30

Last month, I went to visit Meher, Utpal, and the foster children from Project Why (Aditya, Babli, Vicky, Nikhil and now little Manisha) at their boarding school. The children were so happy to see us (my sister and cousins came as well) and very proud to show us around the school. Each child insisted we see his or her classroom, cupboard, and bed. They are all very happy to be there and told us how much they enjoy school. Meher in particular told me she enjoys schools, especially because "we eat lunch and play everyday."

Here is a video of Meher showing us her cupboard:

A New Friend and Supporter for Meher

2010-06-08T07:44:00.004+05:30

Thomas Parrish, shown above with his teacher Maggie Gruber and chess teacher GM Yury Shulman, is a chess student from Barrington, IL. He fund-raised for Meher already as part of the initiative through Chess Without Borders, chose to support Meher by asking for donations towards her education instead of gifts at her birthday party. The United States Chess Federation published an article about Thomas's efforts.

Soul Mates: Anou's post about Meher and Utpal

2010-04-14T08:43:00.002+05:30

From Anou's blog http://projectwhy.blogspot.com/2010/04/soul-mates.html

They are true soul mates and they have proved it more than once. And they are soul mates in more ways than one! Last Monday they took the road to the boarding school, Utpal a now 5 year pro and Meher the rookie. I was a little concerned about Meher as she tends to get over emotional and melts into tears for nothing. But this was not to be. She took to the school like a fish to water. maybe, as all survivors, she knew this was her road to many beautiful morrows.

Utpal, intuitively knew, his little friend had to be protected and cared for. He knew how unkind kids can be when you look or behave different. He remembered how he had to fight the nasty barbs children threw at him because of his visible scars and he also knew that he would ensure, as best he could, that Mehar would not have to suffer them. The invisible scars they would have to deal with privately, in their own special ways and with a little help from the God of lesser beings.

Meher's First Day of School

2010-04-12T19:38:00.003+05:30

Meher started boarding school!
She has settled in well and is really enjoying herself. She told Anou that she loves it there.

Utpal in particular is taking very good care of her.

Chess Without Borders Efforts Featured at an Event/by USCF!

2010-03-17T02:10:00.003+05:30

Chess Without Borders was recently featured by the United States Chess Federation (USCF) for their appearance at a Roots and Shoots event in Chicago, IL. Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots invited students from Chess Without Borders to present about their work and involvement fund-raising for Meher and Project Why as an example of how children can change the world.

There is an article about it on USCF's website:
http://main.uschess.org/content/view/10217/576

Getting Ready for School

2010-03-12T08:07:00.006+05:30

My parents recently visited New Delhi and brought Meher some new clothes from her friends at Hough Street School in Barrington. She and everyone at Project Why were very excited to see them!

Here she is modeling a dress that students at Hough Street School sent to Delhi for her.

They also went to see Dr. Khazanchi to talk about the last operation on Meher's
hands.

Meher is studying hard as she recently passed her entrance exam to go to boarding school.

Doing Homework

2009-12-20T08:46:00.001+05:30

And here she is studying hard:

Daily Routines

2009-12-20T08:41:00.003+05:30

More pictures of Meher:

Posing with her school bag

Dancing!

Using the computer

The Next Step

2009-12-11T23:50:00.002+05:30

Meher is now fully recovered and studying hard everyday for her entrance exams to boarding school! She needs one more operation to on her left hand before she starts school, and we are preparing to have that operation next month. She is doing wonderfully; as you can see, she is as happy and healthy as ever. Here she is wrapped up against the cold as classes at the Women Centre are on the roof and semi-exposed year round.

Another Successful Chess Tournament

2009-11-10T08:42:00.003+05:30

On Saturday, November 7th, a chess tournament was held at Grove Avenue Elementary School by Yury Shulman's Chess Without Borders. There were 150 children competing in the tournament, and countless other volunteers, parents, and helpers who made this possible. Proceeds from the tournament will go towards Meher's next surgery. Special thanks go to Eleanor, our student project director, and all of our volunteers!

Studying Hard

2009-10-30T01:05:00.005+05:30

Meher's hands are completely healed now, and she is using them to do school work. She still goes for physiotherapy twice a week, but is actively using both her hands and doing very well. She will need another operation to finish straightening her left hand, so we are planning to do that in December, after which she will be all set to start formal school!

(Belated) Happy Diwali!

2009-10-30T00:58:00.005+05:30

Meher celebrated Diwali on October 17th with her friends at the Women's Centre. All of the children enjoyed the festivities and even did some sparklers on their own! Meher was especially happy as her good friend Utpal was home from school for the holiday! Here are some pictures from the party (you can see Meher is dressed up for the occasion.)

Back at Home

2009-10-10T01:08:00.005+05:30

Meher is back at home with her mother and new baby brother! She is very excited to see her mother again and have a new brother. She is staying with them and is no longer at the Women's Centre during the night.
Her bandages have been taken off as her hands are healing quickly, but she is still wearing small braces on both hands and will need physiotherapy for some time now.

As you can see from the picture below, she is much freer now without the huge bandages!

Congratulations to Yury Shulman's Chess Without Borders!

2009-09-28T19:35:00.004+05:30

Yury Shulman's Chess Without Borders is a Finalist for the 2009 Chicago Innovation Award! On Monday, September 14th, a reception honoring the nominees was held. GM Yury Shulman and his co-author, Rishi Sethi, are pictured above. They have decided to donate proceeds from the sale of their book, Chess Lessons From a Grandmaster, towards the additional surgeries Meher will need in a few months (her hands still need another procedure). Thank you to Yury and Rishi for all of your support!

Recovery

2009-09-09T18:50:00.002+05:30

Meher is in high spirits and doing well. As you can see, both of her hands are bandaged (please excuse her attire- its still quite hot and sticky in New Delhi, and with two big casts on her arms, she is feeling the humidity!), so she requires a lot of care and help these days. But she is feeling fine and probably enjoying the attention!

Successful Operation Yesterday

2009-09-04T22:15:00.003+05:30

Dr. Khazanchi operated on both of Meher's hands yesterday, fixing the already operated on left hand to avoid more contracture, and straightening two fingers on her right hand. He took some skin grafts from her leg, but as it is a shallow wound, her leg will heal quite quickly. She is at home now and is doing well. Everyone is relieved as all the surgeries are finally over!

Operation on Right Hand

2009-09-03T19:53:00.003+05:30

Dr. Khazanchi is operating on Meher's right hand today! She is recovering well from her last surgery and already went in to have the drain removed, and yesterday went in to have her stitches taken out. She is happy and in high spirits as usual.

Also, Meher has decided that she wants to marry Utpal! He is the little boy who also recovered from severe burns as an infant. He is in boarding school, but often stays at the Women's Centre during his vacations. He is currently away from at boarding school, so she must be missing his company. She declared she wants to marry him as he is kind to her, gives her sweets, and lets her watch TV!

Home and Well

2009-08-27T05:11:00.003+05:30

Meher is back at home and resting, she is awake and well, although still recovering. Here are some photos of her after surgery and back at the Women's Centre.

Before and After Pictures!

2009-08-26T21:58:00.003+05:30

Here are some before and after pictures taken by Dr. Khazanchi before her initial surgery (so pre-expanders) and after her second surgery.

I heard from Dr. Khazanchi so now I have first hand details about Meher's surgery yesterday: it went well, they were able to reconstruct almost the entire scalp. Meher was kept overnight in the hospital, but already returned to the Women's Centre today (Wednesday). She is resting, but is otherwise fine. They were only able to operate on her scalp yesterday due to respiration complications with the anesthesia, so Meher will return to the hospital in about six weeks for the surgery on her right hand.

Successful Surgery!

2009-08-26T07:24:00.005+05:30

Meher's surgery took place this morning at Ganga Ram Hospital. The surgery went well, and she is now recovering in the inpatient ward.

Here are some pictures of her from a few days ago, being intellectual!

Surgery Date

2009-08-22T20:15:00.004+05:30

The date for Meher's second surgery is set for next Tuesday, August 25th. She will go to the hospital for pre-operation procedures on Monday. The date is later than expected due to concerns about infection, but now she is perfectly healthy and everyone is ready to go ahead.

As you can see, she is as active as ever and in good spirits!

Enjoying the Visitors

2009-08-09T03:28:00.004+05:30

Meher is really enjoying herself with all the volunteers at the Women's Centre!

Here she is playing with one of the teachers there.

And here she is with some of her classmates!

She is doing well and her surgery will take place later this month!

Last day of Expansion!

2009-08-03T03:37:00.003+05:30

Meher's last day of expansion was Friday, July 31st. She is completely ready for her second surgery. This time around she is better prepared in terms of knowing what to expect, and her recovery time will be much shorter as the surgery needed for her right hand is far simpler than the complete reconstruction that was done on her left hand.
Some Project Why volunteers are staying at the Women Centre, and Meher is really enjoying their company. She is also keeping them constantly amused, as you can see by this video of her dancing!

Utpal's Leaving Party

2009-07-20T19:58:00.003+05:30

Utpal is heading back to boarding school, so for his last dinner the menu included ice cream and kebabs! Meher will miss him as he was her constant companion and playmate, and looked after her like an older brother.

Meher is doing well, especially as the weather has improved after the rains finally came so things cooled down a little bit! Her expansion will continue until the end of the month and her second surgery is now scheduled for mid-August.

Goodbye Party and Gifts..

2009-07-14T01:31:00.003+05:30

On my last day at Project Why, we had a lunch party at the Women Centre. Lots of going away presents were opened, and I had small gifts for Meher and Utpal (her friend who is currently staying at the Women's Centre while he is on vacation from boarding school). Here are some images from the day:

Visit to Berlin Metropolitan School

2009-07-14T01:19:00.003+05:30

On a recent visit to Berlin, I met with students, teachers, and administrators of the Berlin Metropolitan School. I delivered a thank you card Meher made for the school, but also spoke to the many people there who worked hard to fund-raise for Meher's treatment. The students were very curious to learn more about Meher and had many questions about her, as well as questions about life in India and how New Delhi is different from Berlin.

Trip to Computer Centre

2009-07-03T14:26:00.003+05:30

Here is Meher visiting the Project Why Computer Centre! It was an impromptu side trip, but she was very happy to meet everyone and go to a new place. Vijay, the Computer teacher, is already a friend of hers, so she was excited to see him again.

She is doing well and her next surgery is expected to be in about three weeks.

Group Trip to Haridwar

2009-06-24T15:09:00.003+05:30

Over last weekend, Meher, Utpal, Dharmender and some other Project Why staff went to Haridwar for an outing. They enjoyed the trip a lot as it was a break from the intense heat of Delhi. Meher and Utpal especially enjoyed the guesthouse and a trip to Fun Valli, a water and amusement park.

See the Women's Centre blog for more pictures and information.

Here are Meher and Utpal enjoying playing in the guesthouse!

Left Hand Update

2009-06-20T12:15:00.002+05:30

This is a close up of Meher's left hand. She is still going for physical therapy twice a week, and wears a brace at night to keep her hand and fingers flat. She is using her hand and fingers a lot now and has no trouble opening or manipulating anything. We are encouraging her to play with blocks, legos, and other toys that require fine motor skills.

More Visitors and New Friends

2009-06-20T12:01:00.003+05:30

Yesterday Cecilia and Kyle, volunteers at Project Why in Govindpuri, came to visit the Women's Centre. Everyone at the Centre enjoyed their visit and Meher was also excited to meet them! She spoke to them in English (How are you? I am fine? What is your name? Meher!).

The expansion is progressing well (as you can see, the expanders keep getting bigger!) and her second surgery is expected to take place at the beginning of July.

Outing

2009-06-11T09:41:00.004+05:30

Yesterday, Anou (the founder and director of Project Why), Dharmender (the head of the Women Centre) and I took Meher, Utpal, and Kiran for a short outing to try and escape the heat for a little while. Utpal is currently attending the boarding school where we hope to send Meher in the future, and is spending his vacation at the Women Centre.

We went to a nearby mall and visited Baskin Robbins and enjoyed the air conditioning!

The children also enjoyed a ride up to the top floor in a big glass elevator. Meher especially enjoyed being with the older children.
Everyone at the Women Centre is taking special precautions to make sure she stays healthy, as her second surgery is expected to take place in a few weeks, and June is a bad month for infection (for everyone) as it is very warm and humid.

Meher's New Clothes

2009-06-08T10:05:00.004+05:30

This is Maggie, a 5th grader from Barrington, IL and an enthusiastic chess player. She and Meher have never met, but she is responsible for much of Meher's new wardrobe! Most of the outfits Meher wears now are from donors in the US, and Maggie and her parents were especially generous. The summer clothes are light and very suitable for the intense Delhi heat (it is reaching 45c/110F more often than not nowadays!), and wearing a trendy outfit helps distract Meher from the dread of yet another trip to the hospital (she still dislikes going although she says herself the expansion is not actually painful).

Thank you Maggie for the lovely clothes!

Another Successful Chess Tournament Fund-Raiser!

2009-06-06T15:11:00.011+05:30

On Saturday, May 30th, Hough Street School Chess Club held a very successful chess tournament at Hough Street School in Barrington, IL as a fund-raiser for Meher. Thank you to the many people who volunteered their time to make this possible, also to all of the families and children who participated and continue to support Meher. Special thanks to Hough Street School Chess Club for hosting the tournament, and Grandmaster Yury Shulman, Maggie Gruber (teacher at Hough Street School), Brian Gruber (our film-maker), Pradip Sethi, and Kiran Frey.

Also thank you to the following supporters for their generous donations:
Virginia Golembiewski
Sam Oliver
Debra Bakal
Ted Fountas and Andrea Olness
Jonathan Nyland and Kelly Logue
Janet Zullo
The Kolasinski Family
Gierlach Family
Regina and James Roland
Mona Juneja
Quest Academy, which raised funds through another Chess Tournament

Here are some images from the tournament at Hough Street School:

Some of our many volunteers sell food at the tournament.

Children concentrating on their next move.

GM Yury Shulman autographs a copy of his book.

Unsung Hero Award

2009-06-05T15:45:00.003+05:30

Congratulations to Yury Shulman’s Chess Without Borders for winning the Unsung Hero Award from Radio Station Y103.9 FM and Good Shepherd Hospital for various community service efforts (including their support of Meher).

Here are some images from the Awards Ceremony:

GM Yury Shulman and Dr. Pradip Sethi

Receiving the Award

Read more about this and similar news at http://shulmanchess.com/

Working Hard

2009-06-05T15:21:00.005+05:30

I found Meher doing some class work today. She has grown jealous of the older children and their grown up work and wants to have her own "copy" (notebook) with assigned work. Archna, her teacher, often complies and prepares a page of numbers for her to trace or copy. Here she is working hard with Archna's guidance, and then happily showing off her work.

Two Hands and No Bandages!

2009-05-26T09:37:00.003+05:30

Meher's left hand is progressing nicely. She no longer needs to wear any kind of bandage and dressing, only the brace with the stiff backboard at night (to keep her hand from curling up again). She is going to physical therapy twice a week and seems to enjoy it, although she is so active and curious that she really does her own therapy already! As you can see in the pictures, she is using both hands and all her fingers now.

Her expansion is also going well, and we are expecting the 2nd surgery to take place in about a month.

Good News

2009-05-25T09:22:00.004+05:30

Dr. Khazanchi, our plastic surgeon who ultimately made all of this possible, has now become a fund-raiser as well! He called me on Friday to tell me the good news: one of his patients who also has an expander just like Meher had been waiting with Meher and started talking to her. She became interested and ask Dr. Khazanchi about the charity project. He gave her all the background, and she was inspired by the story and wanted to donate. So her parents gave a donation to Dr. Khazanchi right away!
I went to Dr. Khazanchi's house yesterday to pick up the donation. Here he is with his wife, son, and nephew. His wife is also a physician and very committed to community service.

New Haircut

2009-05-18T15:35:00.006+05:30

Meher has a new look! She is quite happy with it as she told me she feels much cooler now (it is currently very hot in Delhi, with temperatures around 45/110 degrees every day). Her good friend Sneha, who teaches the beautician course at the Women's Centre, cut her hair for her, as it was getting quite tangled and difficult to manage. Now it is easier to keep her head clean, which is crucial for preventing infection in the extreme heat and humidity.

She goes for physical therapy for her left hand twice a week. The therapy takes place nearby at a charitable centre for senior citizens. The doctor who is in charge of the therapy has agreed to see Meher free of charge so we are very grateful for his help!

Starting Physical Therapy

2009-05-13T18:29:00.003+05:30

Meher's left hand is almost completely healed now and she is starting therapy for it this week. She will meet the physical therapist later this week. The therapist is in touch with Dr. Khazanchi and will begin by expanding the mobility of her fingers. She is already using her hand to help her steady things, but as it is still partially immobilized by the dressings, she does not use any of her fingers individually.
In these pictures she is very happy as I had arrived at the end of her class and after posing for some group photos all of the students started dancing.

Here is her left hand in its current dressings.

Using Two Hands!

2009-05-04T18:07:00.003+05:30

Meher's left hand is still bandaged up, but the big cast is gone and her four separate fingers are now visible! Everyone is very excited, as she never was able to separate her fingers on her left hand at all before. She has also started using them slightly, although they are somewhat immobilized still. She is going for saline injections twice a week now, and the expanders are filling slowly. As you can see from the pictures, the expansion is not that visible as yet.

Here she is very happy as she has just returned to the Women's Centre after going to the hospital for saline injections!

Dance Class

2009-04-23T09:31:00.004+05:30

Yesterday, I went to the Women's Centre for my usual Wednesday English class, and arrived in time to catch the end of Creche (Kindergarten) class. The children were dancing to their favorite songs, singing along and doing their dance steps. Dance class is a very serious subject for them!

Meher was enjoying herself dancing as vigorously as all of her friends. The bandages were taken off her leg on Monday as the skin has grown back completely. She also had her first saline insertions on Monday. The expansion (injection of saline) will continue twice a week now. She is no longer in any pain and appears to be quite healthy, as you can see from her energy in the video below!

Full of Energy and Recovering Well

2009-04-15T10:35:00.004+05:30

Meher went back to the hospital for a check up and dressing change yesterday. Everything is progressing nicely and we should be able to start filling the expanders with saline soon. Meher is as lively as ever and is attending classes, playing inside and outside, and interacting with everyone like she always does. The staff at the Women's Centre try to encourage her to play quietly as her leg and hand are still bandaged up, but as it is impossible to make a four year old sit still, she continues to run around.
Her left hand is healing well, but will remain in dressing until it is fully healed, which could take up to 6 or 8 more weeks. The leg wound is very slight and will be completely healed soon (the plastic surgeon had to take some skin from her leg to fully restore her left hand).

Thank You!

2009-04-13T09:18:00.000+05:30

THANK YOU!

This is a long overdue list of people/businesses who have contributed or supported us. Thank you so much to everyone who has gotten involved, none of this would have been possible without all of you. (The list is in alphabetical order by first name/word).

Berlin Metropolitan School

Bertacchi Builders

Brian Gruber

Carole Bye

Chess Without Borders

Hough Street Chess Club

James and Kathy Redfield

Karen Armstrong

Kiran Frey

Maggie Gruber

Namita Gill

Pradip Sethi

Peter Spizzirri

Project Why

Ravi Bellur

Tanisha Keshava

Yury Shulman

Meher's Music Video Debut

2009-04-09T09:58:00.003+05:30

I wish (Aktion Lebensretter) from Verenice on Vimeo.

Meher is already developing her experience as a performer (as she is a true diva) and appears in the Aktion Lebensretter music video "I Wish" recorded at the Women Centre with Sabrina Verenice, who is a German singer and a huge supporter of Project Why (and Meher). You can learn more about Aktion Lebensretter here:

aktionlebensretter.polycoder.com/wordpress/english/

Thank you Sabrina for making all of this possible!

Check- Ups

2009-04-08T09:47:00.004+05:30

Meher went back to the hospital for follow up care on Monday and Tuesday. She had her dressings changed and her left hand re-examined. She is doing fine and healing well and outside of the hospital she is is as active and lively as ever. Understandably, she does not like going back to the hospital, but now she does not need to have her dressings changed again until next week. We expect to start inserting saline into the expanders in about two weeks. Here she is at home at the Women's Centre:

Home At Last

2009-04-03T16:26:00.003+05:30

Meher is home from the hospital resting and recovering. She is staying at the Women's Centre with lots of people to look after her nearby. She was released from the hospital this morning with no complications and has a follow up appointment with Dr. Khazanchi on Monday.
Meher was happy to be home and is eating normally. She is talking and interacting with everyone, although she is still very tired.

Explaining Tissue Expanders

2009-04-03T09:46:00.005+05:30

This is a tissue expander. Yesterday, three tissue expanders were inserted under Meher's healthy skin and scalp tissue. They will slowly be filled with saline (she will start going to Dr. Khazanchi's clinic twice a week for the saline to be injected into the expanders once she is healed) so her healthy tissue will expand and eventually (in about 2-3 months) she will have another operation to remove the damanged tissue and replace it with healthy skin and scalp tissue. This is a picture of a child who went through the same procedure to remove a hairy nexus from his face:
When the expanders become full, they are quite large and unusual looking, so today I am meeting with the staff at the Women's Centre to show them pictures and make sure they understand the procedure. They in turn will pass this information on to their students, so Meher will have lots of support from her friends and teachers. As the expansion is gradual, it will not be painful. The inspiration for expanding healthy tissue this way actually came from pregnancy.
Here is another example of the same procedure used to restore hair after a burn:
Please note that this is only a basic explanation based on my understanding and I am not a plastic surgeon!

First Successful Operation

2009-04-02T16:52:00.003+05:30

Meher's first surgery was performed this morning and was entirely successful. She now has expanders in her scalp and forehead region so that healthy tissue can replace the damaged tissue there in 2-3 months (for the 2nd operation). Her left hand (the more severely damaged one) was also repaired. She is currently at the hospital recovering and will be sent home tomorrow morning. She is fine and is expected to be up and running around again shortly!

Due to hospital regulations and focusing on the medical procedures, I did not take any pictures , but will be able to do so again as soon as she is at home.

Pre-Surgery Preparations

2009-04-01T20:39:00.003+05:30

Today Meher went to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital for her PAC and to fill out all necessary paper work for her operation tomorrow morning. She arrived at the hospital with Rajesh (a teacher from the Women's Centre who brought her because her parents were unable to come) and was excited to see me and to be in a new place. She was also happy to be wearing a new dress sent for her from America. However, as time went by, she grew impatient and became scared and hesitant in the new surroundings. However, we encouraged her to be patient and explained again why we were all at the hospital. Once everything was finished, she had some ice cream, so hopefully tomorrow she will be more enthusiastic about coming back!
Her operation is scheduled for early tomorrow morning (Thursday, April 2nd). She should be able to go home afterwards.

Meher's New Friend

2009-03-23T09:18:00.006+05:30

My childhood friend Mattie arrived in New Delhi on Saturday night. She came from Chicago, so brought more donations from supporters in Barrington and a camcorder so I can continue documenting everything that is happening with Meher. She met Meher today and gave her the very cute clothes sent from parents at Grove Avenue Elementary School.

Meher was very excited both by Mattie and the new camcorder. She invited us to her house and her mother insisted that we drink tea there, despite the fact that her father was sleeping and we didn't want to disturb him! Meher was very excited to have a new visitor and showed us lots of things in her house. She also took a liking to Mattie's digital camera and showed a lot of interest in photography, especially taking pictures of herself!

Friends in Berlin

2009-03-19T09:30:00.005+05:30

The Berlin Metropolitan School in Berlin, Germany, recently completed a school-wide "Math Week." This included a coin drive fundraiser entitled "It Makes Cents!" The children brought coins in everyday and sorted, graphed, and counted them. The money raised went to both a local and an international cause: the school's new library and Meher.

Here are the school's student council representatives taking all the coins to the bank (complete with a police escort!) . The Drama and Music Department also contributed with proceeds from their production of "Little Red Riding Hood."

This is a graph from Ms. Utecht's first grade class. They recorded the different denominations of coins that came in everyday. The children are excited to know that they are helping a little girl far away in India, and the connection is even more real to them as it is through someone many of them are familar with (I worked at the school for two years before moving to New Delhi.)

All Set For Surgery

2009-03-16T09:19:00.006+05:30

On Friday afternoon, Rajesh (a teacher from the Women Centre) and I took Meher to her appointment with Dr. Khazanchi. She was very happy to come with us for a ride, especially as she was very excited and proud to be wearing a new dress that Maggie brought her from America. The picture above shows Meher and Rajesh sitting in the waiting room.

Dr. Khazanchi only needed to see us for a few minutes to measure the damaged area of Meher's scalp and forehead. These measurements will be used to ensure that the expanders (the devices that are like balloons) he puts in will be the correct size. Meher has become more used to him now and sat quietly as he examined her scalp.Afterwards, we went to the nearby fast food restaurant for some refreshment before the ride home. Meher drank an orange Miranda soda before Rajesh took her back to Sarita Vihar.

Surgery Date!

2009-03-10T11:14:00.004+05:30

Yesterday, Dr. Khazanchi sent me an email confirming the date for Meher's initial surgery: April 2nd, 2009. Everyone is excited as we have been working towards this for a long time now. The staff at the Women's Centre is ready, having specially re-painted and cleaned in order to have a room ready to accomodate Meher after her surgery.
This Friday, Meher has an appointment at Dr. Khazanchi's clinic so she can be fitted for her expanders (they will put expanders in to increase the healthy tissue available). Once this is completed, everything is ready and we only have to wait for two weeks until the first surgery.

Initial Tests

2009-03-04T13:26:00.004+05:30

This afternoon Meher went off to have basic blood and urine tests before surgery. She was very excited to be going on the scooter so I didn't have the heart to tell her what was going to happen, although with her medical history she has experienced testing before.
Dharmender, the head of the Women's Centre, took her for the tests to a reputable medical lab in the neighborhood. He has been instrumental in arranging everything and will provide key support during the whole process.
As soon as the test results come back they will be relayed to Dr. Khazanchi so he can see if anything needs to be rectified and then set the date for the surgery (we are anticipating sometime later this month).

In the Classroom

2009-03-02T20:19:00.002+05:30

Meher attends the creche or nursery program at the Women's Centre. Her teachers, Archana and Rita, are English students of mine. Today they were telling me about Meher in their class: apparently she is very bossy towards the other students, which is no surprise! But they also told me that sometimes they feel this comes out of being defensive and they are so happy about her upcoming operation as she has difficulty using her hands in the same way as other children already and they have not started writing a lot or doing extensive schoolwork. For example, they do exercise class every morning and one of the activities involves clapping your hands together. Meher cannot clap her hands- she can put her hands together, but it does not sound or look like clapping like the other children.
They also showed me the handprints they made with the children (Meher's is in the picture above). They said after Meher made her handprint (she used her less damaged hand, but it did not look the same as the other children's prints) she was looking for her pinky and insisted on painting it on as she felt very bad that her handprint was incomplete as compared to the others.
The surgery date will be set as soon as the results of some preliminary blood tests come back. Everyone is ready and waiting to support Meher and her family as much as possible.

Visitors and New Friends

2009-02-23T09:58:00.006+05:30

Maggie and Brian have returned to the US and are already being missed here at Project Why. I came to work alone this morning as my parents are elsewhere and everyone asked where all the visitors were. At the Women's Centre especially they will be remembered fondly by all the teachers and children. Meher especially misses the interaction, as she enjoyed meeting them and inviting all of us to her house where she proudly showed us her toys and invited us to drink tea with her. Her parents and neighbors were extremely welcoming and even went to the trouble of buying Coca-Cola for us (which is very expensive, but supposedly the right thing to serve to foreigners!)
My father and mother (who are doctors themselves) explained the different surgeries to Meher's family and to many of the Women's Centre staff as everyone will need to work together to support and look after her during the three month process.

Preparing for Surgery

2009-02-23T09:33:00.004+05:30

Last week we went to Dr. Khazanchi's office to discuss the necessary preparations for surgery. We were a big group including Meher and her father, both of my parents, Maggie, Brian and me. Meher was a bit overwhelmed by the new place and sat quietly on my lap as the doctor explained the entire procedure to us. The first procedure will be reconstruction work on both of her hands, her scalp, and her forehead. It will involve two operations over a period of approximately three months. The first operation will take place in early March as soon as Dr. Khazanchi can make all the arrangements. Her left hand (the one that was more damaged in the fire) will be reconstructed first so she can begin occupational therapy and learn how to use it as soon as possible. She will also be fitted with a balloon that will be slowly expanded to create more healthy scalp tissue so the damaged area can be removed and replaced. Her father was very enthusiastic about the entire procedure as it will make a world of difference for his daughter.

Upcoming Plans

2009-02-10T10:45:00.010+05:30

Yesterday, I went to the Women's Centre for my usual Monday English class there. As soon as I arrived Meher came running to greet me and dragged me by the hand to her house to say hello to her mother. She also brought me a toffee and told her mother to make tea for me, although I had to stop her as I needed to go and teach my class. I told her mother that on Friday, my parents and two other visitors from America (Maggie and Brian Gruber) were coming to meet everyone and on Saturday we would all go together to meet with the plastic surgeon and arrange the first surgery. Meher's mother was excited to hear about the visitors and is eager to begin treatment as it will be a long process.
Maggie, Brian, and my parents (my mother, Kiran Frey, has been heading the fund-raising efforts in the U.S.) will be arriving in Delhi on Thursday evening. Brian is going to be filming everything as he wants to document the entire process. I told Meher that she was going to be in a movie and she was very excited, so we decided we would practice her English and just being in front of a camera and make a mini-movie with my digital camera. As soon as I started filming, to everyone's surprise, she suddenly became very shy and quiet. However, she is still as charming as ever and very cute to watch.

Chess Tournament Fund-Raiser

2009-02-10T10:01:00.007+05:30

On Saturday, February 7th, fund-raisers working with the Barrington, IL Community Schools and Chess GM Yury Shulman organized a chess tournament at Roslyn Elementary School to raise money for Meher. The tournament was a huge success, and we are immensely grateful to all the volunteers and community members who helped and contributed.
Special thanks go to GM Shulman who is the current U.S. Chess Champion, yet still finds the time to support many philanthropy projects, Dr. Kiran Frey who initiated this entire process and motivated everyone to become involved, Mr. Brian Gruber who travel to India and spend many hours preparing a documentary film about this project, Barrington teacher Mrs. Maggie Gruber who will travel to India to meet Meher and help Project Why raise standards of education for children who live in abject poverty, and to Dr. and Mrs. Redfield who traveled from the University of Chicago to personally congratulate the enthusiastic chess students for engaging in such an unique project and make a contribution for Meher. We also need to thank local Barrington businesses: Aleyra Medispa, Bertacchi Builders, Checkmate Chess Supplies and Wool Street Grill, Hough Street School Chess Club, and so many families and children who contributed food and hours of service to make this possible.

Meet Our New Best Friend

2009-01-28T09:50:00.003+05:30

This is Dr. Khazanchi, the plastic surgeon who examined Meher and who is going to help us make all the arrangements for her surgeries. He is the head of the Plastic Surgery Department at a major Delhi hospital and has been incredibly kind and helpful even though his work schedule is extremely busy and demanding. He is in touch with our fund-raising team in the U.S. and is doing his utmost to help us along. After getting in touch with him, everything has become much easier as it is often difficult to make arrangements in Delhi hospitals unless you have an employee or someone from the organization helping you. We had been trying to contact different hospitals, but no one was showing the slightest interest or even answering our calls, so finding and getting in touch with Dr. Khazanchi was really amazing. He is a family friend and we are very fortunate to have him.

Our First Doctor's Visit

2009-01-27T09:42:00.004+05:30

On Friday evening, we took Meher to see Dr. K, a plastic surgeon (and our new best friend!). He very kindly invited us into his home as he had been called away from his office and had canceled his normal consulting hours for the day. Meher came from her home in an auto-rickshaw accompanied by her mother, the head of the Women's Centre, and a teacher from the centre. I met the group at Dr. K's house and was amazed to see Meher looking nervous. The long ride and journey to an unfamiliar place was frightening for her as she is only three years old. Inside the doctor's house, she bravely tried not to cry when confronted with an unknown adult who wanted to touch and examine her face and hands. It was the first time I had ever seen Meher even slightly out of her element, and we assured the doctor that this would not last long. And we were right- she adjusted and brightened up before we left and wanted to explore her new surroundings.
Dr. K examined Meher and told us that a lot can be done. He wants to start by opening and re-structuring her hands (her left hand is badly deformed and two fingers on her right hand do not stretch out completely) and repairing her scalp and hairline. We hope to start making arrangements for the first operation next month. After that, Meher might still need as many as ten operations to fully repair her face, which is a lot for anyone, but especially too many for a three year old! But we will begin with fixing her hands and hairline, which will make an immediate and huge difference for her, and then go from there.

Fund-raising Details

2009-01-23T10:06:00.007+05:30

I've already received lots of questions about where/how to donate and our total fund-raising goal, so thank you to everyone for your interest and support!

The best way to donate is to write a check directly to "Chess Without Borders- Meher" as Chess Without Borders is a nonprofit organization and donations are tax-deductible.

Checks should be mailed to:
Chess Without Borders- Meher
5 Sara Lane
Barrington Hills, IL
60010

You can also donate directly through Paypal here:

Thank you!

For reference, the Chess Without Borders website is here:
http://www.shulmanchess.com/Welcome.html

Introduction

2009-01-22T10:15:00.003+05:30

This is Meher. She is three years old and lives in Khader, New Delhi, India (near the outskirts of the city). When she was eight or nine months old, the mosquito net over her bed caught on fire. Miraculously, she survived the terrible burns, but the experience left her face and scalp badly scarred and her left hand permanently closed and deformed.
Meher's father is a daily wage laborer. Her family cannot afford to seek additional treatment for her, although they are very concerned about her future prospects in Indian society. Meher is extremely bright, verbal, and social. She has
picked up a little English from spending time around the Women's Centre and interacts confidently with visitors. She is also very naughty and is always up to something!
I first met Meher when I went to the Women's Centre to find out about working with the teachers there to improve English instruction. Since then, I have been working with the teachers there three times a week and Meher always comes to greet me and oversee my English class.
We are hoping to raise enough money to cover the cost of reconstructive plastic surgery on her hand and her face, which would have to include staying in the hospital, multiple operations, medicine, physical therapy, and much more. We would also like to extend the fund to raise money for her education as she is very intelligent and has very limited opportunities in her present situation. Many people are already working hard to fundraise for her, and this blog will provide updates on our progress.