Colors Speak Wall-umes

Colors Speak Wall-umes

Paint walls with street children this Sunday . A weekend get-away of a special kind, where colours fill walls and lives. Be the hands that guide little brushes as they smear  colours on the canvas of walls and memory. An event that unites faith,fun and freshness. An event where as you relive your fun filled childhood with children less fortunate, and add some to theirs. Let loose the child in you and make some friends on the street. Take pride in contributing to a brighter India,. Every little spread of color counts.

Why paint walls?

Shades of gray is what these children see when they eat,play and sleep.  Help making the ambience fresh and bright!

Colors heal fear! You’ll witness how your fears dissolve with theirs  as the walls are painted .

These walls will speak for months even after the event.  Witness the colours mingle within your lives, painting rainbows of affection everywhere.

What  we expect of you?

Come with a happy face and add zing to the place

Give a gift and see a child’s face light up!! ( old crayon sets, clothes to donate. Coloring books, chocolates..anything)

Think of a skill set / talent you have which you can register with us to have workshops in future

What else?

Carry a waterbottle. Wear an old shirt. Be ready for some serious fun. Oh! And Also, a good-looking boy or girl would be there to greet you at the registration desk.

So Join us. Yes?

PROTSAHAN. Bringing the colourful side of a cause!

Venue- Opposite Indibulls One,Elphinstone Road

Date – 4^th November

Time – 10 am                                                                                                                                        

Contact Numbers - 9833354672 / 07738049259/9769840082

To a Special June....

June is a special month. It marks the completion of half a year. It also marks the beginning of the other half of the year.

An interlude between beginnings and ends, that’s the beauty of June.

Have you met our June at Protsahan? A tiny girl with two pony tails and a smile that can make your heart melt in seconds.

June is a warm month; just like our girl who oozes warmth and affection that makes you look within and wonder, “Is it so easy to love people?”

She lost her parents as a toddler and reminisces old times with a spark that tugs your heart leaving it with an emotion that can’t be put into words. She understands the importance of memories and capturing moments in a way we don’t. Perhaps, she values memories in a way we all need to.

And! Her love for getting photographed is a different story altogether. Show her a camera and she’d pose for you till you get tired of clicking pictures. A photographer’s delight.

June is suffering an incurable disease and her health is deteriorating with each passing day. Despite all odds, this little soul breathes every moment with a zest for life that would leave you dumb struck.

Her hug, her smile and her gleeful squeals are priceless.

Would you like to make this special month for our special girl? Would you like to be a part of this world where expressions and affection get a new meaning?

This June, let’s raise a toast to the colors added into the world by our little June.

This June- To a special June.

-Madhusha Dash

She taught us how to love....

Suman, She can’t speak or hear.

Suman can’t speak or hear but she can feel.

The world might revolve around you, you can be at the grandest of places, adhere to all the agreed and benchmarked success quotients of the society but if you don’t feel right, it’s all in vain. You might be in a situation perceived pitiful by outsiders, but if you feel right, it’s worth exchanging all the bench marked success quotients for that feeling.

When we got Suman to Protsahan, she couldn't respond to numbers and alphabets the conventional way. She was different you see.We wanted to bring real solutions to real people and not just whacky creative ones. Our team brainstormed to come up with something that could change her perception of the world forever. Finally, we decided to do a workshop on “Coffee on Warli”. Huge paintings and drawings were made with coffee powder. The aroma of wafting from the drawings awakened her senses and her response was overwhelming! Every time she squeaked with delight , it was a moment of gratitude for Protsahan.We realized, in this world, your senses- your feelings-your happiness are ALL THAT REALLY MATTERS. Rest is secondary.

Suman ‘soaks-in moments’ and her joy reflects in her actions. She has infinite love to share. She can’t talk or hear, but her soul can ‘listen’ and her eyes can ‘communicate’. She doesn’t judge, she doesn’t analyze or fret over opinions, she only senses the vibes around and responds. She loves people without questions and treats them with respect. Without preaching or saying anything, Suman teaches priceless lessons.

Protsahan, gave her confidence and self-expression. But she gave us much more than that, she epitomizes the power of vibrations and miracles of love. She teaches us to love. Thank you little one, for you taught us more than we taught you. You taught us "How to Love".

Some other happy faces from the Workshop :)

-Madhusha Dash

Official Blogger

Protsahan India Foundation

Activating Empathy at Schools

“Yes. I am passing days fighting my emotions everyday. Yes, I’m a warrior of self created blindfolds. Yes, I’m trying to find my way. Yes, I’m tired of thinking and trying to make the best out of my life. Maybe, I’ve forgotten the importance of feelings, the importance of emotions and the importance of human relationships. Maybe…Just Maybe”

In today's fast paced world, children are made to learn numbers and theories while adults lead a life devoid of real moments to treasure. Life is turning into a rat race with humanity losing meaning.

It’s not just the marginalised sections and under privileged sections we look past with cold-disturbing ignorance but even our own peers sometimes. Are we losing the essence of living? Are we getting choked in the rut of existing dogmas and views? Are we losing the race of life in the endeavour to win the race of our egos and green paper?

Maybe we are. Maybe we need to connect back to our soul. Maybe we need to strongly reach out and awaken emotions like love and empathy within our selves. Maybe…

If maybe is "to be", we pro-actively need to create an environment of positivity and growth, a healthy approach towards respecting human freedom while preserving indispensable foundations like "understanding people and their emotions", helping others gain foothold and live a life of dignity, encourage and enthuse the zest for living into disheartened souls. Yes. The importance of empathy needs to be recognised and built upon. This has to be activated in primary levels at schools and need to grow onto colleges and organizations with the due importance it deserves.

At Protsahan, we work for street children and commercial sex workers/ sexually abused/drug abused children. We started with ART and COLORS and LOVE. Curricula only came later. That is the exact very reason how Protsahan has been able to touch a cord across the world, with volunteers and organizations alike.

Sonal, Founder CEO, PROTSAHAN India Foundation says, "Empathy in school curricula should be as important as Algebra or subject verb agreements. Else what are we trying to give our children? Rote education? Who scores how much on percentile terms/grades? Creativity cannot be forced when pressures of getting 97.854567% makes one get admitted or rejected in "colleges of repute". Creativity will happen with open minds, with empathy, with respect for differences."

"One time at Protsahan, we got two special girl children who could not speak or hear, and had never been to a school. It was difficult to get them straight to numbers and alphabets. We did a 'Coffee on Warli' workshop. We made huge paintings and drawings with "coffee powder". They couldn't listen or speak, but they could smell the aroma wafting from their drawings. We’ve never seen them as excited about things ever. Empathy can do wonders. This is empathy."

Ashoka is launching a global initiative to ensure that children master empathy, enabling them to be effective citizens, leaders and trailblazers.


Protsahan India Foundation is partnering with Ashoka Changemakers in this initiative. To be a part of this contest, enter nominate and spread the word.

http://tinyurl.com/Empathy-NP

-Madhusha Dash

Official Blogger

Protsahan India Foundation

Its Valentines Day.Show Love!

It’s Valentines Day!

A day dedicated to what we believe is the strongest emotion in the world and makes it go round.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong things. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails. - Corinthians 13:4- 8a

These lines if read through carefully have depth and meaning that can be an answer to most problems in life. At Protsahan, we see love and encouragement changing our little kids ‘everyday’. We document the power of faith injecting life into children who have suffered and lived in pain.

Suraj: The first day we saw him, he was highly drugged and created a ruckus at the school. We took his hand and made him realize that he’s not alone. If he turned up drugged and drunk even after promising to quit, we forgave him and our volunteers affectionately encouraged him to get over his habit. Today, he’s excited about life and we can see the metamorphosis clearly. All the street dogs are his best buddies. For unlike humans, animals ask no questions, pass no judgments. They just love.Suraj loves Radhi. Thats what he calls her :)

Julie, when we met her was a rebellious child who was often left teary eyed at the thought of her mother not wanting her. When the team held her hand, hugged her and gave her all the warmth they had to offer, the sense of belongingness sparked a brand new side of her. She now has a bunch of friends to share with and care for. Julie is a new warm little girl who has friends; she loves colors, she loves to paint and she loves painting with people. She has knowingly/unknowingly understood the importance of not keeping a record of wrong things and letting go of past sorrows for new beginnings.

We see children evolving at Protsahan everyday reinforcing our faith in the magic of unadulterated love. Love, that puts together virtues of patience, kindness, humility and trust.

That one day when a protective child ran and stood up to protect a volunteer, “Meri Didi hai yeh”. We knew, love protects and perseveres.

Here’s a day dedicated to this one emotion that connects the world!

Join us in celebrating Valentines day at PVR VIKASPURI school followed by cake cutting, yummy chocolates and sharing red balloons as a symbol of love.

Happy Valentines Day! Show Love .Say Aye!

-Madhusha Dash

Official Blogger