Ace of Akanksha

"These people have so little but they have a lot to teach us,” humbly acknowledges Shaheen Mistri. Over the course of the last 15 years since she conceived Akanksha as a non-profit organization with a mission to impact the lives of less privileged children she has never ceased to be amazed by "how happy and contented they are; how resourceful and brave.” Starting with 10 children from her first center at the Holy Name High School in Colaba, by 2006 Akanksha had reached out to nearly 4,600 kids through 53 centers in Bombay and Poona, we are informed by "Shaheen Didi (elder sister)” as she is known within the Akanksha family.

The World Economic Forum had named Mistri a "Global Leader for Tomorrow” in 2002. The previous year she earned an Ashoka Fellowship from Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, a global non-profit organization working in 44 countries, with the accompanying recognition as a "leading social entrepreneur… to have innovative solutions to social problems and the potential to change patterns across society; (demonstrating) unrivaled commitment to bold new ideas and (proving) that compassion, creativity and collaboration are tremendous forces for change.” Mistri’s work at Akanksha has been further recognized with the Young Achiever Award by the Indo-American Society, Woman Achiever Award by the Archana Trust, Selfless Service Award by the Rotary International District 3140…

"My idea was extremely simple,” she says. There are thousands of people like young collegians who are talented, skilled, trained, educated…and there are thousands of children who have no one to guide, assist, coach them. "Why aren’t we bringing them together?” Why don’t we use the resources at our command? she wondered as she ventured on her journey.

"Akanksha,” meaning "aspiration” in Sanskrit, has been constantly striving to support each child by giving him or her a strong educational foundation, a good time, self esteem and values, and guidance on how to earn a steady livelihood to improve their standard of living. Their learning centers in reputed and municipal schools as also landmark institutions around the cities, art classes and workshops, computer programs, social leadership programs, summer camps, spectacular dance programs, participation in the Mumbai Marathon are all geared to convince the children that with training, discipline, faith and confidence they can achieve what they set their mind to.

When focusing on education, the Akanksha staff ensures that they do not lose sight of the holistic growth of the child. While originally Mistri was substantially involved in training the children, presently she only conducts drama classes at different centers on a weekly basis because much of her time goes into "development of new programs and peo­ple, planning strategies, overseeing the training of tea­chers as also the trends in the organization, branding and fund raising,” she relates.

"Our biggest need is volunteers to teach,” says Mistri. Using Gandhiji’s words "Be the change you wish to see in the world,” their appeal for help states: "You can be the change for Akanksha children…Give us 2.5 hours once a week…Volunteer at an Akanksha center… Talk about Akanksha… Help us find staff, teachers and volunteers…Help us start 10 new centers reaching 600 more kids…Help us by donating money… Locate under-utilized spaces where we can run centers and programs…Run seven km or more…Support by running in the Mumbai Marathon ’07…Be informed of other ways to help…Give us your e-mail identity…” Mistri would like Akanksha to be viewed as a career opportunity. They already have 150 staff members (this includes paid teachers) and about 300 volunteers with varying levels of involvement.

The important projects lined up for December and January are The X’mas Art Exhibition showcasing the creative talents of the Akanksha children on December 17, 2006 at Srila Didi’s (Raj Mahal, 33, Altamount Road) and Fiona Didi’s (B-101, Deepali, St Cyril Road, Bandra (West). On January 7, 2007 their Be the Change Service Walk will bring together 250 Akanksha children with 250 children from affluent homes and get them to navigate the Bombay streets and spread happiness as they "follow their hearts” (Akanksha tel: 23729880, e-mail:hr@ akanksha.org)

So absorbed was she coordinating the moves of the different departments after her return from an international trip the previous day that she forgot that the Parsiana reporter had been kept on hold for more than half an hour at their Akanksha premises at Chinchpokli. When one of her assistants gave her another reminder, she came out rushing, apologized profusely for the lapse and led us to a cabin where we were not disturbed for the next half hour. Perched informally on a chair, her legs tucked under her, tresses flowing loose, we could understand how the livewire "Didi” ma­nages to strike a rapport with everyone.

"Luckily for me I have a high level of energy,” summed up 35-year-old Mistri before continuing, "Time is a big struggle. Work is never ending but I feel lucky to love the work I do. Of course there are sacrifices to be made, not being there always when there are family occasions or birthdays but I try and spend my evenings with them,” says the single mother of two daughters. "I try to involve them here when I can.” Observing her seven-year-old Samara, a student at the J. B. Petit School, Mistri comments, "She’s unbelievably compassionate. We are both so happy we have Sana (her two-year-old adopted daughter).” Mistri reveals how she always wanted to adopt a child so she proceeded with her plan, undeterred by her divorce.

She would like her children to be initiated into the Zoroastrian faith for she admires the tenets of the religion, especially the triad of good thoughts, words and deeds which should be a constant reminder for each of us to return to the right path when we tend to slip. According to her "the most powerful thing about the Zoroastrian religion is that it is personal and yet with its international exposure gives us the ability to understand different people.” She values too this "warm and nurturing community” which has given her "the self confidence” to pursue her goals. The daughter particularly cherishes the support and understanding she received from her mother Saker and father Mehli. Her brother Rishad is a fashion photographer settled abroad "who is in a very different world from mine but happy that someone in the family is doing this kind of work.”

Having been to "10 different schools in four different countries except India,” Mistri says she has a fairly good idea of "what would make a great school.” When she came to India after studying at the Greenwich Academy in USA the glaring disparity "hit me… I had seen some kids having so much and here were some kids who had so little.” In Bombay, she studied Arts at St Xavier’s College and did her summer internship at The Times of India when she was exposed to the different realities in the city. Knowing she had to make a beginning she started with the slum community in Cuffe Parade and went on from there. Just as the Holy Name High School offered her their premises, there are several Parsi managed schools like Alexandra Girls’ English Institution, J. B. Petit, J. J. Parsee Benevolent Ins­titution, and organizations like Forbes Marshall Welfare Department from where Akanksha conducts its activities. Referring to the Parsi philanthropy of the Tatas and Godrejs, she commented on the space provided for the Akanksha head office on the Voltas premises at Chinchpokli saying, "If we had to pay commercial rent, we would be paying Rs 25 lakhs a year.”

For the present "we are fortunate to be blessed with funds but our requirements for funds will grow as we are now working in 10 Bombay Municipal Corporation and Poona Municipal Corporation schools where our Akanksha teachers are placed,” she states.

"The difference between our children and these children is only one of opportunity. If we can give them good, quality education we can make our country so much stronger…a few of them may have the potentiality to blossom into an Einstein or Tendulkar,” observes Mistri who took time off to do her MEd from the Manchester University in the UK. Their beliefs as enunciated on the Akanksha website state: "Every child deserves a childhood…there is potential in every person…challenges are opportunities… learning is forever…we have the resources, skill and will to make this world better for our children…together we can make a difference…dreams can come true…Seeing an Akanksha alumnus prepared for life, eager and content to take a positive step after Akanksha is the fundamental change we work for.”

The 60 Akanksha Alumni Club members who come together periodically and especially those who have taken up employment at Akanksha give Mistri a sense of fulfillment when she sees "how they want to contribute to make the world better.” As the children learn to bring about improvements in their lives "they learn to recognize what can be changed for the better and to accept what cannot be changed.”

"Willingness to learn” is a quality expected not only among the children but among the volunteers as well, each of whose name is prefixed with "Didi” or "Bhaiya” (sister or brother) to minimize the difference in social strata. "Compassion, empathy, fighting against ego and selfishness, hard work, passion and commitment” are the other traits required of their team members. "Genuinely wanting to do good is important but delivering what you say is even more important,” she stresses.

The Akanksha voyage for her has been "one long, continuous journey of personal development with unbelievable challenges and exposure to a whole range of different people,” recognizes Mistri. "It has taught me what’s important and who I am.”