An article about an amazing woman and a dear friend. Kanchan Inner vision
By Jyoti Kalsi, Gulf News Report Published: October 01, 2007, 00:41 This Ramadan is very special for Miriam Batliwala - because she has finally realised her dream of setting up a vocational training centre to help underprivileged women take charge of their lives. The Women's Empowerment Centre and Network (WECAN) is an extension of the D.M. Jariwala Orphanage and school in Mumbai set up by Miriam's father 68 years ago. Courses "After my father, my sister and I took over the running of the orphanage, which houses 200 girls. We wanted to start this vocational centre, not only for those staying in the orphanage but for all underprivileged women because we believe in empowerment of women through education and wanted to provide our girls with skills that will help them to be confident and economically independent," says Miriam. WECAN now runs courses in computers, fashion designing, catering, health care, yoga, gardening, arts and craft and English language. The spacious new building is filled with the laughter of young girls, who were otherwise destined for a bleak future. But for Miriam the journey has been long and difficult. Her plans suffered a blow when in 1998, the original 100-year-old orphanage building collapsed. She and her sister have worked tirelessly to raise the funds for reconstruction and expansion, personally supervising every detail. "We stood at the site through rain and sun and made numerous trips to small markets in the back alleys of Mumbai to save money on plumbing and masonry items," recalls Miriam. Dedication Her achievement and her immense optimism, energy and dedication to social causes are all the more remarkable because she is visually impaired. But nobody who meets Miriam would ever guess that she is almost blind. She is a vivacious person who loves to dance, play the piano, swim, play golf, travel to new places and make friends wherever she goes. Besides running the orphanage and vocational centre, she teaches at a school for visually impaired slum dwellers. She also conducts yoga workshops for sighted as well as blind people and has taught yoga in India, the US and now in Dubai. Miriam belongs to a rich and well-known family from Mumbai and had an idyllic childhood. Her world became blurred when she was 12 years old and was diagnosed with macular degeneration of the retina, a condition that had no known cure. But she has not allowed that to affect her life in any way, fighting every challenge with courage, resilience and a positive attitude. "I believe in counting my blessings. How can I ever complain when I have so much to thank God for, and I see so many people with bigger problems than mine," she says. Not different Taking her cue from her parents, who treated her no differently from her siblings, Miriam never spoke about her condition to anyone and asked for no special favours at school or elsewhere. Despite difficulties in reading her books she did well in school and even continued her piano lessons by devising a way to play without having to read the notes. At 13, she coaxed her parents to send her to boarding school along with her sister and even played netball and hockey at school. "I was able to do these things mainly because my parents and teachers never made me feel that I was any different from others and always encouraged me to do everything that I wanted to do," says Miriam. In fact, her father insisted that like every member of the family she too must learn to play golf. And as is typical of her she took it further to a competitive level and has won many golf championships. She cannot see the green or the flag, but her trusted caddy, points her in the right direction and tells her the distance so she knows how hard to hit the golf ball and which club she should use. Miriam also won medals at inter-collegiate and interstate swimming tournaments and even qualified for the college hockey team. But with her vision deteriorating, keeping up with studies proved to be more difficult. The last straw came when a keen suitor arrived to seek her hand in marriage. "I did not want to marry a rich man who would treat me like a possession. So I decided to flee. I enlisted the help of an Italian friend to convince my father to let me go to Italy to learn Italian," she recalls. Yoga Yoga has been an important part of her life since her twenties and she is qualified as a teacher of Iyengar Yoga. "I was fortunate to be accepted as a student by guru B.K. Iyengar, who gave me special training to teach visually challenged students. Yoga has given me inner strength and balance, and I have tried to share this knowledge with as many people as I can," she says. Do your part UAE residents can support WECAN by helping to improve the facilities. For more information, go to www.wecan-india.org Ramadan "Ramadan is a time for introspection, being grateful for all we have and helping those who are less fortunate than us. I am truly thankful that my dream has been fulfilled and that so many women can benefit from WECAN," Miriam Batliwala says. "I believe that we grow and evolve spiritually when we have a cross to bear. I have certainly grown spiritually and hope my story gives courage to others. It is best to live life to the fullest and achieve your full potential. This is true inner vision," she adds. To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
