Very much inspiring. Renuka. ----- Original Message ----- From: "pamnani" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in> Sent: Sunday, October 07, 2007 10:29 PM Subject: [AI] Gulf News
> 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 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
