great woman, we should all support her wiche ever way possible.
Kanchan, please can you send me her contack details?
on my private email. thanks
At 06:59 PM 10/7/2007, you wrote:
> 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.
>
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with warm regards
Mahendra Galani
window's live ID [EMAIL PROTECTED] skype ID chintu3886
phone +4314943149 mobile +4369910366055, +4381362988
address Herbst strasse 101.16.1 Vienna Austria Europe
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