Hope in every drop

Water works
What: Initiative to provide clean drinking water to the poor through Angel Group
Where: Tribal villages in Gujarat, India
Who: Phirangiz Hawksley
Why: A charity initiative to improve the quality of rural life in the Indian state she hails from.

The sunlight flooding into Phirangiz Hawksley's living room in Dubai seemed to have an energising effect on me. Even as I settled into the sofa and started sipping a glass of water I could feel positivity bouncing off the walls of her house.

The water was cool and refreshing and the moment I mentioned that to her, it seemed to open a floodgate of emotions: "You know, today I understand why I am so obsessed with trying to provide clean water for villagers in the area where I was born [Vyara in Mandvi, Gujarat]," says Phirangiz.

"My great grandfather and grandfather both died of thirst. My grandfather used to travel from one village to another on a charity mission. The trips used to be long and passed through treacherous territory. During one such sojourn, the water reserves ran out and he died of dehydration."

She has a Bombay Samachar newspaper cutting dated June 12, 1947 which states that 37 years ago her great grandfather passed away in a similar way. "I was a child when it happened in 1947, and I was told later that the newspapers carried a report on this but the full extent of the tragedy was explained to me only recently by my father who tried to place in perspective my preoccupation with drinking water. Today my father and I are working towards setting up hand pumps and getting wells dug in areas where villagers have no access to clean drinking water.''

 The early years

But I am racing past the early chapters of Phirangiz' life. To backtrack, Phirangiz was just two years old when her mother passed away - it was an incident that would leave a lasting impact on her life. To ensure that she would get a good education, her father, whose financial situation was not all that good at the time, enrolled Phirangiz and her sister into a charitable boarding school in Mumbai. There, she excelled at Drama and Sports and in retrospect feels that the grounding she got while honing her skills in these two activities prepared her for her life ahead.

When she turned 18, she accepted a marriage proposal from a Nepali man who was introduced to her by her friend. After marriage, she moved with her husband to Nepal. Life in a new country was not easy, recalls Phirangiz, but she did her best to adjust to her new home and the country's customs and traditions. Her husband was not doing too well financially and to make matters worse, he was wont to disappearing for extended periods of time without notice or explanation.

To add to her woes, one day she got caught in a stampede during a local festival's celebrations and was crushed and trampled upon. She sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital where she slipped into a coma for five days. When she regained consciousness she realised she was stricken by partial paralysis. Her spirit snapped.

"I felt broken,'' she says. "I did not know what to do. I had two children and I wondered just how I would be able to provide for them? How could I, in my condition, get through one day and then the other... How would they cope with their mother in this condition?" Feeling at an all-time low, Phirangiz took on the days as best she could and one day she came across an advertisement in a newspaper that spoke of the healing benefits of Reiki. She managed to get herself over to the institute and, having explained her condition, Reiki sessions were given to her free of cost.

Her partial paralysis, aided by her positivity and the Reiki sessions, eased up and her spirit and mind began to free up after only two weeks. The experience left her so deeply moved, she says, that she decided to become a Reiki practitioner and train in the ancient method of healing.

But the experience of freeing up did not happen in a seamless way. Even as she was getting better, her mind took another blow - her husband of seven years abandoned her and her children. It was a moment that she remembers with deep clarity - and equanimity. "I decided that I had no choice but to take control of my life completely,'' she says.

She was educated and so she got a small job with a local tourist company in Nepal and then worked her way up to being a sales assistant.

A new chapter

Finally, in 1993, "Things took a turn for the better,'' she says. She got a much-needed break when she landed a job with a Pakistani company to work in Dubai as an office administrator.

A few years later she met Nick Hawksley, a simulator engineer. In Nick she found her confidant and partner and in 1996 they married. Nick adopted her sons and enrolled them in a residential school in the UK. "For the first time, I felt loved and respected,'' she says, with a simplicity that tugs at your heart.

"All my life, I've been wanting to help the less fortunate, and after I came to Dubai and met Nick, the idea kind of began to take a more concrete shape,'' she says.

Nick encouraged her and offered to support her realise her dreams.

Helping the Gujarat people

"I decided to set up a charity organisation called Angel Group India with my father Dadu Mandviwalla and my two siblings. My focus was clear: I wanted to help the tribal people in and around Mandvi, in Gujarat, where I hail from.''

She has strong reasons for choosing this particular section of society. "The tribes in this area do not even have basic sanitation, drinking water, education or housing facilities. My dad was a civil engineer and had worked with the Public Works Department helping construct roads, highways and bridges in the region. He is well-versed with the problems of the people in the region and knows what they really need.''

Phirangiz discussed her plan in detail with her father and together with her two siblings - an elder brother and an elder sister - drew up a plan. One of the first projects they undertook was to improve the facilities in the schools in the region. "We actively help Primary Schools in the area by building more classrooms, providing hand pumps, digging wells, providing books and stationery to students and ensuring they have playgrounds and running water supplies. We also provide scholarships for tribal students who are doing well to pursue higher studies to be able to move on to university studies.

"We are trying to ensure that they do not get marginalised. We want them to rise above their impoverished existence, we want to teach them skills that will help them integrate with mainstream society and get a good means of livelihood.''

Sourcing the funds

Once Phirangiz had set her mind on her mission she started working on how to raise funds for the charity. "Initially, funds came in mainly through word of mouth.

"Many of my friends and their friends know about my work and they come forward to help in so many different ways. Every first Saturday of the month, we have a stall booked at the Flea Market at Safa Park.''

Whatever people donate to the Angel Group Fund is put up for sale here and the proceeds go towards improving the living condition of the tribal people in the villages near Mandvi. "It's amazing how compassionate people are and how much they give to put on sale for the cause,'' she says. "Besides this, every two months I send cartons of stuff for school children and for the elderly.''

Once the resources and goods reach India, her father and her siblings take over and ensure the operation is organised right down to the last detail.

"My father, even at 76, is a sprightly man with an amazing zeal for the work we do,'' she says. Along with a band of faithful volunteers and my brother who lives in a town close by, they manage things so beautifully that it leaves me with total peace of mind to concentrate on what I need to do here so the help can reach there.

My father often sends me photographs of the work in progress and I forward it to all those who donate so generously. I visit Mandvi quite often and each visit fills me with a rare happiness. It makes me even stronger in my belief that I need to do more.''

No regrets

Despite the tumultuous early years, Phirangiz has few regrets. Strangely she feels there is a meaning to everything in life. "In some ways, I thank my ex-husband who abandoned us,'' she says. "If that had not happened, perhaps I would not travelled down this path and do what I am now doing. Perhaps I would not have felt compelled to take stock of my life, move on and stand up on my own for myself and my children. "

Her growth as a strong and empathic individual is validated by the fact that despite what she underwent due to her ex-husband's behaviour, she has continued to stay in touch with his parents and even today takes care of some of their needs.

Healing through Reiki

And what about Reiki? The process that helped her get back on her feet? She is still a passionate advocate of it, although she doesn't have enough time to practise it on others. But she does try to imbue the principles of it when the need arises in people who come to her in a frazzled state of mind. "Many people are out of touch with their inner selves. I help them gather their scattered thoughts and identify the actual problem so they can enjoy peace of mind and an acceptance of what cannot always be controlled in life.

"My greatest reward comes when I see that my help has made them feel happy and well-adjusted once again. They in turn often volunteer to do some of the work I do or donate generously towards the Flea Market stall and other such projects."

Dreams for the future

Angel Group has come a long way - from serving one village in Gujarat in 2004 to 12 villages today. But Phirangiz' real dream is to see every village in Gujarat have clean drinking water and every village child getting educated. She believes the same vision and focused approach will help her make a bigger difference in future.

As I leave, she quotes from one of her favourite poems by Stephen Grellet: ‘I expect to pass through this life but once. If, therefore there can be any kindness I can show or any good thing I can do for any fellow being let me do it now... Let me not defer it, or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.' 

The Journey so far

Angel Group was set up in 2004 and began by sponsoring 36 children to attend university. It also helped set up three water pumps in three villages that same year.

According to the Angel Group's website, the charity is in the process of constructing an orphanage for girls. The estimated cost for this is around Dh75,000. The orphanage will have seven rooms, dining and bathroom areas and will accommodate 250 girls.

Plans are also on to construct an old-age home. The group is also looking for sponsors to donate playground equipment and recreation facilities for school children.

Angel Group works with local government authorities to ensure that programmes fit into national plans where possible. The volunteers work directly with local people and in partnership with local bodies and support systems to provide quick relief and assistance.

It has so far provided clean drinking water facilities for ten local schools and five remote areas in small villages of Gujarat.

The funds that have been collected have also gone towards rebuilding and repairing huts and sheds destroyed by floods.

However, the major portion of the funds have gone towards the education of young adults. The Angel Group encourages and helps children to finish their university degrees or pursue vocational training.