Obama’s famous campaign slogan “yes we can” had inspired Americans and people in other parts of the world too, to an extent that may have been a little unrealistic. In a news article by Barkha Dutt recently, the term of Obama’s had been discussed with Dutt mentioning the same fact. We did create a superhero image of a man who is extraordinary in many ways, but is, at the end of the day, a man. The recovery of the American economy and solution to allied issues that emerged therein will be a long process.Recently, at many of our meetings or even discussions with people who stop by, at Street Smart bring back the same article in my mind too. There is a lot of energy and excitement about the project and we are all immensely grateful for the support that we have received in numerous forms- from the nice, plump cheque to the encouraging smile with the words “good job” and everything in between- everything helps tremendously.But there is an emerging concern that there may be more expectations from Street Smart that what it can deliver at the moment. Working street children is a long process of unlearning- both for us and for these children- and patience is not a desirable virtue, but an absolute necessity! So while there are days when we may feel that we have been doing the same thing since a long time, beneath the surface, we are laying a strong foundation for Street Smart to be built upon and will take as long as  needed to make it solid before taking the next steps. We are creating a stronger bond with the kids (we have the liberty to shout at them, btw!); we are mapping our areas that need immediate attention and those that need attention over the long term; we are collaborating with people and networks and organizations; and we are creating lots of good and terrible art in the process!

Here are a few of those: