Today [Saturday] we all went to the Dharavi Slum and spent most of the
day touring and interacting with local children. We started our day by taking a
Mumbai city bus to the train station, where we caught the train to the slum.
The Mumbai public transport was quite hectic and it was very nice to have
Krishna to guide us through all the yelling and honking. We then started our
tour of the slum by walking through the commercial area where we were able to
see the massive recycling industry present in the small winding streets of the
slum. Every square inch of space was utilized from the floor space to spread
the crushed up plastic, to the roof where everything was laid out to dry. It
was fascinating to see the way this area that western stereotypes portray as
horribly impoverished and filthy, is actually home to a vast and booming
industry.
After spending some time looking at the industrial side of
the slums, all of us went to the small houses where people live. Later we took
a tour of Krishna’s school and spoke to some local students, grade and high
school. Despite not understanding Hindi, interactions with the students were
very fun and interesting. We played hand games, learned about their families
and friends, and danced to some Bollywood music.
The girls from our trip went to play soccer with younger
Indian girls while the guys split up into two groups to bond with the teenagers
in Krishna’s development program. Communication was mostly through fractured
English and hand gestures but there was no denying the immediate bond that was
formed between the two groups of students. Within ten minutes we were sitting
side by side with the natives talking about; life in Dharavi, life in New York
City, sports, and hobbies.
After that we went back to our hotel to relax and reflect on
the day’s journey before getting packed and heading out to the night train.
Our experience today in the Slum was both enlightening and
humbling. There is no doubt that an additional perspective on Indian culture
and the Indian way of life was gained. We got to see tough, unsanitary, living
conditions. With that however we also got to see a vibrant and resilient
community with individuals in it who are trying to make a difference the world.
The most inspiring moment of the day was when one student started talking about
what learning English has meant to him and how it inspires hope within the
community, and within himself. He talked about breaking the cycle of poverty
and proving that if you work hard you can be successful no matter what. This
message of hope coming from a place associated with such great despair was
truly beautiful and inspirational.
Now we are a 14 hour trainride, heading towards Heranjalu!!!
(Happy Birthday Dad)
Jake and Devin
