Making life easier for people living in slums
We’ve all seen pictures and television footage of people living in slums across the world. But what you might not know is that there is a slum population of more than two million people right in Bangalore.
Imagine living in a suffocating overcrowded environment surrounded by heaps of uncollected dirty waste. There is no clean water nor sanitation. Families of six members will share a space no bigger than one small room and have to walk for miles to collect water. Though their housing is made of plastic sheets and pieces of wood, these people keep their homes very tidy in order to protect themselves from flies, cockroaches and rats. One girl we met carried the only woolen sweater she possessed with her all year round even in summer with its soaring temperatures well above 35 degrees – simply because it was her most precious possession and she did not want it to be eaten by mice.
We first visited a slum with 500 families and an estimated 3000 people one evening in June. We thought we might be intruding but were warmly welcomed, mainly by children and few adults, as most of them were still working on some construction site or rag picking. They were so happy that someone was taking a little interest in them and freely invited and accompanied us as we walked through the slum. Our hearts were overwhelmed by the kindness and joy we encountered in this place where we had least expected it.
Thoughtful practical action is needed here to help these people in a sustainable and empowering way. In a first step, we aim to improve the quality of life by providing access to clean water, improved sanitation, and waste management services. And as the children are very dear to our hearts we’d like to help them that they too can go to school.
We would like to extend a special thanks to Sanjeevini from Sai Krupa Trust for accompanying and supporting us on this project.
