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Kalimati Slums.
This is another project of Emma’s at Sunrise, and Emma and I visited the slums with a few children from the orphanage yesterday.
I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have driven past many slums in various countries and it’s always horrifying to imagine people actually living in conditions like that and I always thought that the people would be hostile, angry that we are the have’s and they are the have not’s, but it was different. Partly due to Emma being there and what she is trying to do for them of course, but what really surprised me was that a lot of them still seem to have a degree of dignity.
There is also very much a hierarchy. There are the elite even in a slum area!
The poorest of the poor and the very low caste live on the edge of the settlement, by the river, and down near the river - and their homes - if you can call them that, are the toilets. Ugh! The smell is impossible to describe and you can hardly see the bits of plastic that make up the doors for flies.
These people are
so filthy that you would imagine that they haven’t had the privilege of water for a life time. But when the kids run up to you and hug you - what can you do? They smile, beautiful wide smiles, but I can see a sadness, or maybe it’s a dullness in their eyes. Maybe it’s just me being emotional, but it’s hard not to be.
Emma was there for the final lot of paperwork that had to be done for 95 of the slum kids to go to school. Most of them had been to a school previously, but they were discriminated against because they were from the slums and the teachers even refused to mark their work as they didn’t want to touch their books! These are not the really filthy kids either. Sure they aren’t squeaky clean but they deserve better than that.
Some even had quite good English and I was able to chat with them.
So it was a big meeting with children and parents in the school room (shack) and parents had to sign or put their mark on a paper to show their commitment.
After that the children were all
given a banana, the ones going to school and the poorer ones that aren’t. That was about 150 bananas! By the way, the poorer, very low caste families don’t want their children to attend school as most of their money is earned by the children begging on the street! What can you do?
Strangely enough it was a good experience and I would willingly go back to talk and play with the children. Even with people in the slums, there are more similarities than differences between us.
P.S. There aren’t as many photos as I would have liked, but it is very easy to be insensitive while taking photos. What is abhorrent to us, is their everyday life so taking lots of photos can be seem as insulting, even in a slum.
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Patricia Somewhere
Patricia MC
Bravo
I'd like to congratulate your friend for the work she is involved in and you for writing your views. Hopefully some people will be inspired to reach out. Patricia