A Sad Day

May 6th, we went to a community which was built on the refuse dump.

The sewage water was opened to the air which was very smelly in the hot weather. But the local people have already adapted to the harsh situation, they welcome us with flowers, told us how they built a community toilet. During that time we saw kids playing among the garbage... We all feel very sad about that scene, I knew some girls cried......

Those memories 2

Then the second day, we first visited Dharavi.

Frankly, it's not that bad as slums, it's like some low income community in other parts all over the world. People lived there had their livelihoods, have there social networds, have their temples and mosques. Just the density in the area is super high and they have no rights for the houses they lived in thus they lack an access to all the infrastructure they need...During our interviews later, we found most of the people there are very kind and working hard, the space is crowded but when we ask their will about space, many people said if they could have one more room, they would be very happy and satisfied. They wills are small. However, even the house they are living now is under the rick of being taken by the government...

And what impressed me is that in Dharavi we even not came across children begging for money. The kids were attracted a lot by the camera in my hand and always begging for photos~

IT'S A BIG COMMUNITY WITH PEOPLE'S LIFE AND WORK, IT IS NOT A SLUM!

we came across a wedding in a street of Dharavi~

Those memories1

Today we finished our final presentation.Still feel there's something more we want to say.
Closed my eyes, I can still see the lively scene of life in Dharavi, still heard the Indian music, still smelt the genuine curry...

This is the first day we arrived in Mumbai~

I remembered the first day we arrived, the heat from the sun, the flow of people in the street, kids around us begging for money, etc. And the first time we saw pavement dwellers, I was shock by the population density in those small huts along the road in the centre of the city.

More than 10 people lived in a small single room. No infrastructure at all. There were so many kids left home, some just 8 or 9 years old were taking care of the younger brothers/sisters, some already helped with the housework or helped earn money... Life in those houses is never easy. I felt kind of guilty for the good living conditions I was borned with.