Day of Action

This past week was amazing as the community research project is in full force. My kids have been meeting with NGOs, doing library research and changing their communities. As usual, I learn a lot more from them then they do from me. Everywhere we go, people are very impressed by Akanksha kids because they are incredibly mature and inquisitive. The best part is watching them create change and inspire others. The best thing Akanksha teaches them is to empower themselves-not to wait for charity or for others to help them but to create the kind of change they want to see in their communities and in the world. Just because they were born in slums does not mean they are powerless. And power does not come with money or material things but power comes from the ability to rally people together to create lasting change. Akanksha kids are empowered to tackle big problems such as lack of education, sanitation problems, smoking and addiction. They have the research skills, communication skills and they have the drive to create change.


Last week, I took Vanita, Eshwari, Deepa and Renuka to meet with Salaam Bombay, an NGO that focuses on advocacy and awareness about addiction and tobacco use. The kids took extensive notes as three staff members explained the programs. They had a great exchange and all four of them asked questions. The NGO was very impressed with these kids because they told them to come back anytime. They gave them their phone numbers and also asked Vanita to send her report because it may be useful to them. They took a photo with the kids as well. I was very impressed how each and every one of them asked questions and got involved in the discussions, the maturity with which they handled themselves and their desire to get involved with the work of the NGO. The kids asked about volunteer opportunities with Salaam Bombay. It was so great to watch the staff answer their questions and engage them in a great discussion.

On Saturday, I took Zameer and Vanita to meet with Apnalay, an NGO that works to improve slum conditions in a few peripheral slum communities. Even though it was a very long bus ride to the community, the kids were patient. The assistant director of the NGO met with the kids and explained the mission of Apnalay and the work they do. He said that he usually doesn’t have free time but because he knows Lopa and respects Akanksha, he took the time out for Zameer and Vanita. Zameer and Vanita were very professional, listened attentively, and asked good questions. Manoj, assistant director, explained how Apnalay focuses on training leaders to pressure BMC to take care of the basic needs for the slum dwellers. They write letters to pressure BMC to clean up the sewage, pick up trash, etc. Zameer and Vanita learned something new: not only do individuals need to do something in their communities but policies need to change. Manoj emphasized how the NGO focuses on what slum dwellers need and they do not impose their own ideas. Manoj was also impressed with Zameer and Vanita and invited them to come back another day. Then we went to another small office of Apnalay in this same community and the kids sat in on an orientation for social workers. We also got a tour of this destitute community where people are literally living on top of trash. The kids seemed shocked by the level of poverty we saw.

The community where Apnalay works is Shivaji Nagar, on the periphery of the city. If I had to envision hell, that’s what it would look like. I have never seen such poverty and appalling living conditions. It’s a very big community, divided into authorized and unauthorized section. The authorized(legal) section has solid shacks and paved streets. Even though the streets are full of trash, it is still decent compared to the unauthorized section. The unauthorized section is literally a huge garbage dump with small shacks, whose roofs are made of t shirts and jackets. Visually that was most striking sight-to see half naked children playing happily in this garbage dump that is their home. I cannot even describe in words how destitute this community. I was shocked, I cannot believe that in 21st century with the abundance of resources that we have, people live in such appalling conditions. All of the communities where my Akanksha kids live seem like mansions compared to this community. I felt so impotent and so powerless at seeing such poverty. Something has to be done-we cannot allow people to live in such conditions.



On Sunday, the entire LTL2 class(Santosh, Krishna Murthy, Jamal, Yogesh, Vanita, Renuka, Deepa, Zameer, Arif, Azim) plus a few guests (Kanhaia, Raju, Farida) met in front of Nehru planetarium for our day of action. The kids working on sanitation issues worked together to draft a letter to BMC and their goal was getting 50 signatures. The other kids worked on making posters about education. Zameer told them about what he learned the day before at Apnalaya and Arif took on the task of writing the letter as the rest of the team worked on the wording of the letter. Kanhaia was very helpful and got the LTl2 team to work well. He helped them write the letter. Raju(who graduated from slp) helped the other kids make posters and for the rest of the day helped me keep kids like Santosh, Krishna Murthy and Jamal under control. They really look up to him and want to emulate him. I was very impressed by his leadership qualities and the way people reacted to him in the community. Then we spent the rest of the day in Mariaman Nagar picking up garbage and asking people to write the letter. It was amazing to see how much the kids got into it-boys who constantly misbehave were serious and took pride in making their community cleaner. Raju made a suggestion that we go into small lanes and pick up trash in front of people’s houses and ask them to sign the letter to BMC. It was so great to watch kids like Krishna Murthy or Yogesh introduce themselves, explain what they are doing and ask community members for their signatures. Also, the kids became really passionate about picking up trash and felt pride when we threw out 6 full trash bags at the end of the day. People responded so well to them and were impressed by the work they are doing. The three most mischievous boys, Krishna Murthy, Jamal and Santosh, behaved well, spoke to many people and took pride in seeing a small change in their community. I was very proud of them for putting in action those words imprinted on their t shirts. My personal favorite moment was watching Yogesh, a tiny soft spoken twelve year old, ask people to sign the letter and explain the project. For that one moment, he seemed to grow tall and confident. All of the kids said that initially they felt nervous to come up to people and ask them for signatures but then they gained confidence. They also learned that the community wants to see change because sanitation problems affect everyone.

I want to highlight the huge contribution of my friend Kaushal who spent the entire day with us in the community. Kaushal is a young entrepreneur, web designer, with a socially conscious mind. He wanted to meet the kids I always talk about and to contribute in some way. He enjoyed spending the day in the community with the kids and helping them get signatures for the letter to BMC. He even ran into a security guard from his old job who lives in the community. I was grateful to have help for the day and I was impressed by how open minded he was. How many young professional spend their Sunday in a slum?



I arrived to my house physically drained from the entire weekend with my kids but emotionally recharged. My kids exhibit through their actions that there is hope-that individuals are responsible for making things better. Akanksha kids show that if you take time and arm them with the necessary tools such as communication skills and knowledge, they can do many great things. The poverty these kids are born into does not define them or inhibit them-in fact it serves as a jumping point for action.