Hello from Mumbai day four!
Today we had a big breakfast to avoid any repeats of feeling faint/sick on the train like Tuesday- the hotel got us proper baked beans in specially so we had beans on toast! (Lisa and Claire = very happy!!) Then we headed off to the train station via rickshaw! We got the train to Raey Road and met Ruchrita and a japanese student who is also working with Pratham called Natski! Then we met Rita who helped us find our way to the Daru Khana Child Rights Desk. The Desk is essentially a few chairs under a canopy right in the middle of some slums! The slums werent as bad as many that we have seen so far though- the smell wasnt too bad and the buildings seemed quite well constructed and looked after! Once again we were the object of many stares and comments...this time we had Natksi to share the stares with us though! We went to a little cafe and Natski, Ruchrita and Rita had some drinks called Lassi and Charr...charr was a spicy yoghurt/milk type drink and Lassi was a sweet yoghurt/milk type drink! We met the women who worked at the desk and learnt a bit about what they do...then they took us out amongst the dwellings to visit some of the mini factories that there are in some of the buildings- laundrettes/leather factories etc. we were looking for children who were working so that Ruchrita and her colleagues could talk to the children and the employers and try to convince them that it would be best if the children didnt work and they went to school instead. Some employers were more open to discussing it, and said they would give the children the option. Others got very angry and told numerous lies about the children. Ruchrita usually ended up shouting at the employers, and things got a little bit heated! One little boy ended up in tears- he was torn between listening to his boss and listening to the Pratham staff. We then visited a 'house' of one of the women, who lived with her husband and two children. Their daughter has special needs and Pratham has helped the family to cope- providing support and putting them in contact with a special needs camp. The little girl was called Bhablna and she was 6 years old but only looked about 3!! It was fascinating seeing how people cope with disabilities in this environment, and seeing inside a family 'home'. The 'house' was about the size of a utility room from our houses it was about a metre by a metre square if that!...it seems unbelievable that 4 people sleep/eat/wash/live in such a small space!
While we were walking around Daru Khana we saw a huge variety of sights- one man was sat having a bath in a huge muddy puddle! There were children in school uniforms on their way to/from school, children with no clothes on running around in the lanes/cats sunbathing on roofs and catching mice/cows grazing on piles of rubbish/ dogs sleeping in the street/ goats wandering around/ chickens in coops directly under the counter where eggs were being sold! We should also mention that Daru Khana has a 'main street' running through the middle of it, where there are many different 'shops' and stalls which are beneath family shacks! While we were there we even saw a few barbers shops complete with proper barber chairs and mirrors!!! we also saw a 'doctors surgery', once again this was in one of the shack stalls!! There were also a few school buildings along the main street where children were taught sitting on the floor in dark looking rooms, with loads of children to one teacher! We had lunch in a room above one of the shacks, which involved climbing up a ladder (going up was fine, coming back down another matter!!) It was like having lunch in a tree house!! after lunch a grandmother and her grandson came up to the childs rights desk- the grandmother wanted to sign her grandson up for some time at the shelters, as she had to work and she needed someone to be there for him while she worked! The rain was torrential this afternoon, so on our way back to the hotel we got soaked which just added to how disgusting we felt after a hot sticky day in the slums!! We got showered asap after we got in and then has a siesta! we've just been down to the hotel restaurant and forced ourselves to eat a bowl of soup- we're struggling to eat so late at night and with such limited menu choices! We feel a bit isolated out in Panvel...there is literally nothing here, so we have no other restaurant options or even shops to have a wander too. Hopefully things will improve!!!
Night guys,
love lisa and claire xxx