Working together in Mumbai...

Despite the early night everyone had last night, most found it hard to get out of bed this morning. However, at 8.30 the school bus was waiting for us to take us to the Worli school again. Here we met with the year 12 students and their Maths and Economics teachers. They joined us for a trip to Dharavi, Mumbai's (and some say Asia's) biggest slum. Although we now had a large group of students from Mumbai no one had ever visited Dharavi. So this experience was going to be new to all of us.

When you hear the word 'slum" most people make the association to poverty, crime, danger, etc. The tour we took this morning showed a whole other story. We learned about the history of Dharavi, the residential area, the migrant workers who come from rural India in dry season to work and life in the commercial area. This is the area where all of Mumbai's wast is recycled and resold, where you find leather production, clothes production, etc. Dharavi's small scale businesses ttogether urn over approx. US$ 665 a year! Not that the businesses are restricted to the industrial side of Dharavi, you'll find pottery-making, bakeries supplying the whole of Mumbai, embroidery, etc. in the resedential side of Dharavi.

At no point did we threathened, we were met with honest, friendly but very hard working people of all over India, religions and beliefs. We saw children coming from school (or going), were met by so many hellos, hi's and waves that it brought smiles to our faces. An amazing experience thanks to our guides from Reality tours. Everyone takes many memories home.

After a wuick pizza lunch (students loved this!), it was back on the schoolbus to lend our hand to Ahura support, a NGO that supports people with special needs. We painted together with a group of people using their day centre and despite language barriers communicated together. We painted many small clay lamps for the Diwali season. Ahura can sell these through corporate responsibility projects of many large corporations in Mumbai. The proceeds will help to keep the day centre open.

Talking and painting together and especially the stories of hardship hit a cord with most of our students. Even to the point that some of our more 'regulars' of Mumbai consideren giving more of their time to Ahura when they are back in Mumbai!

Deeply impressed and full of sight we now have a bit a quiet time or a swim. We will have dinner shortly. After dinner we will have a reflection activity to look back at an already overwhelming array of impressions oc Mumbai.