Posted: 24/09/2008
At midday on Tuesday 23 September, 165 people of all ages from the Jeevan Nagar slum colony joined volunteers from the City Life Church Southampton to attend a special screening of the new Bollywood film "Welcome to Sajjanpur."
The 6 member City Life Church team came to India for 10 days to assist Asha by running workshops for women and children and by holding a sanitation drive in the Jeevan Nagar slum.
Generous funding from the City Life Church volunteers provided 3 buses to transport members of Asha's Bal Mandals, Mahila Mandals, teen groups and Care for the Elderly programme members to the cinema. There was eager anticipation from all as we took our seats on the specialy reserved balcony. For many of the volunteers it was their first experience of a Bollywood film. While for some of our elderly guests, it was their first trip away from the slum in a long time.
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The film, a comedy set in rural India, was a great hit with the crowd. After the screening, it was time for the volunteers to bid farewell. Lots of hugs and promises to return later, the volunteers left to begin their trip back to the UK.
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The City Life Church volunteers, who had fundraised for their trip to India in a variety of ways, including holding a film night in Southampton, were delighted to be able to treat their new friends from Jeevan Nagar to a day of fun away from the slum.
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I grew up in a slum area, but Asha helped me to understand the importance of education. I've worked hard in school for years, and Asha gave me books and extra tuition when I needed it. Now I'm in engineering college! It's a dream come true for me.
Mahinder, Ekta Vihar
