Posted: 23/02/2009
With the mission to bring hope to a seemingly helpless situation, a team of 14 members from St. Stephen's Church, Twickenham spent 24 hours enacting the lives of slum dwellers to raise funds for their trip to India. They built slum huts using what ever they can find and then continued to live, cook and sleep there for the whole duration amidst the freezing weather. The money they raised was used to provide for the essential improvements to the infrastructure of the health clinic and for basic provisions for the children's resource centre at Mayapuri. The children have got a new playground now, thanks to the team.
The team renovated the centre at Mayapuri with a fresh coat of paint and beautiful murals in the children's resource centre and the computer rooms. The team also spent time with the individual slum dwellers, listening to their stories and trying to understand their hardships and problems. They also conducted workshops for the children of the Bal Mandal.
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The class 10 and 12 students who are preparing themselves for their final examinations had an interaction with the team. The lone college student from Mayapuri, Arun Kumar, has been mentoring and motivating them to attend college after their schools. The team also encouraged them to go ahead and pursue their dreams no matter what. Apart from the team, 3 members from Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) led by Jeremy Etherington also spent time with the alcoholics in Mayapuri, Zakhira and Jeevan Nagar. Alcoholism is a huge problem in these areas and adds to the socio-economic problems.
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The newly refurbished centre was inaugurated on 21st February, a day before the team left for their homes. The team had built up a good rapport with the community members and members of the Mahila Mandal and the Bal Mandal in such a short time that it became hard for both the sides to say goodbyes.
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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
