Since my first blog, it has been 2 weeks, only 2 weeks! Every single day we experience and learn so much. My perspective continually evolves. Since my last blog, we have been to Mysuru, Bengaluru, Hampi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Five cities with many people to watch, learn and grow from. I have been able to see first-hand how resilient people are here.
Two examples have really stuck with me and will greatly influence my life moving forward. In the city of India’s IT industry, Bengaluru, we attended St Joseph’s University. St Joseph’s is a Jesuit University that was first established in 1882. It is a highly regarded university with a six percent admission rate, meaning that it is very, very hard to get into. We spoke with students that studied various disciplines and the way they spoke of their education with pride and honour was extraordinary to see. It influenced me to cherish the education that I have in New Zealand. These SJU students go to school six days a week, a lot of them travel by public transport for more than two hours one way and they all study quite lengthy hours every single day. A lot of them do not come from wealthy homes but through cheap tuition fees, scholarships and their resilience they’re able to make things work. We were also fortunate enough to play against the school’s cricket team. We came second. But nonetheless, it was a great experience.
The second and most profound experience was our visit to Dharavi Slums. Dharavi is a slum that houses one million people in a 1.75km radius. Dharavi is the biggest slum in India and one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
Firstly, I felt sad for the kids growing up in the community and for the elderly living amongst the toxic air in which they work. The tour of Dharavi was a rollercoaster of emotions that will take a while to unpack. My honest perspective before going into the slum was that it would only be filled with rubbish and thousands of tents. However, I saw an extensive amount of innovation and resilience. I was able to experience first-hand, factories using recycled material to manufacture silk, cotton and other resources to sell. I saw many small businesses working together to bring in an annual $1 billion USD a year. I saw workers who worked hard for nine months of the year in Dharavi and then generally went back to their own villages for a couple months a year to do work there.
These are only two examples of resilience from the many that have been shown by the communities, schools and non-government organisations that I have visited. India has proven to me that mankind can do great things, with minimal resources, if there is a desire to do so. India is continually evolving my perspective. A lot of good people push through with a smile on their face, this is a value that I will strive to keep with me throughout my journey of life.