What can you do, when you can't do everything?

How on earth do you prioritize one health topic over the other when the need for help of all different types is greater than anything you've ever dreamt was possible?

That sentiment followed me all day today as our group worked in the E Andheri slum, outside of Mumbai. The smell of human and animal excrement, the standing water, the garbage, the cows and chickens, the small children running around without shoes, the infants being taken care of by five year olds – it was almost too much to bear. AmeriCares, who we were lucky enough to accompany today, has the saintly goal of providing a mobile van and clinic every two weeks. They see 80-100 patients on each of their daily visits and the patient presentations range from fever and dizziness to joint pain or a persistent cough.

As I witnessed all of the sights and sounds that the slum presented, I just couldn’t help but think “how does an organization like AmeriCares prioritize the who, what, where and when?” The need is overwhelming and seemingly insurmountable. Tetanus, Hepatitis, blindness, parasites and worms, HIV/AIDS, asthma --- this is only a fraction of the list of ailments that immediately popped into my mind when I glanced at the faces of those who lived in the slum. What AmeriCares does in the slum is indubitably making a difference. It may only be one van, once every two weeks to deliver health services, but there are many effects that last much longer.

Amidst all of the filth, disease and misfortune; however, there was an undertone of hope. Children and adolescents from all ages were excited about us being in the slum. They wanted to practice English, talk about Shakespeare as one 14 year old did so well and sometimes they just wanted to stare at us. More than once, we were told thank you or that our visit to India and the slum was appreciated, although maybe not in those specific words. As I continue to reflect on my experience today, I can’t help but smile at the juxtaposition between the good and the bad; the hopeful and the hopeless.

This journey, although only a few days old, has already taught me so much. I truly believe that exposure to other cultures, locales, foods, perspectives and ideas and livelihoods is one of the most important ways a person can make themselves better. Our group is a veritable melting pot of backgrounds, interests and personalities and it is so interesting to see and read how this journey is being experienced differently by us all.

Brooke