Final Thoughts

Our official time in India ended this morning over brunch in the hotel. We all had the opportunity to discuss our business plans for our final projects. I came to India with an idea to help the DC community, but have been so struck by the poverty and health disparities in India that I have changed my idea. Mumbai is a city covered in trash, a problem I believe is the underlying issue of the health crisis facing those living in the city, especially in the slums. Factors relating to government corruption and population size make the waste management infrastructure nonexistent. The piles of trash and sewage is an image that has stuck with me the entire trip, it is something I cannot walk away from.

While driving through Delhi the other day we passed by an open area filled with pigs. With a little direction from Dr. Parish, it occurred to me that pigs could be a solution to waste management. The idea will need to start on a small scale, just one slum, and I still have a lot of research ahead, but I think this is an idea worth thinking through. I have a few weeks to work it all out, but I will share my plan with those who are interested once it is done.

India provided me with many struggles. At home, I often feel that everything is my “comfort zone”. Even if something is unfamiliar I adapt quickly. India was an “uncomfort zone” at almost every turn. No one likes feeling uncomfortable, but I was happy to find that I do have boundaries and there are things that make me feel out of place. I am looking forward to getting back home, but India has helped me realize that I can do work in rough areas (just as long as I have a nice place to go back to at night).

Throughout the trip I often thought of how many people would benefit from seeing what I saw. We live in a country of complaints and I am sometimes frustrated by the lack of patience from everyone, myself included. I saw Indians living in worse conditions than any homeless person in the US without complaint. There is a balance. People in slums should be more outraged at their situation, but at home we should stop complaining about everything (and if we do complain being proactive about a solution). I would love to bring groups of Americans to India to see how the rest of the world lives.

For those of you at home, I am excited to show you my limited number of pictures, but it might be a few weeks before I can wrap my mind around everything I saw and put it into a cohesive conversation. It is not to the Taj Mahal for a day then one more day in Mumbai before heading home.

Last Group Day (Elizabeth)

Today was our last day in the field. We visited with two organizations. CARE, one of the largest international organizations, works all over India in areas of health and the underlying issues of poverty, sanitation, food security and capacity building. We met with a number of people in the office and had a wonderful discussion with them about their programs. They shared their challenges and successes while we shared our views on social entrepreneurship and how it might be able to help India’s future.

Next we met with a great organization, Salaam Baalak Trust. They rescue street children in Delhi from train stations, bus stations and street corners. Last year alone they helped over 5,000 children who had left home for any number of reasons. Their main goal is to reunite children with their families, but in the majority of cases this does not happen. Either the family can not be found, the child does not want to go back or the organization does not feel that the home environment is safe. In all of these cases Salaam Baalak tries to place the kids in one of their five shelters. Some children stay for only a few months, but some children stay until they age-out at 18. Salaam Baalak provides the children in their shelters with clothes, food and education.

We walked to their newly formed drop-in center where we met two boys who told us their stories. Both have been with Salaam Baalak for years and are thriving. One of the boys left his home in Bangladesh when he was 6 because his parents died. He walked across the border into India and eventually found himself in Delhi where one of the social workers spotted him. He is over 18, but still comes to the drop-in center to hang out and help. The other boy ran away from Mumbai and is currently completing his high school degree. He left his home at such a young age that he does not know his birthday, so does not know how old he is. His English was very good and he was incredibly bright. He schooled us on US history and politics and asked us about the upcoming election. He wants to go to college and then move to the US.

This is an amazing organization that deserves a lot of credit for the daily struggles they encounter in their work. "Scale" has become the buzz word among NGOs and social enterprises. Can this organization or model be scaled up to impact more people? It seems to be the main method of evaluation for many groups. Salaam Baalak is an organization working against this notion. They work in Delhi and will probably always work in Delhi because that is where they are needed and I do not think they should be devalued because of it.