Day 8 – We Shall Overcome

In our final day of activities in Delhi we spent time with street children at a center run by Salaam Baalak Trust. The haunting yet hopeful story we heard from our guide is unfortunately not unusual for the thousands of “children of the street” in India.

At the age of 10, our guide watched as his abusive father beat his mother so badly that she died from the injuries. Then, after worsening abuse from his father, he decided to run away at the age of 13. He hopped a train and ended up in Delhi, where he was quickly initiated into the dishonest culture of people who often take advantage of street children, for example by making them work all day with the promise of food that is never delivered. With no food, no work, no option to return home (“my father would kill me,” he said) and the constant fear of beatings from the police, our guide told us nonchalantly that he decided his only option was suicide. For me this simple statement, spoken in a seemingly monotone voice, devoid of emotion, was heartbreaking. Thankfully, before going through with the suicide, he happened upon a woman who offered to help him and decided that if he was going to die anyways, he might as while give one more try.

Luckily this woman turned out to be trustworthy and connected him with Salaam Baalak Trust, through which he found a place to live and was able to finish school. Now the organization pays him to give tours that generate revenue to support its centers for street children (one model of social enterprise), and he has hopes of attending college. I was moved beyond words by this story and the work Salaam Baalak Trust is doing on behalf of so many children. However, it only reaches a few thousand children every year, and so many more remain on the streets.

Children as young as five end up the streets either because they are lost, abandoned by their families who cannot feed them, or run away due to abuse. The situation for young girls is even worse as they are often captured by pimps who force them into prostitution. Organizations like Salaam Baalak Trust, Childline (which we read about for class), and others are doing what they can to intervene and give these children a more hopeful future.

We had a chance to meet a group of boys staying at the center and they were overjoyed to sing and dance for us. A couple showed off their Bollywood skills, while one imitated Justin Bieber. In the most touching moment for me, one young boy was proud to show off an English song he knew and came up front to sing “We Shall Overcome,” as all the boys clapped along. In thanks, we sang back “You Are My Sunshine.” Knowing the harsh reality these boys have faced at such a young age, it was absolutely breathtaking to see them find so much joy in singing, dancing, and talking with these strange people who had come from far away to meet them. I will never forget this day.