Mumbai Marathon Part II. Week Sixteen

So as we packed on Sunday night, ready for our early morning start (6am wake up for a 7.30am check-in) I wasn’t really sure what to expect of Mumbai. It’s the unofficial capital of India, it has the biggest population of any city in India (close to 20million), it is the financial capital of India, Bollywood (Mumbai’s take on Hollywood) is the second biggest film industry in the World, it’s home to the biggest slum in Asia (Dharavi) and on the 26th November 2008 Mumbai was rocked by terror attacks on some of its famous sights (Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe and CST Station). So would this trip be a nice sightseeing visit or would I see and experience things that would have a lasting impact on my life?

So after some initial confusion at the airport mostly with checking-in bags (it’s different in Chennai to every other airport I’ve flown from) we were on our way to Mumbai for our inter-city visit. As we came in to land over this massive city, we couldn’t help but be excited about all that was planned and for the finale on Sunday, the Mumbai Marathon, where some Oasis Chennai staff & the older football boys would be participating in the 6km dream run, along with 120 other Oasis runners!

As we came in to land we caught our first glimpse of the sheer extent of the slums in Mumbai, it was the Santa Cruz slum, literally right on the taxiway of Mumbai Airport just behind an 8ft wall, talk about the rich & poor divide. So we reach the plush domestic arrivals terminal, collect our bags, catch a pre-paid taxi and head for our accommodation for the week, Church Mission House, Grant Road. Our taxi ride in really gave us a sense of what Mumbai is about, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, mostly due to Mumbai expanding as a major World city and slums being demolished to be replaced by enormous office complexes. The hardest thing for me was seeing families living on the streets, not in slums, but right on the main roads, they just find a big wall and set up shelter against it, making the pavement their home. There are kids running around, women cooking food and men just sitting around passing the time of day because with no job there is nothing else to do, but be. The other experience that is difficult to cope with is the amount of beggars there are, literally at every traffic light or junction you are confronted when stopped in an auto or taxi, by either children begging (usually for someone who ‘owns’ them and takes the money they get, in return for having food & shelter) or women holding children begging, they don’t just stand there and ask for money, they grab you, touch you and generally harass you for something. So experiencing this for the first time on our way to CHM (Church Mission House) was both eye opening and challenging in how to deal with these situations.

So our time in Mumbai starts with a trip to Bandra, an area mostly populated with slums (as is 60% of Mumbai) and office complexes. In fact the families in the slum across the river from where Oasis runs programs have been offered 1 crore (10,000,000 rupees. £170,000) by a company for each property they own because they are living in areas the companies want to develop. However the families aren’t budging because they are holding out for 2 crores, this is the extent of how valuable land in Mumbai is, but the funny thing is that these families don’t even own the land, they are living illegally! So we visit the Bandra office, where we meet Kuldeep (Leena from orientation’s husband), he explains all about the work that happens in Bandra which includes, playschools, healthcare, English teaching and this is all run through microfinance, which means that all Oasis does is oversee the project, the people living in Bandra actually run everything, which is fantastic to see! This specific way of running a project basically ensures that when Oasis move on to a different area of need (another slum in Mumbai), then this project will be able to fund and run itself, which surely has to be the goal for every charitable mission organisation, it’s vital that the people are given responsibility and the ability to be self-sufficient. During the afternoon we visit the Blue Dart (postal company owned by DHL) project, which is located in another area of Bandra slum, this is an awesome project where those who have dropped out of school get a second chance to make something of their lives. Andy Cheng (co-ordinator of the course) runs a 5/6 month course that teaches 18-24 yr olds written & spoken English, Life Skills, Computer Skills, Job Skills and Interview Techniques. It was so encouraging to see that 4 groups of 20 students complete this course each year and that lots of them are now in full time jobs, whereas before they had no hope, now they have a hope and a future. Our first day of visiting projects was such a rewarding experience, it made me realise that Oasis Mumbai is totally dedicated to the work they do, they are really passionate not only about the work they are doing, but about leaving projects to be self-sufficient and consequently reaching out to other slum areas, that even if sometimes we feel helpless immersed in all this poverty, there are projects out there that are making an incredibly visible impact on lives. A lovely evening was spent with John Nonhebel’s (Oasis India Chief Exec.) family, including two other guys who work for Oasis (Andy & Clive), both of which know Laurie & Ben’s parents, so it was great for us all to chat about the UK for once!

Wednesday was set to be a difficult day, mostly with regard to where we were going and what we would see, it was the day we visited the Aruna project in Grant Road (5 mins from our accomm.), a project based in one of Mumbai’s red light areas. We walk to the office unaware of what we would find, slightly curious about what it’s like, but also kind of scared as to what we would find. The morning was spent with Sachin & Michael learning about all the work that Aruna does, we find out that they run healthcare programs from their office/centre, they hold church here for the women and the centre acts as a drop in place almost 24hrs, so anytime a girl needs to talk to someone they can drop-in. After lunch, a Thali costing Rs.27 (37p), a Thali is rice, poppadum, roti and little pots of different “gravy’s”, we helped out with teaching English (I had a really sweet guy called Sandeep) and then prepared to head out onto the streets to talk with some women. Ben went with another group and Laurie & I went with Rafeeq & Sachin to one of the main streets where the women live and work, along the way they showed us different buildings around that are brothels, most of them you would never know were brothels. As we approached our first home visit, I suddenly had goose bumps, I felt pretty sick and was almost thinking I wasn’t prepared for what I might see, not the first time I’ve felt like that in India. What would we see? Would the whole building be a brothel, so would we see things that would shock us or make us feel uneasy? Lots of thoughts were running through my head as we walked up the rickety old wooden stairs, it was like entering a factory in England around the early 1900s, there was rubbish everywhere, it was dark and sinister, the feelings I felt made me realise the Devil really had full grip on this building and was relishing in the business going on here. As we approached I was almost reluctant to enter into the flat, I was looking around trying to find something to calm me down, like children playing or the sound of laughter, anything to change the mood of the place. We enter into a long flat, almost like two separate flats but you had to walk through one to get to the other, so we did, and found 2 families living in the end flat, 2 mums, a grandma and 4 kids (one of which the mother wanted to put up for adoption), to put it into perspective they all live in this one room smaller than most of our bedrooms. So we spoke with them for a while, well Sachin did, we just sat on a bed listening in to what they were saying and playing with the kids. It turns out that these 2 mums go out to look for business (like many do), then bring the guy back to their flat and then regardless of who is around, be it children or other adults, they get on with business there and then, hearing this really shocked me and also broke my heart, is this really what God wants for his children? Was this really the way life was meant to be lived? The worst thing is that these women have no other options, once they get trapped in prostitution they lose all self confidence, they lose all family contact because the job they are doing leads to their family disowning them, they truly are on their own. This is where Aruna steps in, they are seeking to change the lives of these girls (who are free to walk away from it at any point, they just get immersed in it so think they can’t leave) and bring about a hope and a future for these women who God loves just as much as he loves us. We visited some more homes, including one where at least 4 people lived in a space (drain for a toilet, 2 shelves for a kitchen, 3 wooden beds and a 1.5m2 area to eat) smaller than my bedroom, this really challenged me about how much I take all I have for granted and how comfortable my life is in comparison. After visiting homes we went to speak to some street women, they sit outside a room entered off the street, a curtain gives privacy from all travelling along the road, they can be very forceful to passers-by, trying to entice them in, one girl even took a guys glasses and would only give them back if he came inside, he called the police, so the situation was sorted, but it’s an indication of what goes on. So we headed back to the Aruna office to share with Ben what our afternoon had been like, it seems they were similar, although Ben spent his time in a huge brothel (300 women) just down the road from the office and he was equally shocked by what he saw. What a day, what an experience and what a privilege to spend time with a team who are so driven to serve God in such a difficult place, a place where the Devil has reign. I will never forget my experience of Grant Road red light area; this day will stay in my memory for the rest of my life, and will serve in some way to change my thinking or opinions on what life is about.

So this is the end of part II, there will be a part III next week; I’ve just been so busy with various things that I haven’t had a chance to sit down and type. I hope this is sufficient reading till next time and that you’ll be challenged by what I’ve seen and written about.

God Bless,

Tom xx