The Slums

Today I went to visit the slum area of town with a fellow American family who lives here. The family was reading to their children this week about world hunger. Since we live smack in the middle of poverty, they decided it would be a good opportunity for their girls to give food to the poor. To put it in perspective, about a 1/3 of the nation lives on about 25 cents a day. 1/2 of the kids here are malnourished and 3/4 of the population does not have access to clean drinking water.

As with most things about life here, I had mixed feelings about going. We could fill their tummies for a few weeks but then what? When we arrived, we decided to split up into three different teams. I had a national friend and the family's oldest daughter with me. As we made our way deeper into the slums, the ground was littered with plastic bags and filth. Mothers with babies on their hips followed us around, pelting us with questions. I noticed alot of the kids had sores on their faces and swollen tummies. Flies were everywhere and of course I couldn't help but notice the smell. One image is forever etched in my mind of a little toddler, maybe around 15 months, standing all alone in a sea of trash with her brown eyes giving me a glazed over stare.

We were quickly invited into their homes. And the huts themselves were actually pretty tidy. The floors were swept and things were put away. We sat down and were able to chat with some women and children. I didn't really notice the stench after awhile. Instead, I looked into their faces and learned more about their lives. People are just people after all.

It turns out they didn't know Hindi. Thankfully, we made a little 12 year old friend who could speak Hindi. He translated for us as we went from house to house. At each home, we would distribute food rations in bags and talk to them a little while. One lady wanted to know if we needed our bags back. "no, of course not, you keep it, its for you" we told her.

The oldest daughter that was with me had a bag of her toys she wanted to give away. As we went to each hut, she would carefully select little toys for each of the kids. My heart was touched as she would say " you think they would like this pencil? or maybe this little animal'? Oh... to have the heartbeat of a child!

We ended our visit by singing some songs and telling them a story. They were easy to smile, and laugh. They said we were welcome to come back anytime.

I have alot of undeveloped thoughts about the day. The slums of South Asia have been sentimentalized in countless movies, journels and books over the years. Its easy to get this romantized view of it. Afterall, there is seemingly something altruistic about it. But the truth is- its just really sad, depressing and hopeless. Why would I be given so much when others have so little? Why do I complain when in reality, I have never gone even one day without food? What can I do for that toddler alone in the trash who is equally as precious in His sight? I just want to scream " HE LOVES YOU, HE LOVES YOU." I want them to not only have filled tummies but also eat from the Bread of Life so that they will never hunger again.