To Actually See The Reality

I am sure many of you have seen the commercials from charitable organizations fundraising depicting heartrending visuals of extreme poverty and deplorable living conditions. Well, I actually walked along one of the streets here in Chennai and got a chance to see it up close and in person.

I have mentioned that I was strongly struck by the extreme levels of poverty I witnessed in Mumbai. Although it was shocking it really didn’t hit home as I pretty much flew by it in a autorickshaw. Even seeing some of the horrible conditions in the streets of Mumbai didn’t really percolate through me as I have seen similar situations at similar levels in other countries.

But walking along this one street today really shook me – truly slapped me upside the head as to just how lucky I am to have a living situation that is rather posh in comparison to that which I saw today. In a major city. Along a major road (or so it seems according to the map provided to us by the government for tourists traveling in India). Propping each other up was small shack after another. Each one was put together with whatever materials are available, it seems. No electricity. No running water. Cooking is done with fire in the street in front of the home. The river running behind this string of shacks appears to serve as the dumping grounds for their garbage and sewage.

And these people are the lucky ones. At least they have a shack to go into and live. There were many more that I witnessed on the way to lunch that had no building whatsoever to call home. Their personal belongings are covered by sun-bleached tarps, plastic sheets or cloth while they sleep on the sidewalks. The lucky ones of this group of people have trees to offer shade and protection against rain. Those not so lucky must wander to other locations to stay cool.

Tonight walking here to this inet place, I saw these families come together around the cooking fire to eat dinner, talk and share each other’s day.

It is truly heartbreaking to see this…

Devastating.