Prologue:
I visited for the first time two years ago. I was really excited about the trip!
On the way from the airport I saw four almost naked, dirty toddlers sitting in a pile of sand along a dusty, busy motorway. I remember seeing other children go through piles of rubbish as we drove by an enormous shanty town which spread its ugly huts for miles. I slowly began to realize that this trip would be a trip of a lifetime - but not in a way that I expected it to be!..
Chapter 1: Poverty & Children
Soon after I arrived in I was surrounded by a dozen of children begging for money, food, etc. This loud chorus followed me for the rest of the trip. Everywhere tourists were greeted by children in torn, dirty clothes, with messy hair, no shoes, some as old as five wearing only a little shirt… And so in every town and village I visited, I saw poverty stricken families with malnourished children and hundreds of homeless children roaming in the streets…
Chapter 2: Disabled
The most harrowing memory is that of children with severe physical disabilities and injuries (many missing a limb). There are no words to describe the sorrow I felt while watching the worst scenes from Slumdog Millionaire unveiling before my eyes…
The degree of poverty in is truly unimaginable. It certainly left me in shock! In homeless children and children from very poor families are subject to malnutrition, health problems, harassment by the city police and railway authorities, physical abuse, commercial and sexual exploitation. They are not covered by public healthcare and for most part do not have access to education. These children have no future! If you are disabled on the top of it, you really do not stand a chance!
Epilogue
When I decided to do a 10K race I searched for a charity in that helped homeless, destitute and disabled children but has small (if any) overhead expense. Gwalior Childrens' Hospital Charity ticked all the boxes.
poor, disabled and destitute children of and Chambal region in , one of the most deprived areas of . The charity consists of Gwalior Childrens and , Dental Centre, Eye centre for prevention of blindness, mobile hospital with its 14 rural health centres which also aim to raise health awareness/ and educate on e.g. HIV/Aids.
The charity is currently supporting nearly 1000 children in local schools and orphanages. They have started a care home, Snehalaya, for homeless and disabled children, homeless women and the aged. This includes a school with multi-sensory room for children with special needs and a health and vocational training centre. At present the complex hosts 70 residents including 39 children. All these facilities are available to the children from the local community for day care as well. There are plans to build a new facility which will host around 200 children, with an onsite school and a hospital.
Facts:
1. 22% of the ’s population lives below the income poverty line. and Mumbai host some of the world’s largest shanty towns. 2. 18 million of 's children live in the street. 3. An estimated 6-10% of ’s children are born disabled. Possibly due to low life expectancy a third of the disabled population in are children. 4. 90 % of disabled children in do not receive any form of education 5. Over 50% of children in under five, i.e. 67 million live without basic healthcare facilities. If essential healthcare was provided to children, approximately 6 million lives would be saved each year.
