Transform childhoods of 500 slum children in India

Recently, I joined an NGO named YUVA (Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action) as an intern. Being in the second year of my Bachelors in management studies, I originally joined here because I needed work experience for my resume. YUVA has a lot of child resource centres (CRCs) located in various parts of Mumbai and actively works for the child rights. Lately I was given a responsibility to take an interview of the staff working for the CRC located in Lallubhai compound, one of the large slums in Mankhurd. 

The questions that I asked were related to the work that the staff had been doing, the facilities that they were providing the children, the difficulties that they faced and the change that they made. One of the most important topic was about the reason why the kids and especially girls of Lallubhai compound needed help and development.

The information and response that I got was a true eye opener and I could actually see the dark reality behind the glamourous and happening life of Mumbai. Me along with another intern, spent some time with children over there, talked to them and clicked pictures and selfies. It was surprising to know how intelligent these kids were but had lack of resources and a good lifestyle. There was absolutely no safety for the kids, especially girls who didn’t step out of the house after noon. We could see how difficult their lives were, but were still happier than most of the rich families. The kids loved coming to the CRC as they could learn more, spend time with their friends and most of all, because they felt safe and were given a large amount of freedom. We came to know a lot more about the problems of the children’s households and daily life problems. It was a really good initiative from YUVA’s side as helping the kids and the people was not an easy task and had a lot of challenges. After the interview, we became aware of all the provisions and activities that YUVA had been undertaking and they had actually made a huge impact.

Before that day, all I knew about Mumbai was the tall buildings and luxury. I did have some idea about the slums and the problems that the lower section of the society faced, but I never thought that I would get to see the harsh reality so closely and I’m thankful to YUVA for giving me this opportunity and letting me explore the inside of the city that I’ve been living in, since 12 years of my life. So yes, I had originally joined here because I needed work experience, but I have got to learn a lot more than I expected and this is the most insightful experience of my life.

Oorja Sharma