Dharavi’s Slums
One of the largest slums is in Dharavi, India. There are harsh living conditions. They don’t have the resources for protective hygiene and proper sanitation. They have to work extra hard to provide the basic necessities for their families. Sometimes the families don’t have enough food to last them a week. Their places are so small that a family of 4 or more share one bedroom which means that all of them are sleeping on the floor. The only source of water is mostly contaminated, but they still use it for everything like cooking, cleaning, wash laundry, bathe and drink. Due to this, most people end up with a lot of health problems which includes illnesses and diseases. There is also a high mortality rate in infants due to the diseases that is caused by their water supply and lack of sanitation. The main disease that caused it is intestinal parasite.
But despite everything the people who live in slums go through day to day, they still come together as one big family. They help each other and don’t expect anything in return. They raise the children together and make sure they go to school to get an education that’ll someday get them out of the slums. It is amazing to read about the community helping one another the way that they do in their time of need.
This is something hardly anyone talks about and we need to change that!
By: Marilynne Maldonado
