Seattle Board Member, Srivats Srinivasan, visits Dharavi slums in Mumbai

 

I had the fortune to be given a guided tour of some of the work that Pratham is doing in Dharavi, Mumbai on a recent trip to India. For the uninitiated, Dharavi is believed to be the world’s largest slum and the dubious distinction is well earned. Miles of narrow alleys, garbage strewn streets, open sewers and walking paths that are literally 18 inches wide between homes typify Dharavi. I am embarrassed to confess that I started the day with some trepidation going there, especially considering my US oriented over-sensitivity to the unsanitary.

 

We were met outside Dharavi by Natasha Trivedi, a Pratham Mumbai employee and she guided us into one of the local municipal schools where we were greeted by additional Pratham employees. Some oriented toward managing the efforts in Dharavi as a whole and others focused specifically on the school we were at.

 

Our first stop was in a ‘baalwadi’ where we saw a bunch of pre-K kids being walked through basic English language (words, etc.) lessons. Seeing the kids enthusiastically follow their teacher through the lessons and knowing that many of these kids would probably have no chance at a good future without real, supplemental education like what Pratham provides immediately gave me a mix of emotions. From a sense of joy at seeing the kids going through their lessons, guilt at the privileges we’ve always taken for granted to a sense of awe at the impact that education could have on their lives. I felt vindicated in my decision to join Pratham’s Board.

 

We spent time in other classrooms in the school including at the 3rd and 7th grade level where they were being tutored for a scholarship test that the government of Maharashtra gives regularly, to qualify for certain financial incentives. In one of the rooms, the children didn’t have chairs or desks to sit on but were happily going through their lessons. Immediate note to self to bring my own girls to see this and get a sense of what much of the world lives like and develop a greater sense of empathy for the less privileged.

 

Our last stop was to see a local Pratham sponsored library housed in a really small home that Pratham was renting space from for the library. The concept is simple – the library is in the home of a local resident which makes parents comfortable about sending their kids to a neighbor’s home. Additional income for the home owner, greater comfort level for parents and a good, convenient location for the

kids to go and get additional time with their books. Getting to the library was a mind numbing experience at some level. Think ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ kind of environment and make it darker, danker and just more enervating and you’ll get the idea.

 

Very impressed with the enthusiasm of the Pratham staff starting with Natasha who showed genuine enthusiasm and interest for what she’s doing, regardless of the conditions that she is working in. And of course the administrators and teachers that we saw along the way. Though I am puzzled (not incredulous, just curious) about the large number of Pratham staff we saw at the Baalwadi who were not doing very much other than sitting around. I hope this was an aberration and not an indication of disguised unemployment.

 

I would strongly recommend a similar visit to other Board members visiting India anytime soon. I plan to go again in July, hopefully with family.

 

Host: Natasha Trivedi

 

Location: Transit Camp Municipal School, 90 feet road, Dharavi, Mumbai- 400017

 

1. Balwadi conducted by Ms. Ambhu Selvi

 

2. 7th standard Scholarship program conducted by Ms. Kalpana Kamre

 

3. Read Mumbai class conducted by Ms. Resha Sheikh

 

4. Standard 3 Preparation class conducted by Ms. Waheeda Sheikh

 

5. 4th standard Scholarship program conducted by Ms. Sabiha Sheikh

 

6. The Library program took place in Vijay Nagar, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Mumbai- 17. It was conducted by Ms. Sandhya Wagh

 

Ms. Savita Vasant Parab is the Core group Ward Incharge for Dharavi

 

Ms. Kalpani Sagar Shivsagar who picked us up from Sion Station and escorted us around along with Ms. Savita is the Trainer Monitor for the area.