Wealthy in a Poor Man’s Country

After spending twenty four hours swallowing the culture shocks, we were beginning to notice more of the real India. On day two, we were met, not only, by cultural but also substantial economic contrasts. Throughout New Delhi, the streets are packed with beggars and poor people, and despite having learned all this in school, experiencing it first hand was overwhelming. We had barely set foot outside our hotel, before we were approached by a begging mother with a crying baby on her arm. Being a wealthy tourist, the natural reaction would be to simply give our money to this desperate woman and her alarmingly skinny baby. But would it help?

(billede fra nettet)

Mafioso

In fact, most of the beggars are simple workers that are “owned” by Mafioso-like bosses, whom these beggar’s lives depend on. Therefore, this act of charity is not fulfilling its goal. And even for the beggars that aren’t controlled from above, money for a single meal wouldn’t help them get a job, a home or get off the streets. What does help these poor people and their children is proper education and a safe environment, which is exactly what the voluntary charity project “Project WHY” provides. Visiting this project was our main purpose of the day.

Project WHY

As mentioned “Project WHY” is a charity project depending solely on financial contributions and voluntary workers. Their goal is to achieve a more educated India, and they focus primarily on the extremely poor people from the slum. They teach the slum children in special schools situated in the slum areas where the children live, as opposed to the public schools outside the slum, which makes this project unique. During our visit, we met the founder of the project, Anou, and some of the children, varying in age from two to fifteen years old. We played with the kids and were truly amazed by their grateful smiles and desire to learn. Anou herself was also a source of inspiration in her committed drive to educate these poor children and create opportunities in their otherwise predetermined lives. Opportunities that we cannot create for the beggars by giving them money.

No caste system

Unfortunately, “Project WHY” is an initiative limited by lack of resources, because as Anou says: “There is no caste system in India, there is only rich and poor which are divided by an unbreakable wall.” She thinks that the problem of the poverty situation lies in the fact that the rich see poverty as an incomprehensible burden, which is easier to ignore than to handle. But to her, being able to change one life is an accomplishment in itself.

When we got back to the hotel, we were both mentally and physically exhausted from experiencing the extreme poverty. Seeing these people fighting for their lives has worked as a real eye-opener for us. But it’s a relief to know, that amazing projects like this exist, and many of us already consider returning to India to volunteer at “Project WHY”. Therefore: no, do not give your money to the beggars in the street, donate them to charity projects with a sustainable vision.

Andreas E og Martin