Facing Reality.

Of the many overwhelming things that Bangalore has to offer is evidence of the extreme poverty that exists due to many international, exploitative forces that we learn about daily.  I could really go on and on for hours about the ways in which I believe India has been swept up into a commercial whirlwind and suffers political and social instability because of global pressures, but I’ll spare you the rant and tell you about what I’ve seen and how it has truly changed me.

With a group of my fellow students and staff member, I travelled to a low income neighborhood in the heart of Bangalore to assess their access to water (which should really be stated as the lack thereof).  For 3000 people living in this area, there were 4 outdoor spickets which were usable only every other morning for water collection.  The water that they do receive is so poor in quality, though, that it leaves their children visibly sick.  It is so easy to laugh and talk and play with these curious and adorable children, and so hard to acknowledge what the statistics say.  Looking into their faces makes you really wonder what it is that gives us such different lives to live.

The parents invited us into their homes.  The one that I ducked into was one room.  About a 6′ by 10′ space for a family of  four.  With a translator present, we were able to determine that three of them slept on the floor while one was able to use a small cot.  They have one drain to use for cooking and bathing purposes.  They work hard, and often have multiple jobs, just so they can survive and so that their children can go to school. And still they offer us tea.

It is so easy to feel completely devastated after seeing all this, but I’ve learned the incredible importance of leaving my ignorance and pain and guilt at their doorsteps, and realizing that these amazing people, with their wonderous resiliency, have no shame and do not distance themsevles despite knowing that you possess a wealth and power that they can never attain.  This distinction is one that seems all the more arbitrary and unjust every single day.  But quietly accepting our inevitable constraints, we were able to smile and communicate and reduce ourselves to the notion of plainly being human.