Rianna's India Blog Day 2

Day 2 - Wednesday 8th October   Wednesday – another bright and sunny day in Chennai, this morning we visited a local project working with street children, including those directly living on the streets, some on railway and bus stations and others in slum areas. Many do live with their families in these conditions, and some are actually responsible for earning money to support their mothers and fathers.   Today was a Hindu holiday in Chennai so a great relief that the traffic was lighter. We were invited to join some street children who had been taken for a day out at a local recreation park. The children ranged from 3 years of age up to 17 and the local NGO worker explained that on national holidays they tried to arrange activities for the children to stop them begging on the streets and outside the temples. We had an amazing few hours with these children, we played games and had chance to sit with some of them and talk about their lives and the issues they face. The picture shows Nanthinee who lives with her paralysed father, mother and younger sister in the local bus depot – yes, literally on the pavement at the side of the depot. Nanthinee either begs or works with her mother on a building sites lifting and carrying paving stones. We chatted, laughed and shared a few hugs – we learned so much from her. (She asked me who is my God and then drew a picture of the cross alongside her Muslim symbol and her friend drew a picture of Ganesh as she was a Hindu. This was such a special morning). After grabbing a bite we headed off to meet another local project working with children whose families live along the edge of the River in Chennai. The stench from this heavily polluted River hit us as we got out of the car, it was vile. We walked through the piles of rubbish to meet the families and children who live amongst the debris that is dumped by the river. Their shelters are plastic sheets and flies were everywhere. These are migrant workers, many working in the sewerage systems in Chennai. The children explained how the local organisation had helped them set up a Child Council and had persuaded them all to attend school. The child council meets with the local NGO to discuss their needs and represents the other children in their “community”.   This has been a truly challenging day and we have lots to consider......