We arrived at Mumbai domestic airport yesterday afternoon just ahead of the Indian Cricket team arriving for the World Cup Final tomorrow. It was bedlam as India is gripped by cricket fever. We met with Pastor Raju and his wife Shilpa last night to catch up with all the news about their charity Way True Life who have been supported by Rianna's Fund now for about 18 months. It was great to see them and hear the news that they are expecting their second baby in September as well as catching up on all the many things that have been happening with Way True Life.
Raju has been fully supported by Rianna's Fund since May 2010 and this has enabled him to expand on the work he does with street children in the area of Kalyan in the suburbs of Mumbai. Recently he has formed a relationship with the rag pickers who work at the rubbish dump in Kalyan and that was our first visit of the morning. We knew it would not be possible for us to leave the car as this is a dangerous area, but seeing the conditions and the children working from the confines of our vehicle was horrifying enough. There is a bizzare hierachy on the rubbish dump, those who have been there the longest can get first pick of the rubbish coming from the upper class homes, newer people have to work "middle class" rubbish. The children are literally the very bottom of the pile, they are only allowed to collect the lowest value items (plastic bags is one thing) and we were told they are also paid a lower price for their bags of rubbish. To watch so many children pawing through heaps of stinking rubbish was heartbreaking. We opened the window to briefly talk to some of them and the stench and flies was awful. Not suprisingly they suffer from skin conditions, eye infections and get many cuts which can become infected. Many also have dog bites as they fight
with hungry stray dogs for the best pickings. What broke my heart was hearing about the death of a boy who was buried alive in rub
bish being dropped at the tip. Taking pictures of such human misery felt completely inappropriate but I am attaching a few we received from Raju in January this year. The children were delighted to see Raju and it is obvious he is in the process of establishing a good relationship with them. I was very emotional and unable to discuss what we had seen until much later in the day - I can not imagine any child living in worse conditions than this.
with hungry stray dogs for the best pickings. What broke my heart was hearing about the death of a boy who was buried alive in rub
bish being dropped at the tip. Taking pictures of such human misery felt completely inappropriate but I am attaching a few we received from Raju in January this year. The children were delighted to see Raju and it is obvious he is in the process of establishing a good relationship with them. I was very emotional and unable to discuss what we had seen until much later in the day - I can not imagine any child living in worse conditions than this. We were then off to Kalyan station which is a major railway intersection and home to a lot of runaway street children. Raju has been working here for many years councilling the children who come looking for the riches of the big city and end up collecting litter off the railway tracks. Raju tries to reconcile them with families if they have them. Some of the older children have lived in the streets around the station for many years and many are now addicted to glue or other drugs.
The next visit was thankfully more cheerful as we visited the Nursery School in the slums of Kalyan. Rianna's Fund have been supporting the Nursery School for 18 months and were delighted to see the children there looking fit and well and enjoying their first steps in education. Without the nursery 
many would be left sitting in the alleyways of the slums all day while their mothers go to work so the Nursery is a real haven. We enjoyed their singing and shared their snacks of bananas and biscuits before they headed home. Raju and Shilpa are pictured here singing with the children.
many would be left sitting in the alleyways of the slums all day while their mothers go to work so the Nursery is a real haven. We enjoyed their singing and shared their snacks of bananas and biscuits before they headed home. Raju and Shilpa are pictured here singing with the children. We drove then to the outskirts of Kalyan to meet the ten children who are now permanently living in Raju's home. Rianna's Fund have been supporting these children for the past year and so we have heard lots about them. We were very excited to be meeting them at last. They all looked very nervous when we arrived but soon relaxed as we showed them pictures from home as well as photos of many people who raise money for Rianna's Fund. We had picked up a cake on the way as one of them was celebrating his birthday today and were pleased that "Happy Birthday to You" is international language. We had heard the children's personal stories and it was great to see how well they had all settled in to their new home and how happy they are. We shared a special treat of Mutton Biryani with them and were amazed at how much they could eat.
The last item on our packed agenda was to present Diploma Certificates to the 12 girls who were graduating from the ta
iloring course run by Way True Life. Many girls from poor families in India will drop out of formal education for a variety of reasons. Way True Life offer these girls the opportunity to acquire a skill in tailoring and these young ladies had just finished their 16 month course which they had really enjoyed. Nine of the girls finishing the course have also been donated a free sewing machine which they can then use to establish themselves quickly as outworkers and help support themselves and their families.
iloring course run by Way True Life. Many girls from poor families in India will drop out of formal education for a variety of reasons. Way True Life offer these girls the opportunity to acquire a skill in tailoring and these young ladies had just finished their 16 month course which they had really enjoyed. Nine of the girls finishing the course have also been donated a free sewing machine which they can then use to establish themselves quickly as outworkers and help support themselves and their families. We left Kalyan late in the afternoon singing the praises of Raju and Shilpa and the amazing work they are doing with the very poorest children. We endured two hours in the heaving Mumbai traffic to arrive at our hotel near the airport ready for our early flight to Hyderabad tomorrow.
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