India’s Independence Day festivities brought forth a happy idealism about freedom from poverty, health anxiety, and despair. It was an afternoon of joyous dancing and celebration that carried into Saturday, the day of Rakhi. Today marked our preliminary expedition to Kathputli Colony in Shadipur Depot, a slum within Pandav Nagar in West Delhi. An artisan colony with a plethora of talented migrant workers skilled in acrobatics, folkdance, and puppetry, it is also home to approximately 2,500 adolescent children victim to societal maltreatment and parental neglect. We were greeted at CHI’s main office with traditional Indian hospitality and offered time for rest, food, and drink before progressing on with our research for the afternoon. Words are unable to reveal the sights witnessed throughout our tour of the community. Children bathed nude in alleyways using collected rainwater from previous afternoons while animal feces littered the streets where food was sold and consumed by the impoverished inhabitants. Nonetheless, these are also immensely proud individuals. At every home visited, puppeteers and craftsmen greeted us warmly and delighted in the opportunity to showcase their skill. Children approached us with grinning smiles and outstretched arms, asking for our name and a willing handshake.

It is necessary to advocate Secretary General Kanth’s message of independence by establishing a firm foundation of education for these children. The remainder of our afternoon was spent forging a relationship with Children’s Hope India’s managers and devising key initiatives to aid in each child’s development. Our initial efforts will be focused on computer education, behavioral development, basic economics, and the importance of personal savings. By uniting with Prayas, aspiring collegiate chapters throughout the United States, and our CHI network, we will achieve the goal of independence from poverty Mr. Kanth laid out so eloquently one day prior. Rather than viewing Kathputli Colony as desolate and impoverished, we are focusing our efforts on the community’s future change-agents: its children.

Cheers,
Brian