Shanty Town Visit

In the morning, we heard about the status of the TLP project and how our sponsorships have helped the program and the children. Schaun and Kosi told us about their plans for the future. Then we went to town and bought supplies for the crafts we will be doing. Lunch was Indian food at Schaun and Kosi’s home. Then, Schaun, Rich, and I (Chuck) went to pick up some of the kids from school. The rest of the group drove to the Shanty town to see where the kids live. Once again, pictures tell the story.

LEFT: The community is fairly large (roughly 5 acres) and has about 100 families living in it. You can see it going down the hill. At the bottom there is a street and across the street are houses that look like suburban America. The contrast is striking. Right: A closer look at how the buildings are constructed. As you can guess, when it rains there are leaks and the paths get very muddy. They get electricity somehow (poaching it off the grid) and it runs on wires on the ground. There is a water tap provided by the city and some communal toilets. The houses themselves are about the size of motel room and have multiple people living in them. They are clean and have TVs, and other appliances. They are proud of where they live and were please that we visited.

Community House

Left: A path that runs from one section of the community to another.Right: Laundry. 

Path Laundry

Children and animals are everywhere. Chickens and goats roamed around. And there are some dogs.

Kids Chickens

For more pictures and commentary, see the website from our visit to the town a year ago

 © Charles Eklund 2012