Making slum life colourful and environment-friendly

Millions of people are forced to live in an environment filled with frightening

health hazards, excrement, poorly managed waste and plastic. No wonder the

battle to save our environment should begin from these very places.

Here in India, especially Mumbai, most of us are more than aware of the havoc that slum conditions continue to reap for our communities, and in turn, our people. Across our nation, there are millions of individuals living in these unstable environments; environments filled with frightening health hazards, disease, excrement, poorly managed waste, never-ending piles of plastic, and the list goes on, and on, and on. 

Whilst this may be the case, we know that at the very heart of our slums, the only thing that truly exists is pure, unfiltered humanity. Beneath the layers of grime, dirt, and poorly managed infrastructures, lies a raw and inherent human urge; an urge to survive, an urge to find a place to call home, a place to raise children, a place to cook and to eat, to laugh and to cry, to learn and to grow, a place to shelter from heavy rains, a place to have hope, hope for a better life, one that is filled with possibility and opportunity. 

Social and economic heterogeneity weakens the community and some households are headed by women who must earn a living. This situation has consequences on the health and development of small children and often turning small children into a workforce. On one hand, slums may be a place for individuals to call home, but on the other, they also serve to neglect the very same individuals. 

Often found to be in areas close to open-sewer systems, there tends to be very little or no education concerning proper waste management and correct sanitation. The frightening array of negative implications that these shocking living conditions can cause truly are endless. But we must never forget that the people found living within slums are not just any people, they are our people, and they must never be forgotten.

 In many instances, it seems that society and our government have conveniently just forgotten about the many people surviving in these areas. Or maybe they just have chosen to turn a blind eye and move their vision away from the unsightly and hard to swallow truths that are so clearly visible to the rest of us. 

For the purpose of this article, we feel it necessary to discuss some hard facts concerning slum life for the many unfortunate, and might we add, underrepresented, and marginalised individuals that are barely being housed in overcrowded slums across our nation. A major part of these environmental problems we are facing today have risen out of the steady increase of population, harsh topography as well as lack of proper planning for the development. Especially in Mumbai this has led to an ever-growing demand for the basic civic services and amenities.