THOUGHTS from Slum Day

It was a day to consider the struggle of slum life for 1 billion of the world's population.

It was a day to take on the challenge of hauling water as a 2-3 hr daily event.

It was a day to take on the challenges of daily cooking in small, meager portions for large families.

It was a day to feel the weight of powerlessness.

It was a day to taste the lack of dignity faced by the poor. To realize that life can be more about the day to day survival and sustenance than about finding how to fill your day with entertainment. To find employment through pulling a rickshaw or producing large quantities of homemade souvenirs. To find livelihood in scrap collecting and making paper bags.

It was also a day of diseases. The constant vulnerability to malaria or tuberculosis. The frustration and devastation of HIV. The fear and threat of stomach virus arising from unclean water.

It was a day of realizing that power systems play a crippling factor in the cycle of poverty. Those with position, money, or power can keep the cycle of poverty well alive.

It was a day of social experimentation. How do people naturally respond when they are put in a position of day to day survival? How do they interact together within a group and among other groups when they are fighting for limited resources?

Slum Awareness Day.

I don't think I've ever been a part of a more powerful demonstration. The social dynamics had such great depth that a sociologist couldn't written his doctoral thesis in that short day. I've yet to process fully the multi-faceted lessons of this simulation. But 2 quotes come to mind as I consider the practical outcomes of such an exercise.

PROVERBS 31:8-9 says "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor."

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. said
"True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth."