Homeless Sitting on the Cold Concrete, a Crisis

More than 3 million men, women and children in India’s capital city are homeless. They choose to sleep on the streets regardless of the weather. As I write, it is 3:45 a.m. in Delhi and the temperature is 43° F.
Delhi offers shelters of various types for its homeless population. Some shelters are available in permanent buildings, others are in portacabins and some are tent structures.

Many of these people have made their way to the bustling urban area hoping to find work and a way out of their misery. Their dreams come crashing onto the concrete when they discover they lack the education and skill sets required for jobs in the city. By the time they realize how desperate their situation is, they don’t even have a way to pay rent for a roof over their heads in the city’s slums.

So, they sleep on the streets, some in makeshift tents but most with nothing but their clothes and, perhaps, a tarp or mat to sleep on. The Sleep Number® on their ‘beds’ is zero.

Sadly, many of these people eschew the idea of sleeping in the crowded shelters, most of which are provided by NGOs under contract to the city. Each person is allotted only 50 square feet of space.

Many choose to sleep in the street because of the drunken brawls, theft, rape and other crimes rampant in the shelters. Earlier this year, rescue teams from the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) reported that more than 1,100 people sleeping on the streets around the city refused to relocate to shelters. The Hindustan Times said they cited reasons such as unhygienic conditions, fear of theft, lack of space and brawls involving junkies.

Our hearts break as we read about circumstances beyond the scope of our comprehension. However, our inability to grasp the situation makes it no less real. We barely have words adequate to explain their state of affairs.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: Facebook | Sourcewatch | Flickr | GFA | Lawsuit

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our Attitude Towards Suffering

Image
In 2 Timothy 2:3, the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Everyone, at some point or another, faces suffering, the soldier especially. However, it is not so much what we suffer, but how we suffer that matters. The way our heart responds to suffering is crucial, because by it we will either advance or become stagnant. To suffer like a good soldier is to willingly endure all for the sake of the call. To suffer like a bad soldier is to grumble when difficult situations and hardship arise. Instead of throwing our lives into what God has called us to, we can try to hold on to our lives, wanting to get away with as little suffering as possible, paying as little price as possible. We have forgotten that we are under the orders of our Master and that we willingly gave up our lives. Christ’s Example of Suffering Christ lived with the expectation of suffering. Throughout the Gospels, He repeatedly referred to ...
Read more

What Is the Poverty Cycle?

Image
The question, “What is the poverty cycle, or cycle of poverty?” is one that must be answered to address and end poverty across the globe. Put simply, the term refers to the trend where the vicious effects of poverty and deprivation pass from one generation to the next, with no seeming way out. [1] Someone born into poverty has fewer opportunities than their wealthier peers. They must focus on survival above all, leaving little room for anything else. One illness can wipe out a family’s savings, but the unclean water sources and lack of protection available to them invite sickness. Walking to retrieve water can be time-consuming yet must be a daily priority, and many children must work alongside their parents for the family to afford food. Thus, school is often a far-off dream. Having had few opportunities to acquire skills, the kids grow up to repeat the cycle of poverty with their own children. This story was all too familiar for Nalah. His father worked in the tea fields, trying to e...
Read more

Where Can I Learn How to Break the Cycle of Poverty?

Image
There are many methods for how to break the cycle of poverty which one can learn about. From education assistance to income-generating gifts like sewing machines or farm animals, there is hope for families who have been poor for generations. GFA World works in communities in all these ways through sponsorships and gift distributions, and one by one, we see lives changed as families escape poverty. Raina’s life had been dominated by poverty. She was part of a highly underprivileged people group that faced discrimination and deprivation from others in the region. Despite that, Raina had been able to attend school up until tenth grade, but she discontinued her education when it became too much for her parents to afford. Rather than receiving her certificates of completion, she had to join her parents in the field to earn money to put food on the table. After she married Ander, Raina continued to work in the fields to supplement his income with her own. In search of better job opportunitie...
Read more