Who Are We to Judge?

For me, Mumbai has easily been the most confrontational city that we have visited since Kolkata. Although the other cities have all had their own challenges, never before were we thrust into a slum after mere hours of arriving. For me the slum threw up difficult and contrasting emotions. From an initial reaction it is easy to say that the conditions people live in weren't actually that bad. To some degree the cheer and joy of the people in the slum no doubt made it a better place to be, however as we entered a home, the reality of what we are actually seeing hit. 10 people where living in a room that struggled to fit 8 of us standing. The temperature was well over 30 degrees (India is currently in the cooler months) and there was a toilet sitting in the corner. They live in their home from the day they are born to that day that they die. How they live like this is beyond what we can imagine. That said, it was beautiful to see what pride they had in their homes. In the first home we went into, lined up on the wall were 20 or so different pots, all perfectly clean and shiny. It struck me as odd. With all the dirt around, what difference does dirty pots make? I guess when life is like that, it is the simple things that matter the most. The visit left a few of us with tears in our eyes and broken hearts. As we hopped in taxis along the main road and went back to our accommodation we were reminded of the contrasts that this city is so famous for. We are staying in beautiful location, close to all the sights, and the bathrooms are in prime condition. Mr Jordan told me of a tower in this city, 27 stories high that currently a family of 5 occupy. It was built for one of the world's richest men who lives in this city. This made me angry. How can a man worth billions of dollars, live in the same city as millions of people that can barely earn enough money to feed their families. How is that fair? But who are we to judge? At home, how often do we venture out of our comfort zones to help those in need in our communities? There are thousands and thousands of people that live in our city that barely make enough to feed their family in NZ, but what are we doing to change their lives? It is so easy for us at home to ignore everything else that is going on outside our leafy street, so how can we judge how the people of Mumbai choose to live their life? Ultimately, the important thing is that as boys we take on the lessons from this trip, venture out from our comfy homes and actually make changes in the world that we live in. Jonty