Arriving in Bawana

The focus of our trip is to help build housing in the slums of Bawana, 25km northwest of Delhi. I am soon realizing that I will take away much more than the rewards of this seemingly basic task. But to recapture the feel of our first 6 days, here is the morning recap in the life of a Bawana bricklayer...

We awaken at 0700, only to analyze how we each slept on the rock hard mattress (which was clearly not set to our sleep number) and we rinse off with the 2 minutes of warm water that our water tank holds. Breakfast at the YMCA lobby consists of the same thing every day - white bread and eggs done in only 1 of two ways, and an unidentifiable Indian style breakfast pastry. This is why none of us want to see an egg for quite some time.

The rickity bus then takes us on the hour long ride through Delhi and beyond, bonus points if you get a front seat and remember to take your Dramamine. On our way, we see goats tied up to the median, squatters setting up tent along the highway, and people walking with all sorts of things piled high on their heads. There is a perpetual noise of horns continuously honking, the constant risk of smashing into someone trying to cut us off (or as we try to cut them off) and the dust is so thick we can taste it... and then there are the smells to top it all off.

As we pull into Bawana, what seems to be the entire town comes out to greet us, stare at us, and sell us their loot of socks, hair scrunchies and food nibbles. We make it off the bus and walk about 10 minutes into the slum to our base camp of the Chetanaya Community Center.

One of the most wonderful memories that I will have of our trip will be the spirits of these children. As all 14 of us walk single file (to avoid falling into street sewers or feces-gunk) children and families come out of the woodwork to greet us with their 'Hiii!' 'Hellooo' 'Howareyouuu!'. Their smiles are brilliant and instantly erase the distaste we feel of these streets.

Another remarkable facet of this community, are the colors in the women's clothing. There are vibrant pinks, reds, blues and sparklies adorning the saris. The slum would have a completely different visual, if it weren't for these amazing colors that illuminate the alleys.

We divide into three small groups, with Team Two consisting of Maryann, Pat, Zach, Thea and myself - we grab our tools (we are now too friendly with the 'Indian Shovel', pick axes and shovels - and Sham, our site leader, escorts us down through the dirty alley ways, to the meager 10 foot by 12 foot plot of our homeowner.