There are many poor unserved individuals in the nation who suffer malnutrition, numerous forms of corruption, don't have any access to running water, electricity, or school. Thankfully, in recent years, numerous under takings in various parts of the country have led to a strengthening of the offers and opportunities available to the poor and even the poorest of the poor. However, the focus and much of the success has largely been in the rural communities, who have easier formal leadership authority to work with than the urban poor.
In the urban centers, the poor are strongly influenced by gang activity. The long accepted police corruption allows for the gangs to thrive and ultimately, the poor and their communities are places that one cannot do any form of business, let alone community development at a grass roots level with hope of growth, without working with the local mafia. Since such a joint public venture would be far from the norm anywhere in this world, the wealthy in India spend little if any time directly involved in the urban communities. Thus, the support needed for the urban poor to build a better India is nonexistent.
Another challenge unique to India is the unbelievable strength of the class system that has replaced the caste system. The poorest are seen as so undesirable and so dangerous to communicate with that helping them is only done from ivory towers. In the US, it's long been accepted that bringing the beneficiary to the table is a requirement of a well designed program or project. However, the benefactors in India don't have this same attitude.
Interestingly enough, the benefactors have a strange respect for Non Resident Indians (NRIs). They believe that those of us who live in wealthier nations have a far superior life and understanding. Many of the first generation immigrants from India, who now live in the US have come to accept the innate value of all human beings and can easily see past caste or class distinctions.
My goal, is to develop support here amongst the NRI in the US and in the wealthy in India for a community and project center in the heart of the slums of a major city in India. The goal would be to create programs and development projects for the city that would involve leaders of various stakeholders. This would ideally include the poorest of the poor and even the mafia leaders in the community as well as the wealthy from abroad. Of course, certain accommodations would need to be made for each constituency, but I believe this form of conflict resolution is the first step to create a truly unified India that Indians everyone can love through their work.
Comments and ideas welcomed.
