This slum is about an hour and a half south of Delhi. Ram Nagar is one of the biggest slums of Faridabad. This slum is located near the Faridabad Thermal Power Station and right behind the New Town Railway Station. Around 50,000 families live in this area under sub-humane conditions. These individuals are migrants from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Most all of them are daily laborers in the power house or other factories. Some are rickshaw pullers and rag-pickers. This place has a big dump yard and many of the children between the age group of 4 to 17 years work in these dump areas which have a lot of toxic material from various factories in Faridabad picking out items to be recycled.
There has been some opposition from dump yard gangs and Hindu fundamentalist groups who have damaged the school property a number of times in the past where the children go to learn and eat. We went to that school which was just barley in the slum area, but were advised not to go any further into the slum area. It is currently under review as to whether we will go there to hold a medical clinic or not due to the undertone of resistance from other factions. The children there are not as healthy as I have seen elsewhere. There have been reported instances of child kidnappings.
I hoping to be able to bring a team here, but one must be careful.
In all things give thanks,
David
