A Tuesday in Mumbai

7am, traffic is slowly making its comeback from the relatively quiet night.

Birds fly from rooftop to window sill to tree.

The haze gives way to light.

Mumbai.

City from my history books. Relic of British colonialism. It is alive.

A certain calm sets over me now that I have seen it with my own eyes.

But there is a lot to do.

end poetic-ness.

Yesterday we visited the NGO we hope to work with, and were both impressed. They are in the process of expansion, having started with just 5 schools in the early 90's, now with over 40 schools just in Mumbai.

They recruit children of all ages who are struggling in the formal school system, and bring them to a center for a few hours in the morning or evening, aside from regular school times, to teach them English, Math, and a basic value system, through example and discussion, in order to promote them as responsible contributors to society. It is Indian-run, and was started by a group of college students - the young helping the young.

There is a special program which I am hoping to work in, which takes children with an exceptional academic promise, and tutors and supports them to continue their education through university, in order to lift them and their future families out of the poverty cycle permanently.

We met with the teachers for this program yesterday and sat in on a section of their class - a teacher led a literary circle, where the kids discussed a book they are reading by writing summaries, discussing grammar points, and talking about the content. She focused on helping the kids to think logically and engage in useful discussion. Rapport with the kids is very important, and I know it will take much time and effort to gain it. But the kids seemed great - lively but positive, mostly. I am sure there are bad days.

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As for our full trip so far, for me, there is a certain formation of strategy and idea that is slowly making itself known. While I was impressed with some of the aspects of development we saw in Afghanistan, I also became very aware of the need for improvement and for more effective international intervention.

Here, if we are given the chance to become strongly involved in a successful NGO, who has ties to western and eastern best-practices, funds, and led by strong young individuals, we can gain a solid means of applying our knowledge for those in need, and for the elevation of overall peace and positive development.

Learning first-hand the trials and challenges in Afghanistan was worth all the risks. For myself, and for the role I seek to play in society, there is simply no other way to grasp what it is that we, as a human community, need in order to further our capacity as enlightened beings. Without that knowledge, my contribution could not be fully informed.