Keeping Up

One of the entrances to the community.

On our recent trip to Mumbai we spent less time there, weeks instead of months because we wanted to be home for the arrival of a baby in our family. This shortened visit meant we had to visit as many people as we could, schedule time to accept casual invitations to meet with families, make time to discuss with Indu the most pressing issues of the community, make decisions, get in an auto-rickshaw and get stuff done in record time so that Indu wasn’t left with mounting problems to solve. There wasn’t time to rent an apartment and settle in so we installed ourselves in a hotel on the backside of the community. The time constraint made us view every problem with laser focused clarity, as something to solve as quickly as possible because there was a dripping tap of problems filling buckets of angst for us and for them.

Life in the lanes for the elderly or immobile is extraordinarily difficult.

As the days rapidly came and went we became extremely sensitive to the cavalcade of emotional, physical, legal, educational and familial problems that face the families every single day.  Like the roof lines in the lanes, the problems overlap so that very little sun lights their lives. When we spend months in the community we are able to spend more time to listen to multiple problems facing the families, prioritize who needs immediate attention, and sort through a mental list of less urgent issues. The weeks we spent there forced us to be more aware that for some families problems stack one on top of the other locking them in a never ending cycle of malaise. It became apparent to us after years of belonging and being welcomed here that we have somewhat normalized life in a slum community as we sit in their homes, accept their hospitality, and rock their babies to sleep. This time we saw it more acutely, as if it was our first time there, which manifested for us into being heartbroken at times, worried all the time, and called to solve problems with immediate action.

A breath of air on the backside of the community where children go to play and mothers visit with each other.

A family’s 15 year old daughter disappeared. No one knew what had happened to her. Was she being trafficked, or did she run away? She loved school and her family and she was in constant contact with us whether we were in Canada or Mumbai.  Along with her distraught parents we were disheveled with fear, grief, and sleepless nights. Her father and brother stopped working and searched for her in a far away city.  They asked for help from the police. When the police refused to help unless the father could pay for their hotel bills, daily food, and transportation, we were called to help. A few weeks passed, many distraught conversations were had with her father who paid the police to help him search for his daughter. She was eventually found by the police as she disembarked from a train with her male cousin. More troubles followed as the police jailed the young male cousin and sent the girl to a reform school in the far-away state.  A few weeks later the paternal grandmother had a heart attack in the village far from Mumbai. She survived three days in the hospital in ICU until she died leaving her family with hefty medical bills to be paid before the body would be released. The entire family rushed to the village, a two day train journey to be with her and perform the burial rituals. The very frail mother of the family has been sick for months and stopped working seven days a week as a domestic helper for about a year. She has recovered enough to start working again until the next medical issue arises. The father has also been sick requiring medications, visits to doctors and hospitals preventing him from working for weeks at a time. Their daughter was released from the reform school for girls when the right amount of money had passed through official hands. She’s back in Mumbai with her relieved family and is determined to finish her education if her father obliges. She is currently working with her mother cleaning homes to help her family with their substantial financial burdens. She’s distraught over her actions and fears that she will be labeled as a ‘bad’ girl in the community which carries stigma and verbal lashings from relatives and neighbours.

The lanes are always waterlogged with a mix of sewage, water leaks and run off from drains leading from homes.

There's always room to build over a lane and always another family needing a home.

A woman contracted typhoid and was on a course of medication. She visited a doctor a few weeks ago to check on the status of her typhoid and was given the good news that she was cured. Walking home from the doctor’s visit she was hit on the road by a motorcycle driver who continued on his way without helping her. With a broken hand and a bloodied head she rose from the pavement and walked to a hospital where her hand was put in a cast and her head required four stitches. She made it home in time to make food for her children.

A father needed cataract surgery and eye glasses to correct his vision once the cataracts were removed. He hasn’t been able to work as a personal driver since his vision became cloudy. The mother works as a domestic helper. It wasn’t long after the father’s cataract surgery was successful and the family celebrated his regained vision and employment that their eldest son was accused of touching a girl inappropriately. He was visited by the police who put him in jail. You are guilty here until proven innocent. Indu was called upon to accompany his very frightened illiterate parents to the police station to speak on his behalf and in hopes of securing his release from jail. He says he doesn’t know the girl. She decided to make his life difficult. He was eventually released from jail, but will face the courts in the future for a crime he says he didn’t commit.

Recently we paid medical fees for a man’s knee surgery. He was relieved when the surgery worked and he could resume his job standing at a stall ironing clothing. Recently his wife experienced pain in her abdomen. She requires surgery to remove her uterus. Surgery is unaffordable for most people in the community who rely on government hospitals for free care in filthy crowded conditions. The cost of medicine is the responsibility of the family who must go to a pharmacy, buy the medicine and bring it to the ward for administration to their loved one.  If they want to be treated in a clean, less crowded hospital, they must find the money through high interest loans, or call Indu who calls us for help with their medical fees. The unaffordable burden of having an illness that can’t be cured or relieved by medical care is common in the community.

A view of the overlapping roof lines of the community that block daylight in the lanes.

A room in a small private hospital.

Employment is tenuous for the members of the community and full of daily drudgery, such are the jobs they can perform due to caste. Crowded living conditions, dirty lanes with gutters flowing with human waste, contagious diseases, low quality food, stunted growth, religion, and a culture that allows for misogyny, early arranged marriages, and stifled education for the poor, add to their daily suffering and constant medical problems. The young girl who ran away did so because her life choices will be made by her parents.  She found a way to choose something for herself and by doing so she risked losing ties to her immediate family. She chose to run away with her cousin even though she was unsure, afraid, money was scarce, and it meant that she had to quit school. It was an act of desperation and a young girl’s attempt at controlling her destiny.

Indu’s home is a refuge for all who need help. She’s always there when we can’t be there. The community relies on her willingness to help everyone who calls her or comes bereft to her door for a range of problems. Her calm approach is what helps guide us to find the best solution. The illiterate, very stoic mother of the girl who went missing spent time in Indu’s home with us every day, sitting quietly, sometimes crying, wracked with worry, knowing that her daughter’s actions provoked harsh consequences from the community, their religion, and the family. She sustained us with tea while we all waited for information from her husband. Indu was her link to deciphering her husband’s phone calls while he searched for their daughter.

The community is a microcosm of the highs and lows of humanity. We are welcomed every time we arrive with heartfelt hugs, pulled into homes for visits, and invited to share not just in their problems but also their celebrations, their children’s achievements and the sharing of meals, immersed in culture so different from our own. The access we have to the families tug at every emotion, stretching our hearts wider with every interaction. This time we had to navigate the most pressing problems of the community as they stacked higher each day for some families, without time to flinch, or debate, or decide what to do over endless cups of tea. 

Here’s a look at what your donations have paid for from July 2025 to January 15, 2026.

School Fees

Nandchaaya Vidya Niketan School

-Waghmare Rugved Harish/std 5: 9650 rupees 

-Khan Ata Noorsaba Mohammed/std 1:10,400 rupees 

-Shaikh Toufiq/std 10: 10,400 rupees 

-Shaikh Madhia Mohd Kalim/std 9: 10,400 rupees 

-Shaikh Mubashira Mohd Kalim/std 10: 10,400 rupees 

-Shaikh Mohammed Hamzah Abdul Razak/std 5: 10,400 rupees

-Ansari Laiba Rehman/std 9: 10,400 rupees

-Disale Sakshi Nandkumar/std 10: 10,400 rupees

-Patel Shivani Sanjeet/std 9: 10,400 rupees

-Quereshi Rehmatnisha Parvez Alam/std 8: 10,500 rupees

-Bind Aayra Akhilesh Kumar: 20,350 rupees

-Bind Aagya Akhilesh Kumar: 20,350 rupees

-Ansari Laiba Abdul Rehman: 2100 rupees

-Shaikh Swaleha Salim: 10,400 rupees

-Kalal Paree Jayprakash: 10,400 rupees

Parag College of Commerce and Science/Junior College

-Ankita Anand Mane: 10,100 rupees

Ramanand Arya D.A.V. College

-Aarya Anand Laxmi Mane: 10,000 rupees 

Theresa Primary School (Sakinaka)

-Md Noraiz Shaikh/std 1: 11,400 

St Javier Thane School

-Jigisha More: 20,000 rupees 

ABS Educational Solutions

-Priyanaka Modenwal/Pharmacy: 20,000 rupees

Dr VS Jadhav College

- Namwad Divya Govind: 20,000 rupees

Ramniran Jhunjhunwala College of Arts/Commerce/Science

-Ingale Megha Siddarth Ranjana/10,000 rupees

-Ingale Megha Siddarth Ingale/20,000 rupees

Devi Mahalaxmi College

-Hashmi Itaba Imran: 15,000 rupees

Shriniwas Bagarka College 

- Kamble Basra 14,000 rupees

JN College Madhubani

-Noorsaba Shaikh/JN College Madhubani/ college fees: 10,000 rupees 

-College exam fees and transportation fees to college: 4800 rupees

St Judes High School

- Ahana Amin Chavda: 10,750 rupees

Medical Fees (doctor/hospital fees/medicine etc)

Framecart Ghatkopar/patient: Kyushi(Rani’s daughter

-prescription glasses: 1700 rupees

Cancer SurgeryPatient/Namrata Koli : 40,000 rupees 

- chemotherapy/transportation/medicine: 15,000 rupees

Sanjeevani MamtaHospital/Saki Naka/patient: Keshar Singh Balveer

- cancer patient (tumour on face)/operation: 40,000 rupees (toward his bill of 100,000 rupees)

Paramount General Hospital/Paramount Medical Stores/National Pharmacy

Medicine/Doctor Fee/medical tests: Ashfaq Sheikh/patient/lung/heart issues

- medicine: 1829 rupees

- tests: 5160 rupees

- consultation fee: 1800 rupees

Lens Cart prescription glasses/patients: Yunis/ Indu/Reeta

-1 pair prescription glasses/2 pair reading glasses: 8349 rupees

Wellness Forever/patient: Aagya Bind

-Asthma medication: 2791.17 rupees

Government Hospital/patient: Kalpana Raju Vagmarę’s wife

- wife pregnant/sick

- Government Hospital pharmacy: 12,000 rupees

- Saikrupa Medical Store receipt: 2760 rupees

- Jyoti Chemist: 27.08 rupees

- Wellness Chemist: 89.53 rupees

Ramishila Health Care Hospital/Sakri District Madhubani, Bihar/patient: Khairun Nisha

Heart attack/ICU care

-Doctor’s Fees/Hospital fees/medicine: 20,000 rupees (toward total bill of 136,539 rupees).

-Ashfque Shaikh: (funds for 6 family members to travel to village for mother’s funeral): 20,000

Tuition Supplies/Birthday/Gifts/Picnic

Kalpataru Shop/Mohili Village

- Indu’s children/Aarya/Aagya school uniforms/books: 8406 rupees

D-Mart/Diwali Gifts for visiting homes: Jyoti/Ranjana/Reeta: 699 rupees

Lucky Stores: football for Ganesh and Veer for practice /pack of pens: 1099 rupees

Dev Stationary and Prints/ photocopy/scan: 26 rupees

Theobroma Pastry Shop/Diwali gift for Imran/birthday cake for tuition (2 cakes): 959 rupees

D-Mart/Diwali gift for Sakina’s family: 484 rupees

Elephanta Island Picnic (3 adults/4 children):

-Uber/Taxi (to/from) 2219.95 rupees

-Boat Ride to Elephanta: 1450 rupees

-Train from ferry to entrance: 88.50 rupees

-Entry to Caves: 1240 rupees

-Samosas: 100 rupees

-Water: 40 rupees

-Chips: 50 rupees

Rishikesh Shop

- tuition candy/drinks treats/25 children: 545 rupees

Birthday for Rehan

- Cakes and Rolls shop/cake/chips/plates/chocolate: 685 rupees

- Gift: 300 rupees 

D-Mart

- 2 towels/tuition centre: 348 rupees

Lucky’s Power

- soccer ball: 529 rupees

Shiv Sagar Restaurant

Suman and mom meeting: 2500 rupees

Shree Ravechi Stationary Mart/

- toy replacement for tuition class: 2280 rupees

Rishikesh Daily Needs shop:

- chocolate gift for lunch at Patil’s: 300 rupees

Cakes and Rolls Shop

 (Aagya, Anaya, Aayra, Karan, Shoeb, Sakina)

- large cake to celebrate 6 birthdays on November 8: 1350 rupees

Cakes + Rolls-large cake: 1350 rupees

(35 kids attended birthday party)

-Ocean Gifts: 600 rupees

-Lucky’s Toys: 2346 rupees

- Rishikesh Daily Needs/party food/drinks/chocolate: 1026 rupees

Children’s Christmas Party (48 children)

-DMart/gifts: 2817 rupees

- Nandu General Stores: 150 rupees

- A to Z Book and General store/gifts: 380 rupees

- Nehal Ansari shop: 300 rupees

- Suryabhan Maurya: 1200 rupees

- O-Cakes/large cake for party: 750 rupees

- Bikaner Mithai Wala Farsan & Dry Fruit Snacks: 390 rupees

Rescue/ run-a-way girl/ October/November 2025

- Sent funds to father as needed for police help/transportation/food/court charges/advocate charges: 17,900

- Five documents signed by five administrators (2000 rupees each to sign paperwork for her release from reform home):10,000 rupees

Total: 575,563 rupees/CAD 9923.50 

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