Life in the Slums Essay Example for Free

Life in the Slums Essay Life In The Slums Plan Intro: Life is tough living in the slums, but Im used to it now so its not as hard as it was when we first moved here. Especially considering we were looking to come to the city for a better lifestyle, and to have a better chance for my parents to get a job, and for my siblings and I to go to school. My name is Anikal and Im 13, I have 3 older brothers, and one younger sister. Para 1: living conditions and hygiene and population density Moved to Mumbai 4 years ago looking for a better life- ended up in slums It is basically a tip where we live Its so crowded- 56% of residences have 3 or more people living in a single room Its so dirty, it smells (although we are used to it now) People evacuating their bowls in the middle of the streets- 5 million residents dont have access to toilets We dont have showers we have to find little pools to clean off in- theyre generally dirty water It is a tough life to get used to- nothing is easy We were playing cricket on a big stretch of concrete and the police came chasing after us- we had to run and weave through the slums Para 2: work and employment opportunities and school and exploitation of children We originally moved to the city for the reasons of work and schooling My siblings and I get to go to school twice a week as thats all we can afford We all have to work to get enough money for our family to eat, and to go to school It can be tough labor a lot of the time for little amounts of money We are working towards starting a business selling stuff- we arent sure what yet There arent many opportunities in the slums for work, so you have to take anything you can get We thought there would be a lot of opportunities in Mumbai There are in the main city, but very few in the slums We have to go around asking everyone if theres anything we can do for them to earn a little bit of money We dont get to keep that money for ourselves, we give it to mum and dad, and they use it for all the things we need Para 3: buildings and structures and infrastructure and police and security There are so many buildings in a small area in our slum Over half the population lives on 12% of the land When you are walking around there is only a small gap for sunlight to get through All the buildings are right together and the roofs hang over the footpath- if you can even call it a foot path There are some buildings that are more than one story, but they arent very safe For some people it doesnt matter how unsafe it is, they just need somewhere to live The security isnt all that great in the slums The police are sort of against us, when ever we go places we arent supposed to theyre straight onto us and will chase us for ages With people in the main city, they will politely tell them off, but us, straight into a full chase. Our house is substandard When it rains torrentially it sometimes leak We have hardly any access to hospitals and medical attention Conclusion: Life in the slums is tough. We moved to the city with the intention of starting fresh, and having more opportunities but we ended up in the slums. Weve been here for four years and its been hard. Im used to it now though. It is very unhygienic and packed. The population density is ridiculous. Its been a hard run in terms of work and school, we only get a small education, and dont have a job, we just have to try help out with same labor work for some money. There are so many buildings in such a small area, and we dont have any security, and the police are just out to catch us doing the wrong thing. Our house is very small and squishy, but its the life Im now used to, whether I like it or not, its how it is. Essay Life is tough living in the slums, but Im used to it now so its not as hard as it was when we first moved here. Especially considering we were looking to come to the city for a better lifestyle, a chance for my parents to get a job, and for my siblings and I to get an education. My name is Anikal, Im 13, I have 3 older brothers, and one younger sister. Im live in the slums of Mumbai. My family and I moved to Mumbai looking for a better lifestyle, but ended up in the slums pretty quickly. It is basically like a tip where we live, its terrible. It is so crowded, people everywhere, and in 56% of the residences there are three or more people living in just one room! It is all so dirty, and smells (although we are used to the smell now). People just go to the toilet in the streets, 5 million people dont have access to toilets, and in Dharavi there is one toilet per 1440 people. We dont have access to showers- not many people do, but we have to use the water we have, or find pools of water we can clean off in. Its a tough life to get used to in the slums, nothing comes easy. We were just playing cricket out the back of the slums on the concrete on someone elses land, but no one was there, we werent affecting anyone, and the police just chased us on motorbikes with sticks and all, and we had to run back into the slums, on the roofs trying to get away. We eventually got away then ran back the other way passed them on the roof, we saw them though the gap in between two houses. We originally moved to the city of Mumbai in search of better work and schooling opportunities. My siblings and I only get to go to school twice a week, and get a small education as thats all we can afford on our very small budget. My whole family has to work as much as we can helping people out, doing laboring work just to get enough money for the things we need. We are working towards trying to start up our own small business, and hopefully then have a steady income that we can live off. There arent many opportunities in the slums of Mumbai, so we have to take any work we can get. There are many opportunities if youre in the main part of Mumbai, but unfortunately were in the slums. My siblings and I dont get any pocket money, any money we go out and earn goes straight to our parents so that they can buy all the things we need, like food. There are so many buildings and other structures in our small area of the slums. It is packed, over half of the population lives on only 12% of the land. When you are walking around through the slums, there is only a small gap for any sunlight to get through between the roofs of buildings, over the footpaths- if you can even call it a footpath. There are some buildings in our slum that are more than one story, they arent very safe though, but for some people, thats their only option. We dont really have any security in our slums, and the police are just out to catch us, whenever we are doing anything wrong, even the smallest thing that would normally just be a warning for others, they chase us all through our slums trying to catch us. Theyre just constantly out to get us. Our house is very substandard, its just like a little hut, with two rooms that were all squished into. When there is torrential rain it can sometimes get in, but its usually pretty good. We have hardly any access to any sort of medical care, and hospitals, so when we get sick or injured, we just have to hope its not too bad and that we can get through and come out better in time. Life in the slums is tough. We moved to the city with the intention of starting fresh, and having more opportunities but we ended up in the slums. Weve been here for four years and its been hard. Im used to it now though. It is very unhygienic and packed. The population density is ridiculous. Its been a hard run in terms of work and school, we only get a small education, and dont have a job, we just have to try help out with same labor work for some money. There are so many buildings in such a small area, and we dont have any security, and the police are just out to catch us doing the wrong thing. Our house is very small and squishy, but its the life Im now used to, whether I like it or not, its how it is. Bibliography: Living conditions in the slums. Sites.google. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. . Marotta, Stephen. Slums mumbaiindias jimdo page!. Introduction mumbaiindias jimdo page!. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Aug. 2013. . Slumdog millionaire. Dir. Danny Boyle. Perf. Jamal Malik. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2009. DVD. hallam, james. Dharavi Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Aug. 2013. .