Asian Aid’s CEO Paul Esau, our Chairman John Hammond and Programs Manager Patrick Burke have visited three slum projects run by one of our partners in Chennai.
The first area visited is not a typical slum; it’s a government enforced slum resettlement. Families living in slums within the city boundaries have been relocated to the outskirts of city in an attempt to ‘clean-up’ Chennai and make way for future developments.
While the apartment style homes might look better than the slums in the city, the living conditions are not so. In fact, they are worse. Thousands of people have been pushed away from all they know, to an area with limited infrastructure, water, electricity and medical care.
Crime is rife, unemployment levels are high, the school drop-out rate is over 50% and over 52% of people living in the precinct are drug and alcohol addicts; half of those are aged between 7 and 13.
This is one of India’s largest slum resettlements. There is huge potential to change the lives and direction of this entire community – but we need your help to do so. Asian Aid is currently looking into how, with your support, we might be able to help 15,600 residents of this slum resettlement.
Our team also visited the two of the existing projects we have running in Chennai.
Both these projects are in their fourth year and have shown amazing progress in changing the lives of children, their families and communities.
The young women were proud to show how the development of micro businesses has helped them gain financial independence. By empowering these women with the ability to earn their own money, whether by creating hand-made jewellery or embroidering, they can make their own decisions and live their best life, on their own terms.
