Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Surveys in Ludhiana's informal housing settlements, aka slums


You might think that spending time in a slum would be a depressing experience.  In part, you'd be right, simply because it's hard not to feel glum when you see people, and especially children. living in often squalid conditions. But the condition of the homes in different slums varies quite a bit. And while some kids seem despondent and a little sickly, others look healthy, clean and happy. I ask a family's income in my surveys, and you can see how it clearly corresponds to the condition of the community, with one exception. I interviewed a father in a slum not pictured here. He was earning a "decent" salary and his son was attending school - as far as I could tell he was one of the few children, if the only one attending school. I would guess his child will move out of that slum when he was old enough. Through casual, and therefore very unscientific, observation I have also noticed how as income rises, so does the rambuctuousness of the children. I see this in the villages and the cities. The two could be totally unrelated, but just wanted to throw that out there in case anyone else has noticed this.



The inside of a home





Slightly better off slum than above pics


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