How can we help squatter settlements in Dharavi?

In the future, i think the education in Dharavi could be hugely improved. For example, asking the government for money for everything can be unsuccessful, but education is highly valued in India, so the government would almost certainly be able to spend a little bit of money building schools in Dharavi, and making sure that as many children as possible have the chance and oppurtunity to have an education. The schools would be payed for by the government, and the families would provide the uniform.

How can we help squatter settlements in Dharavi?

Business and employment

Future employment

In Dharavi, there are 5,000

businesses and 15,000 single roomed

factories crammed into its narrow streets. If the development we were

previously talking about

was to go ahead, then the

inhabitants will have to go

and find work in the city,

which could mean better pay, but either a long distance to walk to money wasted on

transport.

85% of people currently

have a job in Dharavi.

Jobs in Dharavi can be hard to find, the sort of jobs that they offer are pottery,

There is an 85% employment rate in Dharavi, which is quite good. However, this could be improved by offering more jobs inside and outside the slums, for example the government could create more jobs in the city such as dust bin men, or factory workers.

Thank you for listening

recycling and textiles such as making suitcase handles. These jobs are not very well payed but are the best on offer. Many children do not go to school and start working from a very early age, which ruins their childhood and education must be at home.

Housing

Housing now (below) is cramped and badly built, it is unsafe.

On the edge of Dharavi slums, the new arrivals come to make their homes, which is on the wasteland next to water pipes in the slum area, this is not a suitable habitat for living. Each dwelling is 12x12ft with

The plans for the future

Dharavi is currently built next to Mumbai's business

district, meaning that it is a prime target for redevelopment. If this happens, the people of Dharavi will be given apartments in tall housing blocks as you can see in the picture. This will separate communities and families and the people

from where they work. It is estimated that the project could cost up to $2.1 billion (£1.1 billion).

many members living here, up to 25 people at one time. They are not very stable structures either, because they were built from scraps of metal and any other materials they could find.

Waste

Health and Lifestyle

Disease in Dharavi is almost inevitable. Children play in open

Education

Dharavi is basically built

on rubbish, it is everywhere,

there are no bins, and the open sewers run through the streets,

where the young children play

and are at high risk of

contracting diseases such as

cholera and typhoid, both

can be deadly.

sewers,

contaminated

with raw

sewage.

Quality of life

The people of Dharavi are always

happy, their quality of life is very good even if the standard of living is not, they have communities and families and they enjoy their lives.

In the future

Education in Dharavi is rare, but there have, in recent, years, been little schools built across the slums. The classrooms may be small but the spirit is high, children are happy to be learning.

As we said before, the employment rate in Dharavi could be improved, and they could tackle the rubbish problems in Dharavi at the same time by employing people from the slums to be litter pickers and recyclers. Also the government could invest a little money in placing bins around the slums, this would tackle waste ruining the streets and may stop the spread of disease. Also setting up charity events to raise money can be done in other countries, so that they don't have to rely on the government completely.

Education in the future

The people of Dharavi, in the future,

want to create bigger schools, to accommodate more children. In the past, children have worked from a young age and not been able to read or write, because they did not have acces to any education in the area, or their families could not afford it.

To help, they could import doctors that are specially trained to deal with the diseases that are found in Dharavi, this would increase the number of doctors per patient, meaning that each patient could receive more attention and time. This would hopefully help a lot of lives and make a significant change to the health in Dharavi. Paying to import these special medics could be an issue, but if it means saving lives, then i'm sure it can be achieved.