A Dream Stuck Up in the Dump

S, I and another child at a dumpsite in secunderabad, India. He caught my attention since I did the same thing as a child


He gave me a casual look and only introduced himself as “S”, and then kept busy on the heap of dump.

He only spoke Telugu and hence we could barely understand each other. But people in poverty have another language they are fluent in - hope!

I smiled at him, he smiled back. I jumped in to help and he moved to accommodate me. Soon we were conversing fluently in smiles.

S is the boy I met in Secunderabad, India, scavenging for anything to survive the day. At his age, I had survived from this career – digging out of dumpsters.

 
We ‘exchanged many suspicious faces but in a short while, I won his trust. I offered to teach him how to take photographs. I took out my camera, showed him a few functions on the camera and in no time, he was by the road taking pictures of moving cars, people and buildings.

Many thoughts clouded my heart on what I could do for S. In no way is this story suggesting that I am a holier-than-thou Good Samaritan, only that “Once bitten, twice shy”. I have been in similar situation and advocating for children like S is speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves. It was my last day in India. 

S standing by the dumpsite I spotted him.
In the background is the slum he lives in Secunderabad, India

I had been in India for two weeks on a mission trip to make Jesus known among the natives.

Looking straight into my eyes, S asked for ten rupees as he handed back my camera. I reached into my pocket and handed him a hundred rupee note. He casually pocketed it, saluted me goodbye and went back to the dumpsite.

I walked away frustrated that I did not provide S a lasting solution. His dream was wasting in the dump.

Later, I asked a local pastor about what could be done to help the people at the slum where S lives. The response I got was acerbic. Men of God even grow cold to the plight of the poor. He responded in such a way to suggest that S community was not a group of poor people who needed help but a cartel of nuisance and insensitive land grabbers masquerading as slum-dwellers.

I am glad that someone had compassion and believed that I truly needed help. Watch my story of hope on : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbUK8D-xIdQ

It reminded me of the story of the Good Samaritan who was on a journey and found a man who had fallen in the hands of merciless robbers. As the story goes, the Priest and the Levite passed him by, ignoring the bruised man’s urgent need of help. My imagination tells me that the Priest and the Levite came from around and were better placed to help the bruised man. But perhaps they had grown insensitive to the needs around them.


S taking photos of his environment.
I wonder a skill like this could change his fortunes forever!

From the pastor’s response, I felt a sense that we have grown insensitive to the needs around us, almost indignant that people with need live around us.

Have you disengaged your head, your heart and withdrawn your hands from the plough?

God desires three things from you: to act justly –be fair in your dealings with others; love mercy – carry through your commitments to meet the needs of other people who need it; and walk humbly with God, meaning, to fellowship with God without arrogance.

In other words, be responsive to God, submitting to His will. This sums up the heart of our walk with the Lord.

When you look around your neighborhood and see need, are you insensitive to it? Have you passed a need today like the Priest and the Levite?

Be sensitive to the need around you. God planted you in that environment for a noble purpose.