Slum Solutions ~ Seeking More Prosperous Paths

As the New India Rises, So Do Slums Of Laborers writes Emily Wax in the Washington Post. There are tens of millions of migrant workers laboring in some of the most dangerous construction conditions on the planet. Wax spotlights 10-year-old Gudiya's family experience and the work of organizations like Mobile Creches which serve to help the children of these workers...

Gudiya, whose name means doll in Hindi, boiled a pot of lentils for her family on what passes here for a stove -- a pile of kindling surrounded by rocks. That's because this is Gudiya's home: a construction site. Gudiya has grown used to being shuttled from one such site to another. Two years ago, her parents gave up farming for jobs spawned by New Delhi's construction bonanza. They have helped build shopping malls, houses and highways, aspiring to one day be part of a new, more prosperous India. But with every glass-and-steel skyscraper and high-tech call center that goes up, a slum also rises. And efforts to demolish those slums have only pushed thousands of migrant worker families like Gudiya's to squat in the very structures they are building...

For most migrant workers in India, like Gudiya's parents, the decision to work in construction is born of a lack of options. For a few, it offers a chance for social mobility. In Gudiya's case, she is able to attend a Mobile Creches primary school, a small concrete structure on the dusty Gurgaon construction site...

"I enjoy being a learner so much. Math is my favorite," said Gudiya, whose tiny ribs show through her dress. She looks several years younger than her age... "It's not as safe as the village. But at least here she has some schooling," said Vimal, her mother. "I will stay working under the sun's hot fires to see my child get even a little learning done, so she won't be dumb like me and have to carry loads for the rich people."

See more in Emily Wax's video story...