The "Slum Dwellers"

We've had monsoon-like rains on campus the last two days because of Cyclone Phyan (thankfully, it looks like it's going to die out). I always hope that loss of life and property will be minimal when a phenomenon like this strikes, but that is rarely the case. For many poor families along India's west coast, Phyan was, at best, a frightening event accompanied by a few sleepless nights and loss of income. At worst, it was a faceless grim reaper that took away loved ones. For us here on the JDV campus, it meant clothes that wouldn't dry, regular black-outs, no outdoor games and carefully-tended gardens ruined (the marigolds, in particular, falling victim to un-aesthetically-minded winds).

But not all JDV students (even Jesuit ones) live on campus. Every year, a few groups of Jesuit scholastics move out of their relatively comfortable (if Spartan) rooms at DNC between July and December to live among the poor and homeless people of Pune in the slums. Each 'slum community' consists of 3-5 scholastics; they commute in for classes and are expected to be self-sufficient. Thus, most such communities supplement their scholastic allowance with income from odd jobs, tutoring kids etc. My 'living group' (more about these in a subsequent post) has a member living in such a slum community. We went out to visit them on Tuesday (with Phyan's van – pardon the rhyme – doing its best to keep us from moving outside) in the pouring rain. There are three scholastics in this particular group; they live in a small single-room house about 4km from campus in the midst of a crowded settlement. I was certainly glad to be inside, dry and with a warm cup of tea in my hand by the time we got there – even if about a dozen of us were crammed into the room! I was very impressed by their hospitality, edified by their witness and reminded again that the Jesuit is called to live in solidarity with the poor, the dispossessed, the voiceless, the weak, and the helpless.

Because of the swine flu pandemic, this year’s groups are being recalled a month early. It was a real privilege to be able to visit the group we did before they came back (they’re back at DNC now).