The Hard Things...

I’ve been talking a lot in my posts of the things I enjoy here, whether beautiful, silly, or ironic. What I haven’t mentioned yet are the hard things – the things that make me cringe or bring me near tears, wrenching every part of my soul. I’ve been trying to decide whether or not to write about them, not sure if you all would want to know/read about it, but I've decided it’s important to show you both sides of this hurting city.

The main issue I’ve been dealing with on a daily basis is the matter of beggars and the crippled. It’s not like I’ve never experienced walking down the street and being asked for money – it’s not uncommon in the US for similar situations to arise. However, before coming this semester, I had not experienced stopping at a stoplight and having a child grab my arm, unwilling to let go until the car started driving again forcing the release of my clothing/bags/arm. Never have I seen a man, completely deformed from the waist down, army crawling through crowded streets as people step over and around him.

How do these evil cycles happen? How did humanity become so low that we just step over and around these people daily?

When we arrived in India, we were warned about giving money and told not to do so. We were told most of these children and cripples are part of beggar rings (similar to the one shown in Slumdog Millionaire), and do not receive even a small portion of what they are given daily, being forced to surrender all the money they received to a corrupt individual. Therefore giving money to them is just feeding the ring, not helping the situation at all. We were also told us that many beggars wont accept food, and many will throw whatever food you try to give them back at you.

Hence, my dilemma. I have no idea what to do. My heart breaks as I walk by person after person, remembering the verses on poverty and hunger from the Bible. I’m torn day after day, wondering what I should be doing or how I can help. Tomorrow I’m going to ask Uttara (director of the program) if there’s anything I can do, but one of the problems is my schedule – classes all day, often until 6pm, which leaves little time for volunteering.

Hopefully I’ll be able to figure something out soon. Until then, please pray for judgment as I go through my day trying to reason with myself on what I can do and what I need to leave to the Lord.