35 degrees in the winter, and 116 degrees in the summer. In New Delhi, India, the seasons swing in dramatic fashion and those who live on the streets struggle to survive.
NOVICA’s India team members recently walked the streets passing out blankets and bread to those without a home. Our team couldn’t believe the response. It literally invoked tears.
One woman who gratefully accepted a blanket wept as she told us about her young son. He was sick and passed away while lying on a sidewalk. She said he would have loved a blanket to keep him warm. Another man, Ravi, told us he makes about $4 a day as a rickshaw driver, but that he saves $2.50 of that to send his family who lives in a village far away. Ravi says he just spends about $1 to $1.50 a day on food and clothing, and that he too sleeps on the cement next to his rickshaw. Many others told us similar stories of extreme poverty. We knew about how tough the winters are there, but these stories haunted us. This was Team India’s 2015 “Happiness Project”, but truthfully, our team members didn’t leave feeling very happy.
“It was a very fulfilling experience but the enormity of the situation makes us feel terribly small,” said Anvita, our regional director in India. “May God give us the strength to help these poor people in whatever little ways we can.”
