Change Something

I like to look at India through the eyes of first time visitors.  They see the things that I start to miss having lived here for several years.  We just had a group of skaters here and they were noticing and enjoying many of the "normal" India things.  Like cows wandering the streets, or the kids running around loudly, or the way cars drive so close to the pedestrian.  There is also plenty that they see and experience that aren't enjoyable.  They also notice the garbage, the air pollution, and the smells.  And experiences that are heart-breaking like when they go on the prayer walk down GB Road, the red-light district in Delhi, they see the abuse and the enslavement of human beings.  

There are things about India that I would like to see change.  I would like it to be cleaner.  In my mind it seems that it shouldn't be that easy to clean up the place.  There needs to be awareness of the problem and then the structure in place to handle the trash.  We need more garbage dumps, more recycling, and a way for poor people to dispose of their garbage easily and for free.  The air pollution is much more difficult to solve.  I've seen traffic work better in other cities in India outside of Delhi.  In Jaipur I noticed that almost all motorcyclists and the passenger wear helmets.  Even the women!  And the cars actually stop at red-lights.  When cars went over the zebra crossing, the police officer was there to take a picture of the license and then give the driver a ticket.  It's a start to our crazy driving here.

Human trafficking is another issue that can be worked on.  More awareness of the problem and the ways that girls/women get enslaved will help some.  Teaching men to respect women and seeing them as equally valuable will help.  Punishing offenders harshly and swiftly will help some.  Empowering those in authority to take action will make a big difference.  Punishing corruption or taking of bribes could help too.  Change can happen.  We just need a few people to notice the problem and take action.  Be one of those people!