A Glimpse at the River Slum - by Soklee & Victoria

Soklee, the Volunteer Co-ordinator, first showed me the three learning centres that make up the project at Riverkids. She then took me to the river community where the children who attend the Riverkids project are from. The community is a world away from anything i know. It is clear that sanitation is very poor, huge amounts of rubbish lie beneath the makeshift houses. On average 5 people live in a space that is smaller than my living room, which if on the riverbank are at danger of being ripped down by a landside. We saw one little girl in one of these houses who had a recent scar on her head where she had been hit by a motorbike in the street. She is only 6 years old and is already out on the street looking for anything she can find to take back to her family.

We saw many children running freely and they all seemed quite content. One little boy, no more than 4 years old, was quite happy playing with a pair of scissors on the side of a walkway.

Victoria Louch