India
Bhalswa Slums, Delhi
India is a culturally rich country and has the second-most population in the world with over 1.2 billion people. India faces the challenge of poverty. India’s poverty rate was recorded as high as 35 to 45 percent in the year 2009, with poverty rate decreasing to 20 percent in 2012. Furthermore, India’s slum population has been projected to rise up to 9 percent of the national population as of 2017, according to the nation’s census and statistics as collected from The World Bank. Even India’s capital, Delhi, was found to have about 24 percent of the population living in slums, specifically 3.9 million of the 16.7 million residents are living in these poorly built houses. According to the statistics taken from the Government of India, there is still 7 percent un-electrified villages in India however that amount might be greater than it seems. Based on the electrification programs undertaken by the government in India, a village is considered electrified if at least 10% of its households are electrified, among other conditions.
Starlight, aim to provide light to the people in the slum in India and improve their quality of life. For starters, we aim to provide light to the people in the Bhalswa slum in Delhi.
The Bhalswa Slum, located beside Delhi's largest landfill site, has a population of 22,000 people. Most occupants depend on the landfill to survive through scavenging for parts to earn some money. However, the landfill is a fire hazard to the slum and had several landfill fires in the past. The slum is also built beside a lake which is polluted due to the run-off water from the garbage dump when it rains. The residents of the slum lack basic amenities such as electricity, clean water, sanitation and toilets. The result for the lack of electricity meant more money being spent on kerosene fuel which takes up 13 percent of their daily expenditure.
(World Bank, 2016)
Kerosene lamps are harmful in the chemicals they produced, which is equivalent to smoking 2 packets of cigarette. Furthermore, kerosene lamps have a tendency to catch things on fire, which is even more hazardous as the slum is located beside the landfill. Nearly 30 percent of the families in Bhalswa slum continue to depend on kerosene lamps for lights. With 13 percent of their daily expenditure on kerosene fuel, parents would have lesser amount to spend on their children’s education. Hence, causing the residents to take an even longer time to escape from the poverty cycle. Even though there were efforts to relocate the occupants out of slums to resettlement colonies, access to light and electricity in the new infrastructure were not guaranteed.
With little or restricted access to grid electricity, energy provision for all remains a challenge for those living in poverty. The livelihood of the poor is also affected as they are unable to socialize, do housework or study as light sources at night are limited.
Our group in Starlight aim to improve the quality of life for residents of Bhalswa slum and to do that we need your help. Your contributions can make a difference to every families. Give them light and a brighter future ahead.