On the surface, my slum experience was not much different to a camping trip – eating and cooking simple meals on a portable stove, sleeping outdoors at the mercy of the elements, and doing washing from a bucket – pretty fun at times! Yet looking deeper, we had the opportunity to build and live in our own slum village (using wooden pallets, cardboard and tarpaulin); make and sell paper bags so that we could afford to cook and eat two meals of rice and dhal each day and nothing else; do challenges that reflected real life situations in slum communities ( e.g. constructing a stretch of road that was destroyed by ‘floods’ by hammering rocks into rubble; having to choose between ’safe’ and ‘poisonous’ lollies when you are illiterate) – and all the while being cheated and oppressed by our ’slum lords’!

While some real clinchers of an actual slum such as the sickness, the smells and the true desperation to survive each day were missing (not to mention the uncertainty of when this way of life would come to an end), we still had a small taste of slum life: what it felt like to go to bed hungry, to expend the little energy you have in the hope of gaining something only to be met with loss, disappointment and fatigue; and ultimately, the vulnerable, voiceless position that not being educated about your rights puts you in. 

We even heard eye-witness stories about real slums, where I learnt that despite the despair, slums are also places of much vibrancy, creativity, hospitality and hope. Peoples’ determination to survive despite the circumstances as well as the sincerity expressed by families to share what little they had challenged me about really trusting and delighting in the Lord to deliver when it seemed like there was ’so little to live for’ – but how wrong is that! Slum Survivor reminded me that our lives do not consist in the abundance of our possessions (Luke 12:15) but rather, the riches found in a genuine relationship with God. It definitely helped me to identify more with the world’s poor than I did before. Finally, it reinforced in me the life-giving joys that come out of living a simpler lifestyle, which prioritises relationships and social change over greed by responding to the powerless of our world with justice, humility and compassion just as Jesus did. 

Weilin - Survivor Blackstump 07

• I’m used to hiking, so I didn’t think that the ‘living conditions’ would be too different to what I was used to. I also have this reputation of sleeping through anything. But…I have to admit that the night times…when the wind was blowing…it was pretty cold. I felt a little bit chilly even with a sleeping bag. Not feeling comfortable was very good, because it drew the attention away from the fun of the days to a taste of reality. Life in the slums is not comfortable.
• There seemed to be a strong theme through lots of the Blackstump festival on poverty. The humble way that the TEAR guys talked about God and our response to poverty as well as what others were saying was excellent. I came away challenged to ‘live as Jesus does”. I guess I already knew this, but to live it every day…that’s a challenge. “He must become greater, I must become less”-John 3.30.
• I was really encouraged by the way that all the other slum people seemed to put others first. I think it was because of this that we all worked well as a team. They were so good value, and made the experience really fun. It was a real blessing. (Thanks guys!)

Ree, Slum Survivor 07

I wanted to do Slum Survivor with the aim of gaining a perspective on what living in a slum is like. The reason being is that at the end of the year we will move to Kenya to help a group of children who live in the Kibera Slum in terrible living conditions. We will live there for one year and we will help at a school that the children attend. The children are fed two meals a day at the school (usually their only meals) and most of the students parents have passed away (mainly due to HIV/Aids) and so now as orphans they live with another family. I therefore thought doing Slum Survivor might give me a small insight into the lives of these children which we will be helping.

Over the weekend I did learn these things and a few other lessons God had in mind for me. It was a very moving, at times emotional and thought provoking weekend for me.

I didn’t arrive until Saturday morning, and I wondered how people would feel about a ‘ring in’ who hadn’t done anything to help in constructing our shelters. But as soon as I arrived people crowded around introducing their selves and explaining what we where doing and welcoming me in. From then on the weekend was a blur of cooking meals, making bags, selling bags (without much luck), being cold, offering hospitality of Chai Tea and spending time with a great group of people.

And learn a bit about living in a slum I did. There are not many times in my life I finish breakfast and know I won’t eat again until dinner, go to bed really (really) cold, have to work to earn my food at the end of the day. It gave me a small glimpse of the desperation and hard work that millions of people endure each day of their lives and Jesus heart and love for them. It gave me a small glimpse of the struggles the children we will soon meet in Kenya. And I wondered how children survive living like this. It made me wonder how my heart wouldn’t break if my own children lived in these types of conditions.

God also taught me a few other lessons during the weekend. I think taking a step away from your normal surroundings helps you to analyse your life. In my case I was challenged to never wait until I fly to another country to begin life as a ‘missionary’ and loving others and loving God starts in our life style choices. I went to a few excellent workshops (anyone else go the Work Shops on Incarnational Ministry amongst the Urban Poor, Simple Living and God in the Everyday??? Amazing talks!). I heard a lot of things that challenged me to make my life more simple, more ‘green’, more hospitable, more healthy and more global. It made me think about what I put into my body, in terms of food, media and the items I buy for myself. For example, loving my neighbour overseas, also means consuming less of the worlds resources over here and choosing not to be caught up in the wave of ‘consumerism’.

So I have finished Slum Survivor with more empathy and a heart for those who struggle to survive, and a desire to make my life more simple. My prayer is that my life will change from the inside out, beginning now and which I hope will over flow into the lives of others especially in Kenya. I feel blessed, moved and challenged by the weekend I have just experienced, and I pray I will be a blessing to others.

Jacquie - Slum Survivor 07

Stay tuned for stories and reflections from the 8 survivors……..

Participants will be building their own little slum village to live in for the entire long weekend.

Throughout the weekend there will be challenges that will hopefully give a glimpse of what life is really like for the 1 Billion people on our planet who live in slums.

Its going to be a pretty full on weekend for our brave participants as they engage with the slum survivor experience and face up to poverty.

2 meals a day of rice and dahl, that is of course if the participants have enough rupees to buy their rice and dahl.

Why did I spend so long mucking around trying to get a gallery to work inside wordpress when all I needed to do was upload the photos to flickr and use this nifty little plugin by joe tan.

Behold the splendour of the photo albums.

Enjoy.

It’s the Postcard feature for Sunday 8/10/06: http://www.abc.net.au/sundaynights/stories/s1758960.htm

Sadly, I don’t think the interview made it into the audio stream of the program. They only stream the show’s first 2 hours.