Onda terráquea

Almost 80 children aging from 2 to 7 years are running on bare foot in the small room arranged as a kindegarden in one of the Christian chur che s in Dharavi slum. They don't speak English, I can communicate with them only by gestures or asking other teachers for the translation. However, Christmas is approaching, and the room is filled with decorations: reindeer shapes, santa claus masks and christmas trees. Have they really ever seen one of these things? No, they have not, of course. But they all know the answer to the question: what is this, babu ? Christmas tree!! And this? Baby Jesus!They scream out loud. I started wondering: many of those children belongs to hindu families, other are converted to catolicism. But they all celebrate Christmas. Why?

A plastic paper kite is grabbed by a 8 years old child, laughing out loud while running on bare foot in Dharavi Slum. The brightness of his smile caught my eye and still sticks in my mind as one of the most touching event I have seen during these days in Mumbai. I came back home with a weird mixture of feeling and a great sense of hope.