Slums are the product of broken down village life. The irregularity of rain, unemployment, the caste system, the appeal of city life, and a lack of facilities are some of the factors that lead people to migrate from their village to urban spaces. These spaces are congested, unhealthy and lack basic amenities - spaces otherwise known as slums. These areas, usually located on the fringes of society, consist of migrants - often landless laborers, who come to the city in search of employment.

At the time of India’s independence, 90 percent of this country’s population lived in villages while only 10 percent occupied civic space. Today, India’s cities host 39 percent of the country’s population.

Ramapir No Tekro, also known as the Tekro, is the largest slum area in Ahmedabad.  The population, approximately 1.5 lakh (150,000), consists mainly of people from scheduled castes around Gujarat and potter families from Rajasthan. The entire development is considered an encroachment because the land is owned by the government, and therefore, temporary. People have been living on this space for over fifty years. Initially the Tekro lacked light, water, communal toilets and overall cleanliness. Today, through government attention, the slum area has electricity, water, sidewalks, and a gutter system. However, due to problems with addiction, health issues, superstitions, backward traditions, high-interest loans and illiteracy, many slum dwellers continue to live in the same cycle of despair and poverty. They earn their income by driving rickshaws, picking rags, cleaning homes, shining shoes, and working as potters or as day laborers.

Manav Sadhna chose to work with the Tekro because of its proximity to the Gandhi Ashram. A lack of education and opportunity are the core causes of many of the problems in the Tekro. By promoting values, education and awareness among children and women of the Tekro, we hope to eradicate many of these challenges and uplift their standard of living.

A picture of the Tekro: