It is pretty overwhelming to see injustice happen right before your eyes. Now we might think that someone with 35 items in the 20 or fewer items checkout line is an injustice to our schedule, but I’m talking a true injustice. The Dalit population in India, also known as the Untouchables, are the heirs of generations of injustice. Not even a ‘recognized’ people group, the Dalit have watched the other castes around them have access to basic privileges that they themselves are denied. One of these is access to clean water.
The Indian government has done some work in rural areas to drill wells for the people of their country in light of the Millenium Development goals of the UN. However, I recently stood and watched hundreds of Dalit, across several communities, stand in close proximity to a well that they were not “allowed” to use. Women and children would wait with an empty water container in hopes that someone would have enough compassion and mercy to allow them the opportunity to draw water from their handpump. This was amazing to me! Literally, to watch people, humans, flesh and blood, our fellow man, stand in wait for mercy to be shown for a basic human right. I mean, they were 25 feet from a fresh water source that they weren’t privileged to access. It was either mercy, or back to the grossly polluted, open-faced cesspool of a well that was located in close proximity to their home. This was a common site as we made our trek several hours South of Coimbatore, India.
The great news is that The Hydrate Hope Project is bringing hope to the Dalit! Through partnering with Thirst Relief and local implementers at SWAP Trust, we are seeing villages transformed through access to clean water and sanitation, and hygiene training as well. Thanks to dedicated workers like Paul Rajan, injustice is being confronted and hope is being brought about in real, tangible ways! One can’t help but think about the words of Jesus in Matthew 25 when he was talking about “the least of these” in this world. To walk alongside the Dalit, to see them as real people when even those around them might not, is to embrace these words, “what you do unto these least of these, you do unto me”. Thank you for your partnership, your giving, your encouragement….Thank you for choosing to be the change that so many around our world are in need of.