INSIDE
SANJAY COLONY the photobook
Reality Tours & Travel was founded in 2005 with the aim of providing authentic, thought provoking local experiences through tours and to use the profits to create change in underprivileged communities.
multi-day tours to South India, Rajasthan and the Golden Triangle. The success of these activities has been recognised with major international responsible tourism awards in the past few years.
This work began back in Mumbai with our signature ‘Dharavi Tour’, and now we operate here in Sanjay Colony in order to dispel negative stereotypes of slum areas and provide a realistic overview of the challenges and opportunities in these areas as well. We have since expanded to offer a wide range of tours across Mumbai and Delhi, and
Reality Gives was formed four years later in 2009 with the vision of a world where underprivileged communities have equal access to opportunities and resources. We seek to do this by providing young people from underprivileged communities in India with high quality education and experiences.
WELCOME TO SANJAY COLONY Sanjay Colony is a small slum built on 25 acres of land located in the south of Delhi. Despite the challenging living conditions it remains an area charged with positive energy and community spirit. Open your eyes and mind and prepare for a trip into the other side of Delhi.
CLOTHES RECYCLING Many Sanjay Colony families work in clothes recycling, as this is the main industry in this community. Materials are painstakingly separated to be recycled according to their size, colour and quality.
CLOTHES MANUFACTURING The materials are then sold back to the factories, where they’re used for different purposes - some for bedding stuffing and some for sewing thread that is then used to make new clothes
LIFE IN SANJAY COLONY People arrived in Sanjay Colony in around 1969 when it was still a forest, and started building houses by themselves. Sanjay Colony comprises of nine blocks, each having around 500 houses. In each house there are about 10 people, giving a total population of around 45,00050,000. The lanes and busy alleys look like a maze, but residential and industrial lives carry on despite the congestion.
FACILITIES IN SANJAY COLONY Tankers deliver water each day for free. The residents collect it in buckets and store it in plastic barrels to make use of it during the day. A big Indian company provides electricity which doesn’t get cut off very often, as Sanjay Colony is in the midst of a major industrial area. There are some pay-to-use public toilets but many people still use the nearby forest area.
DOCTORS’ CLINICS Open drains, a lack of toilets, garbage exposure and the lack of water lead to diseases. The nearest Government hospital is 9 km away, so many residents visit the doctors’ clinics to get diagnosed. Some of the common diseases here are cold, fever and coughing. Malaria is not a major problem, however there are occasionally outbreaks of dengue, typhoid and several water borne diseases caused by contamination.
HINDU TEMPLE Religion is very important to the people who live in Sanjay Colony. The vast majority of the residents are Hindus but there are also a lot of Muslims, some Christians and Sikhs. The main temple is dedicated to the God Hanuman, who portrays bravery, strength and devotion. Like the God Ganesh, he brings good luck and best wishes.
MARKET Sanjay Colony’s main business revolves around clothing material, hence there are many shops in the market that sell women’s clothes. Also people from outside the slum come to purchase clothing items here due to the vast variety of colours and styles available.
EDUCATION The local school in Sanjay Colony is a government primary school for students from 1st Standard to 5th Standard (aged around 6 to 10 years old). The school has two shifts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, for a total of 1300 students attending classes given by 10 teachers.
REALITY IN THE COMMUNITY At Reality Gives, we believe where you start should not determine where you finish. Our work in the community focuses on providing education, viewed locally as being one of the most effective tools to break the cycle of poverty. We share this belief in the power of education, and focus on creating quality, accessible programs to give young people opportunities to grow, develop and learn.
100% of the profits from sales of this book go directly toward funding the work of Reality Gives. Change can only be created in our communities through your involvement and support. Thanks for making our work possible!
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+91 9818 227975
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info@realitygives.org
Photos by Dhruv Malik, Aamir Khan, Sagar Parcha, Sara Boccacci, Beatrice Crestini
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