Mumbai Dharavi Shelter Behind the Lens

A letter from Alexandra Copley,
Co-ordinator of Photography at Dharavi Shelter in Mumbai, India

Note: The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of RetoxMagazine.com

Behind the Lens at Mumbai Dharavi Shelter

Dharavi Shelter in Mumbai, India

Airport Adventure

Note from the Editor: Travelling usually opens opportunities to meet new people. Whether we travel from London to Mumbai on a long flight or from a village to a village on a short bus journey, the opportunities to socialise when we travel are all around us, and because of these opportunities we sometimes discover amazing and inspiring people on our journeys. Alexandra was one of such discoveries. A gem of a person and an inspiration to others, Alexandra is the coordinator of Photography at Dharavi Shelter in Mumbai, India. She helps the less privileged children in the area of Dharavi learn photography. Dharavi is a locality in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and its slum is one of the largest in the world.

A letter in relation to Dharavi Shelter in Mumbai, India

Dear Retox,

This is Alexandra, we met at the airport, remember? I am now back in Mumbai and I have a few things to share with you, if you like…

As you know, I’ve been living in Mumbai for over a year now, and I have now settled in and the culture shock is more or less over.

Having worked on a photography program before in the USA and Brazil helping the underprivileged children learn photography i have now grown the desire to do something similar here in Mumbai, India. I felt it was about time i had started something here too.

Finally, after all this time, I’m about to embark on my mission. At Dharavi Shelter in Mumbai a group of us is starting an initiative to bring arts and entertainment to the children. Dharavi slum has the reputation of being one of the biggest slums in the world, and it recently became more popular internationally for it’s role in the film Slumdog Millionaire. Dharavi has a huge population of children eager to learn, and I’m excited to teach them. The idea is to not only teach the kids photography but also allow them the chance to become a photographer. Upon learning they will become documentarians of their own lives and neighbourhood. It’s the kind of insight into a place that is not easily accessible. I love the eye of children. Their unfettered perspective always produces the most amazing photographs. I can’t wait to see the images these kids will take.

One of the kids I’ve noticed in particular has a really good eye for taking photos. When I first met him, he couldn't speak English at all, so communicating was pretty difficult at first as my Hindi is extremely limited. However, the end result is superb. Not only that the kid has picked up the basics on how to use the camera, but he also started speaking and understanding the English language.

Alexandra and Mumbai Dharavi shelter kids

The shelter will also be offering other programs besides photography such as painting, drawing, music, yoga and capoeira (the Brazilian martial art). There are already many students interested in joining the shelter because of all the exciting new programs we have going on. But the only thing they always need to remember is that we keep tabs on how well they are doing in school, and if they are not doing well then we ask them to take time out to concentrate on their studies at home. It is important that they keep in mind that schoolwork comes first and then the fun stuff!

Right now I am working with children as young as 6 years of age. They are all awfully sweet and learn very fast. I really enjoy working with them and when I think of having to return back to the US, it saddens me, as i know it will be hard for me to leave them!

There are both, positive and negative aspects about Dharavi Shelter in Mumbai. The positive is rather obvious – the learning experience our team provides to the kids and the future opportunities it will give them. Despite the kids being at the very beginning stage of learning photography, they are quickly progressing and some of them are very good.

The negative is that at the moment our facilities and learning equipment is extremely basic. Hopefully, with time we’ll get more camera donations and other photography related equipment. For instance, due to the power of Facebook, we have had many volunteers helping with the program. We also found some donors for cameras. It took some time, but now we have 25 film cameras and film to get us started. I would love to have more cameras donated, especially the digital type. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll have enough donations to teach more professional photography and help other age groups learn it too.

Kind regards,
Alexandra Copley,
Co-ordinator of Photography,
Dharavi Shelter, Mumbai

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