Connect Walks | Vironica's Journey

Contributor: Vironica Joncy

As part of designing a community belonging and reality exposure, we created a space to observe, reflect and have first-hand narratives in different hot spots of Govandi community called Connect Walks. This Connect Walk, we made a pilgrimage to Deonar Landfill. The intention was to experience the massive dump which we contribute to daily, see what it does to us and tell its story, of people, of stuff and of the system. As a part of Teach for India fellowship, the kids I teach belong there, their parents belong there, my school belong there and us too. The air they breathe, the water they drink, the food they eat and the soil they walk- it’s a daily struggle they take for the polished life of other half of the population. 

Govandi- one of the largest illegal settlements in Asia – which sits along the shadow of 326 Acre Deonar Dumping Ground, holds an enormous population with no needs met. Unsurprisingly, M East ward ranks 24th out of 24 wards in Human Development Indices with 50% population under 20 years.

Rishabh has created triggering movie of the visit an captured what needs to bring the awareness within us.