From clearing excrement to New York modelling

[jason]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7489296.stm

Walking down the catwalk in front of the great and the good in New York is a far cry from using your hands to clean up human excrement for a living.
But this week a group of such women - known in India as scavengers - have been doing just that. They have been attending a United Nations conference here and doing some modelling at the same time.
In all, 36 scavengers from India have been invited by the UN to attend a conference to mark the UN’s International Year of Sanitation.
The women were brought up from early childhood for the demeaning work.
Scavengers are invariably from the lower-caste, “untouchable” (Dalit) community. They carry the human excrement in pots on their heads. They can also be found clearing rubbish from the streets and open drains outside homes.

Reading this you will note the sense of possibility and change… when appropriate support is made available.

Comments

[francisb.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is amazing how people will uplift themselves when they perceive opportunity.

[complicittheory.livejournal.com]

yes. that thought stops me dead in my tracks every time I come across it. Many people need real support to recover before they can move on. Some people can never move on because of what they've suffered, but some seem to spring almost new from incredible situations and blossom. I wonder if the models have even an inkling of the strength of the soul of the person walking beside them.