On the occasion of ‘World Homeless Day’ on October 10, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) hosted a first of its kind event titled “Delhi’s First Slum Festival” with the theme “Hunar Ki Pukar, Dilli Ashray Se Begharon Ke Zindagi Mein Sudhar”.
The event will continue for a week at DUSIB Shelter Homes Complex, Sarai Kale Khan.
The Chief Guest of the ‘Delhi’s First Slum Festival’, Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, made a special address to the gathering. He recognised the success stories of homeless people in Delhi, who have achieved laurels and felicitated them for their individual success as well as their contribution to society.
While highlighting the role of the Delhi government in providing electricity, education facilities, potable drinking water and health facilities to residents of slum dwellers, he further appreciated the role of DUSIB in providing the platform to showcase the talents of the slum dwellers and homeless people through “Delhi’s First Slum Festival”.
“The organising of such programmes will continue in the future,” the Deputy CM said.
Moreover, the week-long celebrations are targeted to sensitise the public about homelessness, recognising the contribution of the homeless of Delhi and their felicitation.
K Mahesh, CEO, DUSIB, talked about the ‘Delhi Model’ of shelters for the homeless and how Delhi has deployed one of the world’s highest numbers of homeless shelters in a city. It has become a model for manyº states and cities across the world.
He also recognised that as Delhi has a robust homeless shelter mechanism, there will further be steps taken to improve the condition of the homeless according to their needs in order to improve their lives. The recognition of ‘World Homeless Day’ in Delhi is a step in that direction, he said.
This is the first time that Delhi is recognising ‘World Homeless Day’ and celebrating it with the homeless communities to highlight and mainstream homelessness as an issue.
The event was a grand success, with more than 500 attendees that included the homeless, youth from different communities, NGOs/CSOs, and the wider public.
The event was supported and co-organized by the Shelter Management Agencies and other NGOs like SPYM, Akshay Patra, Ashraya Adhikhar Abhiyan, Sadik Masih, Sofia, Janpahal, Safe Approach, Rachana, and IGSSS.