Of the 21 million people living in Mumbai, 62% (or approximately 13 million people) live in slums throughout the city.
Most slum dwellers subsist on $1 a day or less, spending 10 hours a day working hard in the hot sun, using the local river as a shower or toilet, and at the end of the day falling asleep on sidewalks or under bridges.
This is what the real one looks like.
When I was traveling in India and stopped by Mumbai, I spent several hours in the slums, which are considered the largest in Asia and one of the largest in the world. The slums are called Dharavi. You must have heard about them - this is where the protagonist of the movie Slumdog Millionaire, Jamal, lived, and this is where most of the film's scenes were filmed. 
Walking along Dharavi was the most enlightening experience of my entire trip to India, and perhaps of all my travels. This place is so populated that it seems like a separate city inside Mumbai, with its narrow dirty lanes, open sewers and huge piles of garbage. 
Before explaining what a person who first came to Dharavi sees and feels, I will give a few facts:
About 1 million people live on an area of 2.5 square kilometers. Dharavi is the most densely populated place on planet Earth.
- The average salary here is from $1 to $2 per day.
- Dharavi is the most productive slum in the world with an annual turnover of almost a billion dollars.
- In Dharavi, there is 1 toilet for about 1,450 people.
- The average life expectancy of a Dharavi resident is less than 60 years.
- The slums are divided into communities according to religion in the ratio: 60% Hindus, 33% Muslims, 6% Christians and 1% others.
- Only men are allowed to work in Dharavi's workshops. 
The biggest surprise for me was how incredibly organized life was in Dharavi. Today, this area of Mumbai is a gigantic factory where people work - under difficult conditions - but work. The slums produce goods that are exported throughout India and around the world. You can even order goods from Dharavi online. 
The slums are divided into industrial and residential parts.
In the residential part, you can meet Indians from all over the country who came here from rural areas, as well as local residents from the state of Maharashtra. There is no infrastructure in the residential area: no roads, no public toilets. This part of Mumbai was the dirtiest inhabited place I have ever seen in my life. The area is divided according to religion: Hindus live in one part, Muslims in another, Christians in the third. In the residential part there are several temples and churches. 
The houses here are small and densely packed with people. I managed to look into one of the houses and see how the locals live: seven people were sleeping on the floor in a small room, next to each other, almost clinging to each other. None of them had a pillow or mattress. There was no kitchen or toilet in the house.
Life in the industrial part is chaotic, it is very hot, dirty and smells terrible. There are more than 7,000 different businesses and 15,000 one-room workshops that are filled with thousands of people working from dawn to dusk without air conditioning. When I walked through the industrial part, I saw only men. The men were everywhere. When I asked an Indian friend (I alone did not dare to walk here) why I see only men in the workshops, he replied that women were forbidden to work in Dharavi.
The most common goods in Dharavi are pottery, leather, plastic and iron products. There are several smaller industries that deal with recycling. Moreover, they process garbage - everything that we in Russia and in the West are accustomed to throw away. Perhaps some of your rubbish that you threw away yesterday will end up here in Dharavi in a month, and they will make something out of it that they can sell. 
I'm not just talking about paper, plastic, leather, aluminum or glass waste. I've seen workers picking out some parts from old VHS tapes from the 90s, then to make something out of them. I have seen workshops that recycle the soap bars that hotel guests leave in their rooms.
After several hours of walking through the slums, I was able to go beyond stereotypes and look at Dharavi not just as the "largest slum in the world", but as an active regulated community with a strong economy. The inhabitants of the slums are very industrious. Despite the difficult conditions, they all call this place their home.
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Author.
Poverty is a relative concept. In short, this is the impossibility of a person to lead a normal life due to the lack of material resources, and the possibility of acquiring them. Poverty looks different in different countries of the world, and today we will see what is still considered poverty?
Guinea
Despite the rich deposits of diamonds and gold, the country has a very low GDP of $523.10, and falls into the list of the poorest countries in the world.
People literally live on the streets, in the slums.
80% of the population does not even have basic amenities such as a kitchen
… and bathroom
There are no schools, as such. Junior classes study outside
And the elders in abandoned buildings and basements
But the main problem is hunger, disease and epidemics. Several hundred people die from epidemics every year in the country. This is a quarter of a small settlement in Guinea.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa with almost 88 million inhabitants and is also the most populous country in the world.
People live in houses that they themselves build from stones.
Despite poverty, the birth rate in Ethiopia is high. But also given the mortality rate, there are more orphans than full-fledged families.
Children begin to work almost "from the cradle" to earn a living.
They also need to learn.
The biggest problem in this country is HIV. 80% of the population is affected by this disease.
Despite all the hardships, there is joy!
Japan
Japan is the world's third largest power in terms of economic power. Until now, Japanese society has been considered wealthy and equal. Every year the level of poverty in the country is growing, and now it is noticeable already on an international scale.
One in six Japanese is considered poor
How did it happen that in such a developed country there are so many poor people?
Easily. Progress has swallowed up this country too quickly, and the older generation has nowhere to work. The main cause of poverty in Japan is unemployment. The authorities are trying with all their might to cope with this, and oddly enough, they succeed! For 2017, the poverty rate in Japan has dropped significantly!
China
China is one of the most developed countries in the world. The class of the poorest peasantry, living on the verge of poverty, makes up 65% of the country's population. According to the Taiwanese newspaper The Liberty Times, more than 10% of the population lives in absolute poverty.
There are no pension programs in China. By law, the elderly must be cared for by their children. But unfortunately children do not always take care of their parents.
People here live literally in cages.
The thing is that in China, and in particular in Hong Kong, the cost of housing is increasing every year. And people have to live in the so-called "anthills".
The dimensions of these rooms are 3x2 m.
These rooms are not bought, they are rented. In order to acquire such a room, the average Chinese needs to work for about 10 years. 1 sq.m costs about $20,000
USA
Compared to other countries, in the United States, poverty is not so fatal.
There are about 50 million poor people in the United States today, about 16% of the total population.
In America, there is the concept of a "beggar working person." Poverty is always associated with unemployment, a person who was able to find a job cannot be poor by definition, because he earns money. But no, not this time. In the US, the poor work to feed themselves.
Russia
The Russians themselves will consider poor nutrition in their country as a pine sign of poverty. Then it is the inability to buy medicines, hygiene products, the inability to pay utility bills.
Russian poverty has a feminine face, approximately 70% of all the poor in Russia are women. And women of retirement age.
Today, in Russia, the beggars are the homeless, drunkards, parasites, beggars, degraded, socially disadvantaged citizens, the mentally ill, people who seemed to be in a catastrophic situation by the will of fate.
Someone bathes in luxury, and someone has to dig in the garbage heaps. Such is the world and such is the distribution of wealth in it. For some, everything, and for others, nothing. Unfortunately, not enough for everyone. The people of the "golden billion" simply cannot imagine how terrible and incredibly poor a person's life can be in third world countries, where $ 1 a day is serious money. The Guardian published a series of photographs "The Poorest Man in the World".
1. 4-year-old girl Ana-Maria Tudor in Bucharest. Her house is going to be demolished and her family thrown out into the street. The girl's father is sick, he needs constant expensive medicines. There is no sewerage or running water. Soon there will be no roof over your head. Toilet chairs like those that you can see at the link https://ukrmedshop.ua/reabilitaciya/tualet/tualetnye-stulya are not used here at all.
2. 70-year-old old women from Bolivia eat only potatoes ... And they also sell only potatoes.
3. People in New Delhi walk past 13-year-old blind girl Hunula Begum and 10-year-old boy Nizamudin. Their father died a long time ago, and their mother suffers from asthma and cannot work. Their whole life is begging ... And it is unlikely that something will change in the future.
4. Fai Fanna lost his leg in 1988 on a mine. Today he is 60 years old and has 11 children. They want to demolish his house and drive his family out into the street.
5. India again, slums again. The girl is 2 years old. Her name is Sangita, she eats little... The girl is periodically rented out to beggars.
6. 5 brothers from the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. They used to live on the street. Now at the shelter.
7. Jestina Koko is 25 years old and has a 5-year-old daughter, Sattoya. She begs and washes clothes. The girl has been disabled since childhood… They sleep in the corridor of the house, where there is no water and electricity.
8. 9-year-old Alvaro Kalancha Kisle lost his father and is now engaged in livestock. However, he goes to school. For a year, his family earns an average of $ 200 ...
9. Slatina, Romania Viorica is 31 years old and has a stomach ache. There is no money for medicine. The house is also not theirs, but belongs to the state. They can be kicked out at any moment. There is no electricity or water either.
10. Faty from Acre. She is 8 years old. Children scour the landfill to find at least something.
11. 27-year-old prostitute Labone with her son.
12. 5-year-old Rudra and his 3-year-old sister Suhani. They live in the slums of the Indian city of Charad. They feel bad... They are sick. Their brother and sister recently died of starvation. Probably the same fate awaits them.
13. 6-year-old Vishal Sing tries to help a little girl in New Delhi. He goes to school…
Slam tourism (traveling through the slums) is gaining more and more popularity. We decided to list the most popular places to visit, in case you want to get especially thrilled during your upcoming vacation.
Brazil
In Portuguese, slums are called favelas - they are home to the poorest part of the population. It is clear that no building plans are being carried out and the very phenomenon of slums denies any architectural planning and calculation. As a result of this, the slums of Brazil resemble a real anthill without end and edge. These are gigantic endless seas of chaotic buildings with narrow streets, poorly developed infrastructure, no sewerage and simply an outrageous level of banditry and crime. An interesting fact is that more than a third of the country's population lives in the so-called favelas. This statistic is appalling and perfectly characterizes the standard of living in Brazil.
All the major cities of Brazil have grown into slums: they are also on the outskirts, Rio de Janeiro, the city of Belen (it is the leader in terms of the area of the slums surrounding it). Slam tourism as a phenomenon appeared in Brazil back in the nineties, when it was especially dangerous for visitors to travel: constant attacks and robberies made this type of vacation extremely extreme. Now, on the contrary, the inhabitants of the favelas sell various souvenirs and drugs to tourists. In short, the market for slum travel is evolving.
India
This country has given rise to the largest slums in all of Asia. Indian Mumbai is famous for its slums throughout the world - the capital of crime and poverty. In general, India is a fairly safe country, except for the highest level of unsanitary conditions and a rather specific climate. However, will introduce you to crime and begging if you decide to visit. Hundreds of thousands of people here live below the poverty line: you will be met by dozens of children in tattered clothes who will very persistently beg for alms: pulling your sleeves, tearing out your bag, they will try to take off your watch, shoes and, in general, all your clothes.
The Bombay slums are not only people, they are also a kind of unforgettable surroundings - huge piles of garbage and plastic bags, boxes and some incomprehensible mountains of dirty tattered rags. Excursions to these areas are held quite often: three times a day and may well satisfy the demand of foreign tourists. The price for the tour is ridiculous - only about eight dollars, which is more than a solid amount for the local population. The contrast of Indian slums is especially noticeable against the backdrop of much more prosperous business districts of the capital, where everything is rolled in concrete and glass.
In general, such excursions are a rather unnatural and strange occupation: to pay money to look at the suffering and poverty of other people, while feeling like something more significant. Excursion programs often include watching homeless children and beggars, as if they were not people, but animals in the zoo. It must be said that initially slam tourism was conceived not only to see and communicate with people in poor areas, but also to somehow financially help them.
China
Chinese slums are more civilized and tidy than those in India and Brazil. Slums in China are called hutongs, and here they are usually just a concrete block of ugly skyscrapers, many of which even have air conditioning. The poverty of the local population does not lead to an extreme increase in crime, walking through the Chinese hutongs, of course, you risk getting a few stab wounds or losing your wallet, but the risk is still not as high as in Brazilian favelas or Indian poor areas. Now the Chinese authorities are actively demolishing slum buildings, erecting elite glass high-rise buildings on the site of dilapidated houses.
Mexico
The largest slums in the world have grown around the Mexican capital - the city of Mexico City. They number about four million inhabitants, which is equal to the population of a small country. In terms of their structure, Mexican disadvantaged areas are very much like the Brazilian favelas - an exorbitant level of crime, a low quality of life, drug addiction and prostitution.
Such a deplorable situation with the standard of living and slums in the third world countries occurred for the reason that the abrupt and unnatural urbanization did not give the inhabitants of the provinces a chance to properly socialize and find their place. The result of this was the construction of villages in cities, which in essence are slums. The process of slum growth is gaining momentum every year. The areas of slums accompanying large cities, similar from space to cancerous tumors, are constantly increasing, as is the number of people living in them.
Alexey Loktionov
Ask any child today what they want to be in the future, and every third child will answer: president. Looking at the luxury that most heads of state live in, there is nothing strange. But not all "guarantors of the Constitution" can boast of mansions on the islands and their own aircraft. Some have chosen a completely different path. And among them the hero of this review is the poorest president in the world.
Palaces, islands and golden toilets - this is how you imagine the life of any president. It is noteworthy that the poorer the country, the richer its head lives. But he took this system and broke it Jose Mujica- ascetic, vegetarian and former president of Uruguay.
José, who is affectionately called El Pepe in his homeland, is not a typical president. When he took office in 2010, the first thing he did was refuse to move to the residence assigned to him. Mujica preferred his old farm, inherited from his father, to a luxurious villa.
A dirt road connects the farm with the capital. Jose, his wife and two dogs live in a small house: an old labrador and a three-legged mongrel named Manuela.
José has always loved gardening and working on the ground. Before the presidency, he and his wife, without employees, grew flowers for sale. What Lucia (wife) continued to do when José became the #1 political star.
In addition to the declared property farm, El Pepe owns an old 1987 Volkswagen Beetle. The cost of the car is 1800 US dollars.
Do you know what the salary of the president of Uruguay is? 12500 thousand dollars. And all five years of presidency Jose gave 90% of this amount to charity. Thus, his monthly income remained at the level of the national average wage, which at that time was $775.
Why, having seized upon great financial opportunities, the former president did not use them? Jose has always adhered to radical left views. For which he was wounded 6 times "at the barricades" and spent 14 years in prison, mostly in a solitary cell. And this could not but affect the outlook of the future political leader.
The former president capaciously fit his philosophy into one statement: “They call me the poorest president, but I don’t feel poor. The poor are those who work only to live in luxury. They want more and more all the time… But if you don’t have enough things… then you have more time for yourself.”
Probably, if more Important People lived according to this principle, the world would be a much better place. In the meantime, in order of contrast, we suggest taking a look,
