Rahmet E Aalam Education Foundation

We are based on the second floor of the Shafi Building, which is right on the Dharavi Main Road. If you know Plot 238, that is where we are. It is a very busy part of Mumbai, and there is never a quiet moment outside. The Shafi Building is an older structure, so the stairs are a bit narrow and you have to watch your step. Being on the second floor, we get all the noise and the smells from the street markets and the traffic below. It can get quite hot in the afternoons, especially since the building doesn't have much ventilation, so we keep the fans going at full speed all day long. Our space is number 35, and it’s just a couple of rooms filled with desks and some old cupboards. We have people coming in and out all the time, mostly locals from the neighborhood. It’s a very grounded place to work. You can hear the vendors calling out and the bikes honking right outside the window. We don't have a fancy lobby or anything like that. You just walk up and knock on the door. It’s a bit of a squeeze when we have more than five people in here at once. Sometimes the power cuts out for a few minutes, but we just wait it out and get back to work. It’s a real, honest place in the middle of everything.