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Dehli Gate (Outside of New Dehli), India
The air is so thick with dust it’s difficult to see and breath. As you exit the busy highway, you’re forced to slow down in order to weave through the masses of workers returning home from their day at work. Take a sharp turn down an alleyway and you find welcome relief from the congestion.
It’s there you will find Mani, an upbeat and optimistic merchant in Dehli Gate. His store is strategically located near a residential area where workers returning home stop to purchase omelets, tea, packaged candy, and other small necessities.
Mani runs this store to support his family; a wife and two children. He says he makes more money than he did as a laborer and is proud of the quality for which he maintains the store. And his store does stand out; not only for its convenient location, but because it is orderly and clean compared to the others in the area.
The cement alleyway that houses his store is a welcome reprieve from the chaos, dirt and dust of the main road. Mani is happy he can now better provide for his family and hopes that his kids will be able to stay in school unlike most of his neighbors children. While his son clings to his side, Mani shares that he dreams of a day when his children will not be forced to breathe this dirty air.