By Dr Neelima M, Project Head; Dr Vani K, Communication Consultant; Darshana S, Communication Executive, Sparsha Trust
Sparsha Trust, under the Saamuhika Shakti initiative, works with children aged 0-18yrs from waste-picking families across 40 locations in Bengaluru. In addition, the Sparsha Trust supports pregnant women and lactating mothers across 35 Anganwadis by addressing their nutritional and health needs and promoting healthy diet intake for a growing child.
Among the main challenges the community faces is poor access to quality education due to migration, lack of awareness and access to government schemes and educational programs.
When Sparsha Trust began working with the waste-picking communities in April 2024, it was observed that children played with the waste their parents collected and sorted, as a source of livelihood for their families. Older children had already started collecting waste from the streets, following their families' footsteps. Adolescents were engaged in harmful habits such as smoking, alcoholism, and drug addiction, while many girls were married early and dropped out of school.
The baseline survey identified the immediate need and requirement of a strong enrolment drive to attract children and parents from waste-picking families, and to help them understand the importance of education.
In June 2024, the Kalajatha [street plays] campaign was launched. Prior to the launch, the Sparsha Trust’s team, comprising its field staff, went through a training session in songs and skits by H Ramu Jogihalli, a development sector artist, singer, and the Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for Bengaluru Rural.
The street plays covered topics around the lives of out-of-school children, importance of education, harmful effects of alcohol consumption by members of the family, denial of children's rights, the vicious cycle of inherited occupations, and the financial struggles caused by a lack of education.
The songs highlighted the folklore and cultural events of people, attracting crowds to gather for street plays. The team performed two street plays per day—one in the morning and another in the afternoon.
The slogan “Nanna Nade Shale Kade” (My Walk Towards School) was specifically created for Kalajatha and the street plays were performed near the waste-picking communities, followed by a walk to the nearby schools with children. The plays were performed by all the communities that Sparsha Trust is working with, alongside the children.
The skit begins with a flash mob, including singing and honouring local leaders. As the crowd gathers, the team performs the main skit, involving community members by raising questions during the performance. At the end, the team interacts with the audience, gathering feedback and collecting information about the status of out-of-school children in the area.
Following the skit, parents approach community resource persons and mobilisers, sharing that they relate to the issues presented in the performance, requesting assistance in enrolling their children in school.
Sparsha Trust works in 40 localities across seven clusters in Bengaluru. Each community differs in the type of waste picking jobs they do. In Sumanahalli, communities are engaged in hair collection and cleaning, while in Goraguntepalya, they collect waste paper and bottles. In the KR Market area, the community sorts and cleans market waste, and in Marathahalli, they segregate garment waste. The Banashankari communities sort waste from marriage halls.
Despite cleaning the city, these communities neglect their own settlements, health and their children's futures.
The main challenge in enrolling children from waste-picking families is convincing parents of the importance of education. If parents are supportive, the next set of challenges involves paperwork and crucial documentation, such as birth certificates, required by the Anganwadis and schools. Waste picker women do not always have access to medical facilities during childbirth, and hence the children often miss being accounted for by the governance structures at the locality.
Once the children are in school, continued education becomes a challenge due to multiplicity of factors. We see high dropout rate among children from waste-picking families due to:
To address the challenges of documentation and transportation, Sparsha Trust worked together with Saamuhika Shakti partner Hasiru Dala. The social security team of Hasiru Dala helped with applications for birth certificates, Aadhaar cards (similar to social security cards; a unique number representing the individual, allowing them to be accounted for and represented to the government), and bus passes to support children to continue their education.
At the school in Giddadapalya, children did not have enough money to pay for their bus tickets, as their parents couldn’t afford this daily expenditure. For a few days, the conductor showed sympathy and allowed the children to travel for free, but later, he stopped picking up these 15 children. One of the teachers, Rajanna, noticed their absence and assumed they might have migrated. He alerted a Sparsha Trust member who then visited the area and discovered the real issue for the “dropout” from the school. With the help of Hasiru Dala, Sparsha Trust applied for bus passes for the students. A Hasiru Dala team member visited the school, reviewed the documents, and guided the Sparsha team on the bus pass the application process. Thanks to this knowledge-sharing and support, 15 children are now going to school!
Following the Kalajatha campaign, 50 children have been enrolled in Anganwadis and 74 children in school education, totalling 124 children enrolled in June-July 2024 for the new academic year. To date, the total enrolment of children from waste-picking families by Sparsha Trust has reached203.
Stakeholder meetings with teachers and administrative staff of the local schools, as well as door to door visits in the community helped the Sparsha team identify children for enrolment.
The team now ensures regular attendance through continuous follow-ups and interventions as needed. These interventions include addressing health issues, providing necessary documents for admission, overcoming financial barriers, resolving social constraints, ensuring access to bus passes, addressing learning disabilities, supporting delayed learning through bridge/remedial education by supporting children through lessons and life skills training provided in the Community-Based Centres (CBCs) opened int he locality.
By Dr Neelima M, Project Head; Dr Vani K, Communication Consultant; Darshana S, Communication Executive, Sparsha Trust
Sparsha Trust, under the Saamuhika Shakti initiative, works with children aged 0-18yrs from waste-picking families across 40 locations in Bengaluru. In addition, the Sparsha Trust supports pregnant women and lactating mothers across 35 Anganwadis by addressing their nutritional and health needs and promoting healthy diet intake for a growing child.
Among the main challenges the community faces is poor access to quality education due to migration, lack of awareness and access to government schemes and educational programs.
When Sparsha Trust began working with the waste-picking communities in April 2024, it was observed that children played with the waste their parents collected and sorted, as a source of livelihood for their families. Older children had already started collecting waste from the streets, following their families' footsteps. Adolescents were engaged in harmful habits such as smoking, alcoholism, and drug addiction, while many girls were married early and dropped out of school.
The baseline survey identified the immediate need and requirement of a strong enrolment drive to attract children and parents from waste-picking families, and to help them understand the importance of education.
In June 2024, the Kalajatha [street plays] campaign was launched. Prior to the launch, the Sparsha Trust’s team, comprising its field staff, went through a training session in songs and skits by H Ramu Jogihalli, a development sector artist, singer, and the Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for Bengaluru Rural.
The street plays covered topics around the lives of out-of-school children, importance of education, harmful effects of alcohol consumption by members of the family, denial of children's rights, the vicious cycle of inherited occupations, and the financial struggles caused by a lack of education.
The songs highlighted the folklore and cultural events of people, attracting crowds to gather for street plays. The team performed two street plays per day—one in the morning and another in the afternoon.
The slogan “Nanna Nade Shale Kade” (My Walk Towards School) was specifically created for Kalajatha and the street plays were performed near the waste-picking communities, followed by a walk to the nearby schools with children. The plays were performed by all the communities that Sparsha Trust is working with, alongside the children.
The skit begins with a flash mob, including singing and honouring local leaders. As the crowd gathers, the team performs the main skit, involving community members by raising questions during the performance. At the end, the team interacts with the audience, gathering feedback and collecting information about the status of out-of-school children in the area.
Following the skit, parents approach community resource persons and mobilisers, sharing that they relate to the issues presented in the performance, requesting assistance in enrolling their children in school.
Sparsha Trust works in 40 localities across seven clusters in Bengaluru. Each community differs in the type of waste picking jobs they do. In Sumanahalli, communities are engaged in hair collection and cleaning, while in Goraguntepalya, they collect waste paper and bottles. In the KR Market area, the community sorts and cleans market waste, and in Marathahalli, they segregate garment waste. The Banashankari communities sort waste from marriage halls.
Despite cleaning the city, these communities neglect their own settlements, health and their children's futures.
The main challenge in enrolling children from waste-picking families is convincing parents of the importance of education. If parents are supportive, the next set of challenges involves paperwork and crucial documentation, such as birth certificates, required by the Anganwadis and schools. Waste picker women do not always have access to medical facilities during childbirth, and hence the children often miss being accounted for by the governance structures at the locality.
Once the children are in school, continued education becomes a challenge due to multiplicity of factors. We see high dropout rate among children from waste-picking families due to:
To address the challenges of documentation and transportation, Sparsha Trust worked together with Saamuhika Shakti partner Hasiru Dala. The social security team of Hasiru Dala helped with applications for birth certificates, Aadhaar cards (similar to social security cards; a unique number representing the individual, allowing them to be accounted for and represented to the government), and bus passes to support children to continue their education.
At the school in Giddadapalya, children did not have enough money to pay for their bus tickets, as their parents couldn’t afford this daily expenditure. For a few days, the conductor showed sympathy and allowed the children to travel for free, but later, he stopped picking up these 15 children. One of the teachers, Rajanna, noticed their absence and assumed they might have migrated. He alerted a Sparsha Trust member who then visited the area and discovered the real issue for the “dropout” from the school. With the help of Hasiru Dala, Sparsha Trust applied for bus passes for the students. A Hasiru Dala team member visited the school, reviewed the documents, and guided the Sparsha team on the bus pass the application process. Thanks to this knowledge-sharing and support, 15 children are now going to school!
Following the Kalajatha campaign, 50 children have been enrolled in Anganwadis and 74 children in school education, totalling 124 children enrolled in June-July 2024 for the new academic year. To date, the total enrolment of children from waste-picking families by Sparsha Trust has reached203.
Stakeholder meetings with teachers and administrative staff of the local schools, as well as door to door visits in the community helped the Sparsha team identify children for enrolment.
The team now ensures regular attendance through continuous follow-ups and interventions as needed. These interventions include addressing health issues, providing necessary documents for admission, overcoming financial barriers, resolving social constraints, ensuring access to bus passes, addressing learning disabilities, supporting delayed learning through bridge/remedial education by supporting children through lessons and life skills training provided in the Community-Based Centres (CBCs) opened int he locality.
