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Indian rag-picking children in the slum where they live and work

They are the rag pickers of Delhi. Children and their families who spend their days sifting through mounds of garbage, looking for items or recyclable material to sell.

The pitiful money they make feeds them for another day in the stinking slums of India鈥檚 massive northern city.

Sonam Kumari is one of the rag pickers. She is 14 and works for hours in the rubbish tips of a slum on the outskirts of Delhi instead of going to school.

A boy walks through the slum on the outskirts of Delhi

鈥淚 left school four months ago,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 would go to school and the other children would make fun of me because my parents are rag pickers. Because of this, I didn鈥檛 feel like studying.鈥�

They are some of the most marginalised children in this vast country. But some of them do get an education 鈥� and the #UpForSchool campaign run by A World at School is having a real effect in their communities.

Many of the rag-picking children signed the , a youth-led demand for world leaders to ensure every child gets a good education. The petition collected 10 million signatures and was last month. Some of the Delhi children signed their names. The illiterate ones used their thumbs to make prints on the petition 鈥� determined that their voices would be heard too.

Illiterate children sign #UpForSchool Petition with thumb prints

Balicharan, a community leader who organised the #UpForSchool Petition signing in the rag-picking community, said: 鈥淏ecause of a lack of education, these people are left behind and are forced to do this type of work. My focus is to educate them to help them come out of this bad situation.

鈥淓ducation was not being highlighted here. But with the #UpForSchool campaign, the focus on education has been strengthened and the rag pickers鈥� voices will travel further. And more people will know about their situation.听

鈥淭hrough this, the community has became aware of the fact that in India every child has a right to education under law.鈥�

A girl adds her thumb print to the petition

India has millions of rag pickers. The country generates 62 million tons of waste each year but less than a third of all waste and sewage is treated, according to听Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar. In July, he announced a national award for the best rag pickers as a way of highlighting good waste management.

No one knows how many rag pickers there are in Delhi, home to many of the country鈥檚 most marginalised children.

Earlier this year, to back the #UpForSchool campaign and to demand that the Indian government spend more money on education and health. #UpForSchool was promoted at the rally by the (CSEI) and 鈥� a child-led initiative to end poverty which calls for 9% of the country鈥檚 gross domestic product to be spent on education (6%) and health (3%).

Rag-picking children at a makeshift classroom in the slum

CSEI works to counteract the exclusion and discrimination against Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims and other communities 鈥� and especially the vulnerable children, youth and women within these groups.

CSEI director Annie Namala addressed the Delhi rally in February. She听said Indian government data for 2014 shows six million children out of school but millions more are not being counted. She added: 鈥淚t is important to say that we as a whole society stand #UpForSchool and we are concerned that every child should be in school.鈥�

This week, she talked about the rag-picking children and their fight for education. Ms Namala said: 鈥淭here are people and organisations working with the community.

Annie Namala from the CSEI organisation

鈥淏alicharan is from the community and has been working with them. He and others like him have been educated and seen other parts of life, so they encourage the community and the parents to be aware that education is an important thing.

鈥淐SEI is connected to them and we know how they value education. This is one group of children that has to be told there is a global movement that says every child should be in school and learning. That there is a national government that is saying that children should be educated and you have the right to an education.鈥�

She said the factors pushing children into labour in India are not always economic. She added: 鈥淭here is a tremendous desire to get educated and move forward. It is when the child drops out or is not learning or the parents think there is no point in getting this child into school, that is when the parent pushes the child into labour.鈥�

MEET THE CHILD RAG PICKERS

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Sonam Kumari. She does not go to school.

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鈥淚鈥檓 14 years old. I left school four months ago.听I was compelled to leave because of my situation. I would go to school and the other children would make fun of me because my parents are rag pickers.

鈥淏ecause of this, I didn鈥檛 feel like studying.听I didn鈥檛 think to go to another school.

鈥淭hree of my friends still go to school. My friends ask me to come to their school and it makes me feel bad to see them attend school.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what I鈥檇 prefer to be doing. I haven鈥檛 thought about it. I鈥檝e forgotten.

鈥淢orning to evening I work. I pick through waste.听In the morning, I cook food for the family and then I pick through waste here in the slum.鈥�

Guriah. She attends school, then works with her family separating waste.

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鈥淢y age is 14. I don鈥檛 like this job. It鈥檚 a dirty job.

鈥淏ecause when we go to school, everyone knows I come from a rag-picking family and they call me names and laugh at me.鈥�

Nitish Kumar. He does not go to school.

听

鈥淚鈥檝e been doing this job for three years. I鈥檓 not sure how old I am 鈥� I think 11 or 12.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 work that much. I make one or two rounds in the neighbourhood to collect waste and then I come back. I work about one or two hours a day. I start at four o鈥檆lock in the morning. At 5:30am I鈥檓 done. Then I go and fetch water.

鈥淭his job as a rag picker 颅I don鈥檛 like it so much but I鈥檓 OK with it. We get hurt sometimes by broken bottles and needles. I went to the doctor about four, five months ago. I got hurt and I couldn鈥檛 work for four, five days. I got an injection for tetanus.

鈥淚 collect waste from the streets nearby and put it into my bags. And from buildings and houses. I separate the waste and then sell it.

鈥淚 wake up at four o鈥檆lock in the morning, have tea and then go and pick up the waste. I fill up two big bags before I come back. I get plastic, mobile phones, all this I find in the garbage.

鈥淚 went to school in the past. I was in school in my home village for a year and a half. The teacher would beat me up badly to make me learn. I forgot my books at home and so the teacher would beat me. I would skip school sometimes and the teacher would catch us.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a couple of schools nearby. There鈥檚 one just here. I have no friends who go to school here. I don鈥檛 feel like going back to school. I鈥檇 rather earn money. I know I can earn more after if I go to school but I don鈥檛 feel like going back.鈥�

THUMBS-UP FROM SHAKIRA听

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Colombian singing star and education campaigner Shakira handed the #UpForSchool Petition and its 10 million signatures to UN Special Envoy for Global Education in New York. When she added her own message, she was inspired by the thumb prints added to the petition by the illiterate rag-picking children in Delhi.听