World Day Against Child Labour: Girl Trio From Rag Picking Community Fight Against All Odds To Pursue Education

The name Anand Parbat would probably not ring a bell with most people residing in the national capital, Delhi. It is just one of the areas that happen to exist, unseen and unrecognised. However, amidst this non-descript colony is the story of three girls and their indomitable will to study against odds.

Many people living in the transit camp of the area have witnessed the fiery undying spirit of three girls who became 'the first ever' from their rag-picking community to take the class ten exam through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). For these three young girls, their background did not deter them from dreaming big and their achievement has set an example to other girls in the community.

Juggling through various tasks in a day, starting with picking up rags in the early morning hours to attending school and handling household chores, these three girls have come a long way. They are confident that education will transform their lives. They will move out of rag picking and they will live a life of dignity and will be able to pull out their families from poverty.

True to the name of their area Anand Parbat, which means 'joyous mountain', Pooja, Poonam and Tulsi today stand as tall as a mountain and are beginning to work towards ringing a joyous future for themselves.

Pooja- The Bold And Creative One

Her interest in education started when she first attended a remedial education centre run by World Vision India, an NGO working in their community for over a decade now. Pooja, now aged 19 years, recalls how it started for her.

"I was first introduced to books when I attended a learning centre run by World Vision India, which was exciting and new. Initially, it was very challenging to go to school as my parents were not supportive and we were all engaged in rag picking to earn a living," she said, adding that the NGO's constant support and counselling started changing things.

Pooja's family is one among the 3000 families relocated at Anand Parbat transit camp after the state government demolished the slums.

She is now the only one among her siblings of eight who is studying. Her parents have agreed to stop sending her for rag picking as long as she pursues her education. She was the first to enrol in a government school near her place in the Shadipur area. However, after the demolition, her family had to shift to the transit camp, which posed a challenge for her to continue attending school because of the distance.

However, Pooja was determined to continue and managed to complete the eighth standard. When she was in the ninth standard, she could not regularly attend due to an illness and the long-distance commuting challenge. Finally, she had to drop out of school.

In 2020, she enrolled in 10th standard with the help of World Vision India's volunteer through the National Institute of Open Schooling. However, due to the COVID pandemic and impending lockdowns, she could not continue her study and in 2021, she was re-admitted in the tenth standard. This time around, with the constant support of the NGO, she continued to come regularly to the tuition centre.

Gopi, a volunteer with the NGO shared, "We encouraged them to continue their studies and tried our best to support them in every possible way from filling the exam forms, paying the fees, providing books and even paying for their travel to the exam centres. Sometimes one gives up when you don't have any support system around you."

"I used to go for rag picking almost every day and even begging in the street. Now I am happy that I am getting a chance to study and later try to get a decent job," she exclaimed.

Tulsi- Aspires To Become A Police Officer

Since childhood, Tulsi's dream has been to become a police officer. "However, to achieve it, I need to earn money to support my family and myself. We live hand to mouth through rag picking, begging and selling nimbu mirchi (lemon chilly)," she said.

From a young age, Tulsi has seen how difficult life can be on the streets and how unsafe children, especially girls are. "We always go in a group of five or six for rag picking as early as 3 am and come back by 10 am. It is not safe to go alone and there have been many cases of harassment, even sexual abuse," she said.

"I want to earn enough so I can stop my mother from rag picking for her safety," said Tulsi with a heavy sigh.

Tulsi was also enrolled in the same school the same year as Pooja with the support of World Vision India. The trust in a group as they go out together for rag-picking to look out for each other and fight together any threat has stayed with them.

Poonam- The Obedient And Faithful Friend

Poonam has known Pooja and Tulsi since childhood and has gone to school with them. After the slum demolition, she stayed very close to them and continued her study. It was always an excellent time for her to come to the tuition centre and learn with her friends as they prepared for their 10th exam.

Whenever the family needs her, Poonam goes for rag picking twice or thrice a week along with her siblings. Other times she mainly helps with household chores and enjoys her time at the tuition centre which she says is like a resting place for many children. Kids even sleep under the fan on hot days and enjoy snacks, which they get at the centre. Like most families in the transit camp, Poonam stays in a 12x8 feet size one room with around 8 to 10 family members.

"At night, the girls sleep inside the room and boys sleep outside. We use the public toilets constructed in the transit camp, which are always crowded. Our community has come a long way and with continuous awareness given by World Vision India, we are now doing much better," she said.

These young girls' daily activities are not unfamiliar to the millions of children who work as rag pickers in India. Among the country's street children, rag picking leads.

Rag Pickers On Rise

According to UNICEF, about 12% of children in India between the ages of 5–14 years are engaged in hazardous child labour activities, including rag picking. India reports an estimated 17 million child labourers, a very high incidence worldwide.

World Vision India started working among the street children and their families residing in the streets and under the flyovers in Moti Khan and Shadipur in 2009. Most children were into rag picking, begging and selling nimbu mirchi (lemon chilly). Within 8 years, the organisation supported around 900 children to enrol in school.

The project currently focuses on getting children back to school after the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, around 170 children attend the Anand Parbat tuition centre.

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