Hope amidst the garbage
Over recent years our partners Robin and Angeleena Masih have established a relationship of trust with several desperately poor « untouchable » migrant communities who have settled on the wastelands of the Rewari district. To enable their families to survive, the parents spend all day sorting the garbage which their children collect on the streets, before selling it to recycling agents for a few cents the kilo. These people are constantly exposed to hunger and disease – and to the severe cold weather in winter. The children are effectively excluded from the official education system because of their social status.
The mobile dispensary team visits these communities regularly, bringing basic medical care, parcels of essential food items and, in winter, blankets and warm clothes.
A new learning centre
In October 2013, in the middle of the Basti slum area, our partners opened the new Bangla Basti tutorial centre in order to offer the chance of a brighter future to 60 children. For two hours each week-day, children aged 3 to 10 learn to read and write in Hindi (the local language) and in Bengali (their mother tongue). The building was constructed by the parents, and the lessons are given by a lady, Zinna Bai, who is a member of this slum community. As a teenager, Zinna graduated successfully from high school. She receives regular training from Angeleena Masih. Many thanks to all those who, by their gifts, have enabled this dream to become reality!
Discover more about the conditions in which these people live :
