Easy access to public health services is still a myth with vulnerable & archaically persecuted waste picking communities. This degree of health disparity amongst waste workers is further aggravated based on their religion, caste, creed, gender, migration status, the category of waste work they fall under (free roaming waste picker/sorter/ itinerant buyer/scrap dealer/operator), their native tongue, and most importantly, depending on the nature of their work (formal sector/informal sector). Hasiru Dala works to secure social justice for waste pickers and carries out interventions to address health and nutrition of the community members; Under the health intervention, organizing primary health camps at the waste pickers’ door step takes precedence, where access to primary health is difficult.

Total number of people screened in our health camps since Hasiru Dala’s Inception

Bengaluru – 12,537 Community Members
Other Cities – 9,708 Community Members

Bengaluru Five Eye camps were organized in collaboration with Sankara Eye Hospital, through which

• 586 patients were screened,
• 38 cataract surgeries were facilitated,
• 138 people received free spectacles
• 33 special consultations were facilitated.
• 1 Ocular Prosthesis provided

Mysore Three Eye camps were organised in Mysore in collaboration with K. R Hospital & C E G Hospital , through which

• 132 patients were screened
• 44 patients received free spectacles

In Rajahmundry

• 46 patients were screened
• 8 spectacles distributed

In the month of January 2023 in Gauribidanur is where we met Sarasa for the first time in our primary health camp. Sarasa a 31 year old widower and a mother of two children aged 8 yrs and 15 yrs is a former hair picker. Sarasa had lost her husband an alcoholic 5yrs back due to a chronic health ailment. She was detected with Leprosy first time around 6 yrs back and was initially treated at the Primary health centre in Gauribidanur. Being a single earning member in the family and fending to her children took a toll on her health as she grossly neglected it. Her Leprosy turned into drug resistant form and things worsened drastically. She later started taking treatment at Baptist hospital Bengaluru in January 2020 and after the first lockdown Covid-19 took the centre stage and due to travel restrictions she was not able to continue her treatment at Baptist hospital.

Three years later when we met Sarasa, she was in tremendous pain, she had a non healing ulcer in her right foot and both her hands were completely deformed. Sarasa’s rehabilitation journey started when she was first admitted at Schieffelin Institute of Health – research & leprosy centre, Karigiri in March 2023. She underwent a small surgery to her eyes first and then the non healing ulcer was evaluated and her right leg was amputated then , From March 2023 to November 2023 she has undergone numerous procedures, physiotherapy and has been given a prosthetic leg too. Her rehabilitation process is not over yet and still has a long way to go, but everyday she is literally taking small steps with great zeal towards standing on her own feet.

Oral diseases are one of the most common non-communicable diseases affecting people worldwide. The prevalence rate is exceptionally high in vulnerable populations. The repercussions of untreated oral disease are severe and debilitating. Many vulnerable waste picker communities lack access to good oral health care. For those few who can access treatment, the treatment costs are often high which can lead to economic burden for the family. At Hasiru Dala our primary goal is to promote health-seeking behaviour amongst waste workers and facilitate access to primary healthcare for them.

A dental health camp was organised in association with the Bangalore Institute of Dental Sciences at DWCC Ward 52 (Mahadevpura) where oral screening was done for waste workers and their family members. Various simple dental procedures like cleaning, filling, and tooth removal were carried out