Our Impact

Occupational Identity Cards are issued by the urban local body or municipal authorities to waste pickers to validate that they are residents of the city. These cards act as official identification which can be used as proof of address/identity for application of other social security benefits. They also allow access into public spaces and as recognition of the work that they do for the city.

A number of children of waste pickers are first generation learners. Due to lack of access to schooling and the need to supplement the family income, many children drop out of school or were never en-rolled. The Buguri Children’s Programme is dedicated to enrolling children in school and re-enrolling students who have dropped out, in a mission to ensure ‘Zero Drop Outs’ in the community.

Even public schooling incurs incidental costs for education, so Hasiru Dala campaigned to ensure that waste pickers children were included as eligible for ‘Pre-Matric Scholarships to the Children of those Engaged in Occupations involving Cleaning and Prone to Health Hazards’. We also facilitate private and other fundings for scholarships for the children to attend school.

Social Security entitlements bridge the gap between daily wages and a liveable income for people in the informal sector. Language and digital barriers can impede the waste pickers’ (and their families’) access to social security entitlements. Hasiru Dala steps into facilitate this access, making applications for PAN cards, Aadhar cards, pensions, and other schemes.