Helping Marginalized Workers Access Social Services

Helping Marginalized Workers Access Social Services

Staff help informal workers complete registration forms and sign up for identification cards so that they can access social services. 
On January 30, Global Communities India, in partnership with the municipal government of Bangalore and a Hasirudala, a member based organization of waste collectors, organized a day-long “Social Security Camp.” The goal of the event was to help the city’s waste collectors sign up for health programs, identification cards and other critical social services.
Thousands of people earn a living collecting, segregating and selling recyclable waste in Bangalore. They are often discriminated against, regularly harassed and possess few economic and social rights. Global Communities has been working with this marginalized population since 2003  – first through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded  Slum Communities Achieving Livable Environments with Urban Partners (SCALE-UP) program and currently, with support from the Caterpillar Foundation. 
The one-day event drew over 1,000 people and resulted in 500 waste collectors being helped to access different social service programs. The camp was held as part of a larger initiative that aims to strengthen the livelihoods for all informal workers in waste industry in Bangalore city.