Students joined a team of female rag pickers for a night shift in India’s slums to learn about the realities of life for some of the country’s poorest citizens.
The rag pickers spend the nights sifting through mounds of rubbish, looking for recyclable materials which can be sold. On average they are paid the equivalent of £1 for every 20 kilograms of material which they can collect.
A group of
Footwear Design students from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) spent hours working with the women as part of a visit to Ahmedabad, Gujarat with the
DMU Square Mile India project.
DMU Square Mile India was created to give an overseas dimension to DMU Square Mile, which has been using the skills of students and staff to help the community in Leicester since 2011. It is supporting a children’s home as part of its work in Ahmedabad, through a charitable sponsorship scheme, the Square Mile India Fund. The fund will initially provide the children with essentials such as books, access to medicine, equipment for sports and games and extra teachers.
The Footwear Design team were researching ways in which they could use their design and craft skills to help communities. They saw how footwear was a luxury for many children in the ashram, and were shocked to see the rag pickers walking in dirt, sewage and worse in bare feet.
They also met a local shoemaker who had taught himself the trade and was now passing on his skills to his son and taught children about their feet in lessons.
Jodie Harrison, who is about to start her third year, said: “We saw a two year old who had club foot. It really touched me that if he were in the UK he would be in foot braces and there would be treatment. We saw the kids playing football in bare feet and it really shocked us and we were able to think about what we could do practically to help.”
RELATED NEWS:*
Find out more about our life-changing work at the next DMU Open Day*
Square Mile India teams up with new project to help street beggars*
'How Square Mile India changed our lives'Camilla Mitchell, about to go into third year, said a visit to a textiles centre, which takes the materials from the rag pickers, where they are cleaned and recycled. She said: “It made us realise that back in the UK, we waste a lot of material that these people could reuse to be sold.
“We definitely want think of a recycling scheme to take back to our course mates at DMU where we can send over our waste materials such as EVA (a foam used in shoe soles) and cottons so they can make money.”
Natalie Bowmar-Scothern said: “Even though the environment was awful the sense of community was amazing. Everyone sticks together and works as a team and nobody is selfish, I really liked that.
“After my experience of rag picking at night with the ladies from the slums I have learnt to never take anything for granted.”
Cody Turner, who has just done her first year in Footwear Design, said: “Seeing the rag pickers really puts things into perspective. It’s so dark you can’t see where you are stepping and although some do have shoes they often do not wear them. It is hard to see some of the conditions that the children are living in, it changes your outlook.”
* Could you support the Square Mile India Fund? Donations cost from £2 per month and you can donate individually or team up with others, for example friends or colleagues, to make donations. To find out more about the programme, or ways to get involved, please contact Amy White on awhite@dmu.ac.uk.
Posted on Thursday 15 September 2016