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ACORN Hawkers Union stages protest
Members of the ACORN Hawkers Union along with many other unions organized a sit in demonstration on 21st June 2010 in Delhi in support of the Commonwealth Games Campaign and against displacement & harassment that have been occuring across Delhi as officials prepare for the games.
The protest was led by the Delhi unit of the National Hawkers Federation.
Labour Endorsements
The 60,000+ member British Columbia Government Employees Union (BCGEU) in Canada, became the first major labor organization to pass a resolution of support for workers and slum dwellers in East Delhi receiving justice and protection from loss of housing and livelihood from the upcoming Commonwealth Games. They were followed only days later by the Prince George District Labour Council (British Columbia, Canada).
This is an important victory and important early step in moving the campaign forward.
We hope to announce more endorsers soon.
Reserve fund being used for CWG?
The cost of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) will be borne by the poor and the socially underprivileged of the city, it seems.
According to a report released by the NGO, Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) on Thursday, Rs 265 crore from the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (Special Component Plan) for Delhi has been diverted to the CWG fund in the year 2009-10.
“If one looks at the diversion of funds since 2008 the amount is much more, in the range of Rs 550 crore,” said Miloon Kothari, coordinator, HLRN.The report demanded an independent enquiry into the transfer of funds.
The Delhi Finance Minster, AK Walia, refused to say anything on the issue. “I cannot say anything regarding this at the moment. I will have to check the records before responding,” he said.The report, called Whose Wealth? Whose Commons?, also condemned the Games for being anti-poor .
“The money that is being used to beautify the city should have been used to provide housing for the poor,” said Kothari.
The report also gives the example of governments of New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago, which did not support the CWG bid of their sports authorities as the Games would prove too costly.
“The benefit of the games will go only to corporates, especially the real estste conglomerates. The poor people will not get anything,” said Dunu Roy, director, Hazards Centre.
India’s bid document for the CWG estimated the cost of hosting the games at Rs 1,899 crore but official estimates have put the cost at Rs 10,000 crore, the report states.
“The streetscaping project in Lodhi Roadcost Rs 18.55 crore, twice the amount had bid for the entire beautification plan. Why?” said Shalini Mishra, co-writer of the report.
The report was released by Justice AP Shah, retired Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. He condemned the government for ignoring the poor of the city.
Times of India: Games Leave No Room in DU Hostel
Neha Pushkarna | TNN
New Delhi: Hostellers in Delhi University colleges on north campus will be making a big sacrifice for the Commonwealth Games. For almost three months, they will attend classes as day scholars in the next session. They don’t have a choice. Six colleges have asked students to vacate the hostels by the end of this month so that renovation can take place to make these buildings fit for players to stay during the Games.
The only consolation for the ousted students is that on returning to their rooms in the second half of October, they will find the accommodation far more comfortable than at present.
Before that, however, nearly 2,000 affected students will be forced to look for lodgings elsewhere when the new session begins in July. ‘‘We have been asked to vacate the rooms by the last week of May. So I will be looking for lodgings in either Vijay Nagar or Hudson Lane. With so many others also hunting for accommodation, finding a place is going to be tough,’’ said Siddhartha Jain, a second-year student of BCom (honours) in Shri Ram College of Commerce. The college has asked hostellers to vacate rooms within three days of their last exam.This is the first time the government is providing any grant for renovation of hostels. Obviously, colleges found the offer hard to resist. All colleges on the campus, which are going to be venues for rugby tournaments, have got grants from the government through UGC ranging between Rs 40 lakh and Rs 1 crore for upgrading the hostels. This is over and above the funds released for furnishing.
STUDENTS SUFFERING
SRCC, Hindu, Ramjas, KMC have ordered students out of hostels till the Games end
Hans Raj and Daulat Ram are still trying to find a way out
At St Stephen’s and Miranda House, however, students may stay put There are a total of around 1700 seats in college hostels at North Campus But the number of students in the hostel exceed the number of seats since many rooms had to be shared after OBC quota was implemented RENOVATION AHEAD OF CWG Colleges promise swankier hostels
New Delhi: Several Delhi university colleges have asked their students to vacate hostels as they plan to renovate them in time for the Commonwealth Games.
Nishant Pandey, a firstyear BA student in Hindu College, said students had been asked to return only after October 20. ‘‘We have started booking rooms since rents are expected to shoot up in view of the increased demand in the next session,’’ he said.
Chandrachur Singh, warden, Hindu College Hostel, said colleges couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity. ‘‘It’s a painful decision for us. But the maintenance of hostels was also long due. We have managed the hostels only with the fees charged from the students which is just about adequate to meet the electricity and water bills.’’
‘‘A lot of work needs to be done and it may easily take three months,” Singh said.
The colleges will be mostly working on
the flooring, providing new beds and upgrading bathrooms to international standards. SRCC principal P C Jain called it a blessing in disguise. ‘‘I agree students may have problems staying elsewhere from July to October but they will return to swanky accommodation,’’ he said, adding that the college has got Rs 40 lakh and more funds were on the way.
Tanvir Aeijaz, warden at Ramjas College, suggested students could stay with local guardians. ‘‘The new session will begin only in the last week of July. They will have to manage only through August and September since they may have vacations in October again,’’ he
said.
Every year, students have to re-apply for a room in the hostel which is based on merit. Aeijaz said Ramjas may allot rooms at the time of admission this year but the students will be accommodated only after the players have gone. On the other hand, Hans Raj College may only give hostel rooms to seniors and not the new students. ‘‘We still have to decide. It is likely that we may not allot rooms to the first year students and accommodate around 80-90 senior students alone,’’ said principal V K Kawatra.
Residential students at Miranda House and St Stephen’s will, however, stay put. ‘‘We are not renovating the six residential blocks as we do not have a bursar who is the financial officer. We will give our hostels to players in the same condition as they are now,” said St Stephen’s principal Valson Thampu. Miranda House principal Pratibha Jolly said the students will return to the hostel in July even as renovation work continues.
Dharavi: Rags to relief
By Preeti Pooja
The snapshots of filth and fantasy in the biggest slum of Asia – Dharavi is by now a much romanticized subject on celluloid to capture the wide canvas of a shantytown and the struggle, hope and hopelessness of its over one million residents.
Dharavi is home to vital unorganized industry workers, mostly children, who sift and collect 8.5 metric tons of filth, garbage, plastic, metal and scrap everyday.
Most of these rag pickers, come as migrants from every part of India. They often live in conditions worse than that in refugee camps. Many are malnourished. They are constantly exposed to hazardous toxins and diseases.
Their subhuman living conditions provides little access to basic education, sanitation, water, electricity and healthcare. Dharavi has severe problems with public health, due to inadequate toilet facilities, compounded by the infamous Mumbai flooding during the monsoons.
This is also a place where Mumbai’s underbelly of drug peddlers thrives. Low house rents and access to livelihood like rag picking has attracted minorities and the poorest of poor from different states to Dharavi. The economy here is based on recycling besides some pottery, textile factories and leather units. Dharavi is home to more than 15,000 single room factories.
But Dharavi is not just a haunt of film and documentary makers on a bounty hunt of poverty and filth as creative ingredients. Some NGOs have chosen to work here to better the living conditions of many of its uncared for residents.
Acorn Foundation (India) is one of them. The Acorn Foundation (India), which is affiliated to ACORN International, is supporting, Dharavi Project India. They are working to improve the lives of the rag picker community in Mumbai besides Delhi and Bangalore. Acorn is also doing extensive study on urban solid waste management in Mumbai and trying to implement actions to alleviate this issue.
Vinod Shetty, an advocate by profession, is actively involved with Acorn Foundation (India). Mr. Shetty narrates some of the heart-rending realities of life in Dharavi.
“Any big city survives on the services of rickshaw pullers, sweepers and rag pickers. It’s them who are at the bottom of the pyramid and ensure that the city keeps running. The society must acknowledge to the services of these people who live without any social security,” says Mr. Shetty.
Acorn firmly believes that this community of unorganized labourers is an invaluable human resource to the city.
“Mumbai would have been reduced to a dumping yard creating havoc with serious sanitary issues had there been no rag pickers who recover, recycle and ensure reuse of the waste,” he says.
ACORN, under the Dharavi Project, tries to organize this vulnerable section and train them in scientific methods of waste handling, segregation and recycling.
Currently there are 35 members of Dharavi Project working at different levels of recycling. Some of the initiatives taken by Acorn Foundation (India) are like providing informal schooling to the children. ACORN organizes health clinics, cultural programmes and workshops where the beneficiaries learn music, photography and arts.
Celebrity shows and concerts like BOxette are also a part of the initiative to bring a crumb of entertainment to the disadvantaged community. In a recent eco fair organized in the Maharashtra Nature Park, presence of celebrities like Katrina Kaif, Shankar Mahadevan and Suneeta Rao spiced up the event.
One of the most exciting programmes of the Acorn Foundation is in association with Mumbai’s popular nightspot Blue Frog. Musicians and celebrity rock bands conduct workshops for these children.
Recently the international BeatBox group, the Boxettes, (beatboxing is vocal percussion) held workshops for the children while the Sout Dandy Squad (Tamilian rappers) performed with several international artistes too.
“The purpose behind these events is clearly to showcase local artistes and give the youth of Dharavi a chance to witness international artistes up close which they never dreamt of. They bring cheer among these children, though short lived. The musical celebration is often themed with graffiti art and sculpture,” says Mr. Shetty.
Acorn has provided the members of the Dharavi Project with identity cards and recognition. They have formed their own committee to conduct waste awareness programmes.
“One programme is exclusive for children who are taught about waste management in primary schools. Under this programme students are given lessons on how to reduce and manage waste at home,” he says.
Besides entertainment, Acorn also organized multimedia campaigns on Water Day, highlighting issues of water conservation, water filtration and use of renewable energy sources.
Acorn Foundation (India) entrusts the faith within these rag pickers to make them feel a part of the society and live the life of a respectable citizen.
For details visit Acorn Foundation’s (India) Website: www.dharaviproject.org
Visit from the US Ambassador to India, Timothy J. Roemer
The US Ambassador to India, Timothy J. Roemer, and his wife Sally, visited our ACORN India ‘Dharavi Project’ on May 11, 2010. The US consul general in Mumbai, Paul Flomsbee, who has previously visited the project, was also present. Roemer was interested in seeing how the Dharavi rag-picker community contributes to the ecological well-being of the city, and how the Dharavi Project enhances their livelihood.
Roemer was given an overview of the Dharavi Project’s mission and activities, and then provided a tour of the non-profit’s newly-commissioned office and waste segregation center, a paper recycling facility, and the massive waste collection area nearby. During the visit, Roemer personally interacted with rag-picker members and recyclers, as seen in the first picture below, and even played a quick round of cricket with rag-pickers kids while balancing on one of the massive pipelines leading out of the city. Two members of the rag-picker community, Rafique and Lakshmi, shown in the third picture below, described their work to Roemer. Finally, Roemer tried his hand at one of the paper recycling machines.
Roemer learned about how the Dharavi Project program in Mumbai organizes 400 or so rag-picker members, gives them identification, and runs relevant waste management and cultural programs with 30+ schools, artists and even some corporates. The Dharavi Project also works closely with the American School of Bombay on a ‘waste matters’ campaign that helps the school kids manage their waste and donate a portion of it to the rag-pickers. Roemer expressed his support for a similar program with the new US consulate facility in Bandra Kulra Complex.
Giving ragpickers the fourth R
By: The Times of India
They comprise the 1,20,000-strong army that saves Mumbai from further environmental degradation. Yes, their livelihood is dependent on the 8,000 tonnes of waste that the megapolis spews out daily. But if it weren’t for their recovering, recycling and ensuring reuse of the waste (the three Rs of their difficult lives), this city would have been one big dumpyard.
Ragpickers’ working hours are spent in combing the city’s alleys, beaches, rubbish dumps and even diving into the foetid waters of mangrove swamps. Eventually they congregate at Dharavi, the world’s largest recycling unit where almost 80 per cent of dry waste is reused.
Now there’s an initiative afoot to bestow a fourth R on the ragpicker brigade—respect. The Acorn Foundation India Trust is set to organise these workers and train them in scientific methods of waste handling, segregation and recycling. “We want to highlight their work in protection of the environment,” says Vinod Shetty of the Acorn Foundation. “We want the government to set up a board whereby polluters pay a cess of about one per cent which can go towards giving these ragpickers a proper income with safe equipment like gloves and other amenities. We want them to be trained in how to handle toxic waste and expertise in recycling goods in a non-hazardous way.”
For a start, all members of the Dharavi Project are being given identity cards. They have formed their own committee which is involved in waste awareness programmes. In one programme, young ragpickers are partnering with schools in waste management. Currently there are some 350 members of the Dharavi Project.
The foundation has also undertaken another initiative— to organise health clinics, programmes and workshops from which young children engaged in ragpicking can get some kind of informal education in music, photography and other arts. A number of artistes have participated in such programmes, among them singers Shankar Mahadevan, Sunita Rao and Apache Indian and Katrina Kaif. “Nearly 40 per cent of those in the waste business are children and women,” says Shetty. “We do not want to support child labour but realise that this sector needs alternatives. We hope such cultural events will help them think differently.”
BRIEF REPORT OF THE ACORN LAUNHING DAY HELD ON 25TH FEBRUARY 2010
The launch was organized in Korogocho community center where the event was held on 25thFeb 2010.
The event was scheduled to mark the official rolling out of the Acorn training model which is currently being implimented in two of the Korogocho villages namely Highridge and Kisumu Dogo. This was also aimed at popularising the Association which is set to carry out major issue based campaings within the area that majorly affects the Korogocho residents at large.
Despite the big challanges in organizing the event that we faced – like lack of finances, another major event was being hosted by the Italian Ambassador taking place just in the neighbouring village and opposition from some of the influencial gate keepers of the area , the event was a big succsess in that more than 300 people attended the ceremony. Among the key persons who atteded included the Acorn Chief organizer Mr. Wade, local Adinistration ie ( Area Chief and her two Assistants) and fourteen other representatives from different organizations working within and outside Korogocho.
These Included
The organization
1. Acorn International (Wade Rathke)
2. Umande Trust (Fancis Kinyeti)
3. Alternative to violence Project -K (Hannington Muchere)
4. Blue Cross (Jeniffer Otindo)
5. Kenya Network of Women living with Aids KENWA (Gladyce Gyambura)
6. MAKWAK (Agry miheso)
7. Child Peace Africa (Charlse Maina)
8. Amani Pamoja Korogocho (Paster Shango)
9. Koch F.M (Shem Shanzu)
10. Kasarani Youth Representative (Khadija)
11. CASCBI (Christine Nthegah)
12.Miss Koch (Asha abdi)
13. Right and Hope for the Disabled (Ann Njeri)
14. The City Council of Nairobi- Korogocho Ward (Mr.Maneno)
The event was graced by the Chief organizer of Acorn International who had come for a Five days visit to Kenya.
The program kicked off at around 11.00 am with a word of prayer from Pastor Bosire which was follwed by introductions and latter speeches from representatives of various organizations.
To the majority of those who addressed ACORN members, it was a great praise to the work of organizing being carried out in Korocho. They also expressed their deepest desire to work together with Acorn as an Association in supprot to win the campaigns that will be organized.
To mention just a few, the representative from AVP-CAPI programme promised their solideraity by promissing to support the Korogocho community people with Peace and Reconciliation training programmes in conjuction with Acorn -Kenya.
The Youth representative promised to mobilize the youths in the whole Divission to rally behind the campaigns that will be organized.
Koch FM gave the Acorn community members a three hour publicity in the community radio once every week to sensitize the community about the organization and the activities that they are undertaking in Korogocho.
The area Chief was very impressed by the whole programme and urged the community to embrace the model in great numbers so that they can be able to change the face of Korogocho.
Speeking about the Kenyan programme the Chief Organizer Mr. Wade informed all those present that Change is always with the people. He challeged the community people of Korogocho to choose between positive Change or negative change for their life. He informed them that a positive altitude of people brings about positive change and positive perseption of the issues, something that will make them come out in great numbers to challage those in power and control of bringing about the change through massive campaigns.
He also emphasized that change has to start with an individual to be able to convince the others to join up the hands in demand of what is rightifully theirs. Its only through this way that the effect of Acorn will be felt in the neighbourhoods, entire community and even to the other neighbouring informal settlements within Nairobi.
The event was crowned with a tree planting ceremony within the Chief’s camp compound, something that made the whole event very colourful and significant of the day. Seven trees were planted that day by different representatives from different organizitions who were present in the occassion.
The whole event ended very peacefully at around 3.00pm
English 