Children of Zion
Apayamma’s story is one of many. A mom and her kids trying to survive in the trash dumps of India.
Untouchables
These families live as the outcasts of their society because they are ‘Untouchables’ - a people belonging to the lowest caste status in India. Their name comes from a Dalit word literally meaning ‘broken and scattered’, and in some parts of India, even the sight of them was held as polluting. Most of them are restricted to finding dwellings outside of town and forbidden entry to many temples, schools, stores, or restaurants. They are not even allowed to pull thrown-away food from the outside cafe trash bins! Many of these families we work with were born in the trash dumps, so they don’t even have citizen ID cards, making them non-existent to the state- with no rights and no privileges.
The Problem
In a village in South India, 27 families are found living in the city's trash dumps. The children and families there are malnourished, and daily face the risk of disease as they rummage through human waste and garbage searching for food and recyclables. The children here have faced kidnapping and the risk of being sold into trafficking. One toddler tragically died this summer from a disease contracted in the dumps site.
This is not ok, and we can’t just stand by idly and do nothing. Each of these individuals has value, a life story that matters, and a right to a decent human existence. Apayamma and her children are just one of those stories, and we want to do something about it. But we can’t do it alone!
The Solution
Over the last several years we have been able to support these families by providing food and setting them up with national ID cards, but this is hardly enough to help pull them out of their predicament. We have interviewed literally 100’s of building landlords in attempts to provide housing and have been turned away each time as soon they learn it would be for the ‘Untouchables’ people. As a result, we’re looking to buy land and build housing units ourselves. The project is called “Children of Zion” as Zion is the name of God’s city. It is their God-given right to live, not as trash in a dump, but as valuable human beings in actual homes.
Project Cost: $200,000
This land and housing project would provide adequate space for housing and living units for each family, as well as a location designated for agriculture. Here we can enable the parents to develop a skill set in growing and selling crops. The ultimate goal is to empower them to get on their own feet and be self-sustaining. The property would also provide a safe place for the children to grow, learn, and play as they develop in these formative years.
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About us
Find out more about Wings International and our focus areas of impact on children and communities across Asia.