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| Anti-social
Habits Among Ragpickers |
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They
are involved with drugs, alcohol,
smoking, gambling, and unhealthy
sexual habits.
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Since their
income is less than their expenses,
due to bad habits, they are perpetual
debtors to the retail scrap dealers.
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They participate
in stealing, street-fighting,
and delinquent activities.
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Dirty, they
are unwelcome guests at weddings,
social gatherings, and shopping
zones.
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They are physically
vulnerable to health problems
and infectious skin diseases.
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They are victimized
socially through poverty, illiteracy,
and rejection.
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With no facilities
available for bathing or laundry,
they are forced to live in filth
and squalor.
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Daily
survival being their only immediate
priority.
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| Challenges
of Working with Street Children |
Since
they live in corrupt gangs for security
and survival, they face society as
gangs. It is very difficult to isolate
one member, since group pressure is
so strong that they are soon threatened,
forced, and blackmailed to return
to their old habits.
They
soon become dependent, both physically
and mentally, on their readily available
addictions, enabling them to forget
for a while their pitiful existence.
This is a huge problem, and expert
help is needed to treat their physical
and psychological dependence and addiction.
There are many disappointments for
the worker, as relapses are very common.
Integration
into society is difficult, as the
public has preconceived ideas about
the rag picker and neither accepts
nor encourages the vision to transform
him.
Life's
struggles and hardships have made
the rag picker suspicious and wary
of kindness and offers of help. He
is unruly and disrespectful, always
suspicious and on his guard. This
discourages the volunteers, who become
disillusioned and loses interest in
working with them.
The rag picker has never learned the
rules and discipline that are demanded
by employers, so government employment
schemes are not tolerated, and all
efforts fail.
The
rag picker cannot understand unconditional
love, and needs to receive food or
other incentives, for him to cooperate.
However with love, time, and patience,
he will respond, and the rewards to
the volunteer will be tremendous.
The
retail scrap dealers feel threatened
that their business will be ruined
if the rag pickers cease dealing with
them, so they constantly threaten
the children and spread false rumors
about us and our ministry.
| Requirements
for those who work with rag pickers
and street children |
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Have
a vision and love for slum dwellers |
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Be adaptable
to their living conditions |
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Be able to
empathize with them. |
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