Hyderabad: 15-year-old boy helps garbage collectors

Hyderabad: Reyan Sai Yelamarti, a student from the MYP Year 5 (Grade 10) of Oakridge International School, Gachibowli, Hyderabad has taken up an initiative to help the garbage collectors in the City.

He says that garbage collectors in Hyderabad are constantly exposed to poor working conditions and pick up garbage each day regardless of rain, sleet and summer heat. "This is a difficult job to do, but the lack of amenities provided to them exponentially increases its difficulty and how unhygienic it is," Reyan said.

Reyan was prompted with the unfortunate fact that no gloves, mask or appropriate shoes have been provided to the group of garbage collectors and were left with no option but to sort through the stinking mass of garbage barehanded and climb onto it with just a ragged pair of canvas shoes which is the case in most of the localities.

He wanted to help these garbage collectors who are living a pitiful life and made safety kits that consists of masks, gloves, shoe covers, sanitisers, rubber boots and distributed it among the garbage collectors in his localities. "These safety kits reduce the exposure to various diseases and illness faced by the garbage collectors," says Reyan Sai. In addition he has also initiated a drive to collect old clothes, toys, shoes, kitchenware and etc, which he then donates to the garbage collectors.

Reyan has gone to several neighborhoods to spread awareness about waste segregation and how it impacts garbage collectors. He claims that segregating waste into wet, dry and hazardous waste is crucial to reduce the exposure of diseases and illnesses among garbage collectors.

He is taking this drive forward, not just through awareness camps, among his neighbourhood but also through social media to various localities in Hyderabad. This initiative and drive will help the garbage collectors to improve their day to day life, as they come from poor families with hardly any earnings and medical help.

Reyan is spreading the message with a strong belief in social cause for the improvement in the life of the garbage collectors, he has also made a documentary on the life of garbage collectors, which aims to spread the message of, "Say no to mix waste for a clean and green environment and easier segregation for garbage collectors. Let's be the helping hand for the garbage collectors who are struggling to make the ends meet".