24 hours through the eyes of a child scavenger in India

Once school is done for the day, 10-year-old Imradul Ali rushes home to change out of his uniform so he can start his job as a scavenger in India’s remote northeast.

Imradul Ali, 10, looks for recyclable material at a landfill on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, Feb. 4, 2021.

Armed with a gunny sack, he goes to a landfill in the slums of Gauhati, the capital of Assam state. Here, he hunts through heaps of other people’s garbage, searching for plastic bottles, glass or anything salvageable he can recycle or sell. Around him, cows graze on the mountains of waste that line the site.

Ali comes from a family of scavengers, or “rag pickers.” His father, mother and elder brother all earn their income in this way. He started scavenging over a year ago to help his family make more money.

The family was hit hard last year by the COVID-19 pandemic, as they couldn’t go to the landfill and sift through garbage for things to sell.

Ali and his 30-year-old mother Anuwara Beghum take a break as they look for recyclable material.

They struggled during the monthslong lockdown in India, but were able to get food through the help of aid organizations.

Ali says he doesn’t want to spend his life doing this, but he doesn’t know what the future holds. “I want to continue going to school and would like to be a rich man,” he said.

Ali (L) draws on his copybook as his mother Anuwara Beghum prepares food in their rented room.

He earns up to 100 rupees ($1.30) a day, while the rest of his family makes about 250 rupees ($3.30) each.

“It’s very difficult to run a family by rag-picking,” said Ali’s mother, Anuwara Begum.

Scavenging is filthy and dangerous work. While there is no exact count, aid groups say around 4 million people in India work as scavengers.

Ali prays with others in a classroom in a school.

It is effectively the primary recycling system in the country, but the work is not environmentally friendly. Those who do it have few rights and are exposed to deadly poisons every day.

India’s last census in 2011 put the total number of child laborers between the ages of 5 and 14, including scavengers, at around 10 million.

Thadeus Kujur, who runs the Snehalaya charitable group, says it is always sad to see children collecting scraps instead of going to school.

Kujur's group runs five childcare institutions, taking care of 185 boys and girls, and has helped 20,000 children over seven years.

Ali closes the buttons on his shirt as his mother Anuwara Beghum pours hair oil on his head as he prepares to leave for school.

“We carry out motivational programs for poor parents to realize the value of education before putting their children into schools,” Kujur said.

According to a new World Bank Group and U.N. Children’s Fund analysis, an estimated one in six children, or 356 million globally, lived in extreme poverty before the pandemic began – and the number is expected to worsen significantly.

Ali puts on a pair of shoes that he salvaged from a landfill before going to school.

Ali’s father wants his son to continue going to school, hoping he will run his own shop or get a coveted government job when he grows up, putting an end to their suffering.

Ali (2nd from L) studies with other students.

As for Ali, he wants to drive a car and wishes to own one in the future. “I want good food and clothes,” he said.

Ali displays at his baby chicks which he found at a landfill.

Ali (L) and his mother Anuwara Beghum arrive to look for recyclable material.

Ali (C) takes his school bag from his mother Anuwara Beghum as he leaves for school.

Ali looks for recyclable material at a landfill.

Ali (L) and his mother Anuwara Beghum (R) return after collecting recyclable materials.