Author and educationist Anthony J D’Angelo had said: “Without sense of caring, there can be no sense of community.”
To salute female waste pickers for cleaning up our lives and also raise awareness about the inhuman conditions they work in, global beauty brand The Body Shop collaborated with Delhi Street Art have created a hand-painted mural representing the task force at Project NARI (Nutrition Ability Retraining Inclusion).
“The initiative is to let everyone know about the extensive work women waste pickers do. These women were frontline warriors during the COVID-19 crisis, but were rarely acknowledged,” says Yogesh Saini, Founder, Delhi Street Art.
“Six of us did this mural at our studio, based on the photographs of woman waste pickers shared by The Body Shop. The mural is blue like the colour of these women’s uniforms. They make our world more beautiful, and it is time we show gratitude to them,” he adds.
The 10ftx24ft artwork, Christmas Wall of Hope, is on display at Select Citywalk Mall Plaza, till the next fortnight, before being moved to another location.
Located on the last rung of the hierarchy of urban informal occupations, women and children form a major chunk of waste pickers, not just in Delhi, but across India. In all, there are 1.5 million waste pickers in India who collect and sort over 6,000 tonnes of plastic every day that would otherwise pollute rivers and oceans.
Most of them are from marginalised communities and are often harassed and ostracised.
“I generally go to pick waste early in the morning to avoid people’s comments,” says Shakuntala, a waste picker from Noida. When told about the Wall of Hope, created as a tribute to them, she remarked, “May be it will help get us some respect. We cleanup for others, but everyone looks down on us.”
“It is not just people, but even our contractors who mistreat us. No one values our work,” puts in her companion Noorie.
COVID-19 worsened the state of these vulnerable communities as the plastic recycling economy collapsed leading to rampant joblessness as well high health risks for waste pickers who often work without adequate protective equipment.
To give back to this community of green crusaders, The Body Shop had launched Project NARI in association with Plastics for Change India Foundation in October 2020.
The mural would serve as a reminder to everyone visiting the mall to be grateful to these waste pickers in keeping our streets clean and our environment free of plastic pollution, often at great personal risk.
On the occasion, The Body Shop launched its first floral Christmas Ltd Edition range — Winter Jasmine, made with jasmine extracts from India.