13-05-2025
Some kids dream of a future away from garbage
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Pune: Some
children of waste pickers
have scored well in the SSC exam.
Chetan Naikvade
, who notched up 79.4%, said his teachers gave him notes and helped him "I took tuitions for maths. I want to take up arts, appear for civil service examinations and become an IPS officer," Chetan, who lost his father during the pandemic and was abandoned by his mother, said.
His grandmother Shaku Naikvade takes care of him."My grandson is my world. He studies late into the night. I pray he becomes what he wants to be," Shakubai, member of the waste pickers' union Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat, said. She goes out every morning to collect recyclables, earning Rs 300–400 Mhaske, who scored 81%, is also raised by her grandmother, Kanta Mhaske, a 70-year-old itinerant waste picker. "Sneha lost her parents eight years ago. She's a sincere child who loves her books," said Kanta. Sneha's report card shows a flair for languages, with a 90 in Marathi and 87 in Bansode, daughter of another waste picker Priya, scored 80.4% and hopes to pursue a career in Mulla, daughter of Daval Mulla, a waste collector on Sinhagad Road and a SWaCH cooperative member, scored 82% and is resolute about becoming a teacher. "I studied at home for three to four hours a day. My grandparents passed away just before the exam but my elder brother helped, and my mum motivated me," she added. She wants to provide free education to underprivileged kids. "I'll pursue arts at Fergusson and then do my BEd," she added.
