By Susan Ruffo | Executive Director
Through its GlobalGiving initiative, “Supporting Waste Pickers through the COVID Crisis,” The Circulate Initiative is working with partners to get food, protective gear, and hygiene kits to informal waste collectors and waste pickers who have been heavily impacted by COVID-19. Funding provided through the GlobalGiving campaign is being used in its entirety to support these efforts and provide some relief to families and communities.
Globally over 15M people make their living informally collecting and selling what others think of as trash. During the COVID19 pandemic, many have been forced to shelter in place and not work, meaning they often don’t have enough to buy daily food for their families. Those that can work lack basic protection and risk infection as they perform a vital public service.
While the efforts supported by the GlobalGiving campaign are just ramping up, we have already worked through our flagship program, The Incubation Network by The Circulate Initiative and SecondMuse (TIN), to support local informal waste workers in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city. TIN member, the Ocean Plastic Prevention Accelerator (OPPA), is deeply embedded in the Surabaya community and connected to local waste workers. OPPA has been working to highlight their situation and challenges, such as through the attached report. Working through OPPA, The Circulate Initiative enabled local organization Yayasan Peduli Sungai Sejahtera (YPSS) to distribute hygiene supplies and basic necessities to 300 informal waste workers in the city. With assistance from volunteers, they not only distributed the packages, but also educated waste workers on the minimum standard of safety and hygiene practices necessary to keep them safe in light of COVID-19.
Your generous contributions will allow programs like this to continue. Thank you.
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