Dronacharya Shikshan Samiti (DSS)

Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India

Primary information

Year formed

1992

Type of members

Waste picker support organization

Occupation of members

Waste pickers

Objectives

Capacity building, recognition of waste pickers,

Affiliations

Aiw

Women composition

Social networking sites

Benefits

Services

Complementary Information

Information source

WORD 19/08/2013, Asia 2013

Comments / Narrative

Dronacharya Shikshan Samiti (DSS) was formed in 1992 and works with marginalized groups such as women, child labour, tribal women in Ujjain socio-economic upliftment. Besides its project with waste pickers, DSS is forming self-help groups of women with NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) and managing them. In Tindori, DSS is running a program for empowerment of tribal women. This program is supported by the Madhya Pradesh Government. The organization is also working under the Child Labour Project Scheme to abolish Child Labour with guidance from the Labour Ministry. In Khandwa, DSS along with the Ministry of Labour has started a project for tribal children in the 9-14 year age group, are being given non-formal education along with vocational training to reduce child labour and enable children to learn new skills and increase their vocational choices at a later stage. A similar project for children is also running in Ujjain and is also supported by the Ministry of Labour. The organization began working with the waste pickers in Ujjain in 2005. It began organizing waste pickers in the city, and formed 10 Self-Help groups of waste pickers. The team began to understand the community, and its problems, needs, and presented a memorandum of demands to the District Collector and Commissioner. DSS is a member of the Alliance of Indian Waste pickers and has participated in several AIW events such as the AIW rally and demonstration organized at Jantar Mantar, Sammelan of Waste pickers in Ahmedabad and Pune. Members of the organization also attended AIW’s Strategic Workshop on Child Labour, workshop on scrap shops, etc, in which waste pickers and staff had participated. Through its participation in AIW meetings, events and dialogues, the organization has been assisted in the forming of strategies and an exchange of learning gains that has enabled it to expand the nature of its activities with waste pickers and build their capacities gradually.