April 2012 African newsletter available
You can now download both English and French versions of the April 2012 African newsletters:
GLOBAL ALLIANCE OF
WASTE PICKERS
WASTE PICKERS
The Global Alliance of Waste Pickers is a networking process supported by WIEGO, among thousands of waste picker organizations with groups in more than 28 countries covering mainly Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Supported by
Africa
News Round-Up/Noticias de la semana (español, português, english)
ESPAÑOL BARCELONA. “Trias esboza una cooperativa para los africanos que recogen hierro.” El País (7 abril 2012) por Camilo S. Baquero. El problema de los cientos de subsaha...
SAWPA (South African Waste Pickers’ Association) in solidarity with waste pickers across the globe
The South African Waste Picker’s Association (SAWPA) is in solidarity with waste pickers across the globe. We would like to commemorate the day of remembrance of all waste pickers around the world who die on the streets or landfills. Those Men and Women who we witness everyday being brutalized, beaten to death, shot, run over by trucks while trying to earn a living through waste recycling.
The Inner-city Cardboard Recycling Project and Global Wastepicker’s Day
Meeting other informal recyclers from around the world during COP 17 and Global Recyclers’ Day shows me that we are being recognised world-wide and that our challenges are universal. It is also an incentive for me to continue working hard in this job.” Victoria Bubu
Egyptian NGO takes major step towards recognition of Cairo’s garbage collectors
By Laila Iskandar & Carina Kamel While much of the media attention in recent weeks has focused on Egypt’s crackdown on foreign-funded non-governmental organisations, another ...
Press Release: A Syndicate for the Collectors/Recyclers of Cairo (photos included)
Dear Friends: I am happy to share with you our latest news after over two years of hard work at the community and central levels: 1. We have begun a systematic and organized proces...
“Maria – Queen of Cardboard” (Green Times)
South Africa – 10 Feb 2011 – Her territory is a labyrinth of hidden refuse rooms bathed in charcoal light. Masterfully she flattens a mountain of discarded cardboard bo...
“Registrar visits Karuri over illegal dumpsites” (The Star)
Kenya – 4 Feb 2012 – THE deputy registrar of the Constitutional court in Nairobi has made an extensive tour of Karuri town in Kiambu to establish the truth over allegat...
Learning from India
Aliou Faye is a 34 years old Senegalese waste picker who has worked in Mbeubeuss landfill in Dakar for the last 16 years. He is vice-president of the waste pickers’ organisation in his landfill, Bokk Diomm.
Una carta de los recicladores de Senegal: 70 recicladores perderon sus pertenencias en un incendio vertedero
Hola a todos, En primer lugar, presentamos nuestros mejores deseos y éxito en todas sus trabajos. Sólo tenemos que informarles que este largo silencio no es una omisión de nuest...
A letter from Senegalese waste pickers: 70 waste pickers lose their belongings in a landfill fire
The village of Gouy-Gui burned Thursday, January 19 and almost 70 waste pickers have lost their possessions. Our partners came to us and even the Minister of Public Health came to see the site of the fire.
Une lettre/photos de recuperateurs sénégalais: Enfouissement Brûlés, 70 recycleurs perdent biens
Bonjour à toutes et à tous, Tout d’abord nous vous présentons nos voeux les meilleurs et une réussite dans toutes vos entreprises. Nous venons par cette présente pour in...
Video: The Global Alliance of Waste Pickers – Global Day of Action for Climate Justice
On Dec. 3, the Global Alliance of Waste Pickers and Allies marched in the streets of Durban demanding climate justice. Enjoy the video! Global Alliance of Waste Pickers – Glo...
“Scavengers’ Search For Survival On Refuse Sites” (Leadership)
Nigeria – 29 Jan 2012 – Health is wealth they say, but some people neglect the basic hygienic rules to make money in order to earn a living. Kehinde Ajobiewe takes a lo...
“Government to train Kupferberg population” (Namibian Broadcasting Corporation)
Namibia – 25 Jan 2012 – The Prime Minister said government was also working towards offering training to the Kupferberg population. Nahas Angula believes that the solut...
“Kupferberg scavengers demand cash for work” (Namibian Broadcasting Corporation)
Namibia – 24 Jan 2012 – People scavenging at the Kupferberg dumping site outside Windhoek are demanding cash for work from government. They say the program for which go...
Tshwane: power through networking
In the 1990s the Tshwane municipality in South Africa engaged in a number of failed projects with waste pickers. These included a project that hired waste pickers to make crafts out of recyclable material. It also included at a private company with interests in waste management helping waste pickers to set up cooperatives and run buy-back centres for the cooperatives. However the positive that came out of these failures was that waste pickers formed committees on dumps and this provided the base for independent organizing. But what lessons and openings for organisation emerged in this period?
Hands in trash, heads held high
A meeting in Dakar included delegates from countries across Africa such as Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal, Niger, Rwanda, Congo, Togo, Burkina Faso and Chad. Participants discussed key problems such as child labour, waste pickers paying to collect waste instead of being paid, lack of knowledge of rights, lack of local government capacity to manage waste, and the privatization of waste collection.
