common cause - ActionAid

08 SPECIAL REPORT
SPECIAL REPORT 09
A helping hand
for India’s homeless
FOR ONCE WE CAN
SLEEP IN CALM AND
SAFETY... NOW WE FINALLY
HAVE A HOME
ActionAid India has been working
hard to address one of the country’s
biggest problems: homelessness.
But, with a little determination and a
lot of effort, we are making headway,
says KATHERINE HAYWOOD.
PHOTO: KALPESH LATHIGRA/NB PICTURES/ACTIONAID UK
In Lucknow, the capital of the north Indian state of Uttar
Pradesh, at least 600 homeless people died as a result of the
harsh winter of 2002/03. This winter there was a dramatic
decrease in the number of deaths due, in part, to ActionAid
and partners’ success at forcing the state government to
open up unused public buildings as night shelters.
The campaign was based on the work of Dr Indu Prakash,
the coordinator of ActionAid’s national homeless policy. Dr
Prakash has been highly successful in opening up
government buildings as shelters in Delhi, as part of his work
with street children. This winter the work was rolled out to
four new cities, one of which was Lucknow.
Firstly, local organisations identified several vacant
government buildings in areas where hundreds of homeless
people were sleeping rough. Next, after vigorous lobbying by
ActionAid, the municipal commissioner agreed to open six
schools and disused buildings that had been lying vacant for
up to ten years. ActionAid provided the homes with sheets,
blankets, a caretaker and basic medical facilities.
Residents soon flooded in. Almost all of them are migrant
daily wage labourers in construction work and other physical
activities, with families in the surrounding villages to support.
Most have been homeless all of their adult lives, returning to
their villages once a month.
They earn as little as Rs 50 (65p) a day and, on average,
get only 15 days of work a month. Due to the availability of
cheap labour, they are often forced to work for under the
minimum wage. Even so, their employers often refuse to pay.
It is this type of employment insecurity and exploitation that
the organisers of the shelters want to help combat. ActionAid’s
Hanumant Rawat, Lucknow regional manager, says, “We
organised a spontaneous campaign during 2002/03 and
distributed blankets to those on the streets, but we realised
this could never be a long term solution. We wanted to provide
the homeless with more permanent shelter.”
It has been a long battle – many of the shelters are still not
perfect. Some have irregular water supplies or drainage
problems. Others have structural deficiencies. Some people
also found that the shelter isolated them from potential
employers who pick daily wage labourers off the street.
These are all problems that ActionAid hopes to address –
but there is a general feeling that a crucial step has been
ACTIONAID IS
DETERMINED TO KEEP
THE REMAINING FOUR
SHELTERS IN LUCKNOW
OPEN, AND EXTEND
THEIR OPENING HOURS
TO THE DAYTIME. THE
RESIDENTS THEMSELVES
SAY THEY HAVE NO
PLANS TO MOVE
OUR BIGGEST
ACHIEVEMENT WAS
INSISTING THAT THE
HOMELESS THEMSELVES
WERE AT THE FOREFRONT
OF THIS CAMPAIGN. THEY
RUN THE SHELTERS AND
SET THE AGENDA
made. Despite the onset of warm weather, the shelters are
growing in popularity, with new arrivals each week.
Yet, despite these obvious successes, the state
government has started to close the shelters now the winter
months are over.
When asked about the closures, one local assistant district
magistrate said, “We don’t see (the shelters) as a permanent
solution.” He went on to claim that: “…most of the time these
people like sleeping under the open sky”.
But ActionAid is determined to keep the remaining four
shelters in Lucknow open, and extend their opening hours to
the daytime. The residents themselves say they have no plans
to move. They like the newfound community that the shelters
provide. “We enjoy living collectively,” says Dinesh, 47, from
the Shramik Seva Ashram shelter. “Everyone helps each other
out, like with money or advice. We are like a family.”
And, at a time when religious conflict and hostility is on the
increase in India, the shelters have managed to bridge
divides. Muhammed Israel, 42, a Muslim in a predominantly
Hindu shelter, says, “I feel completely welcome here. We
even celebrate our religious festivals together.”
Sandeep Khare, from local organisation Vigyan (which runs
three of the shelters), wants to build on the community spirit
the homeless shelters have created. “As a group, those living
in the shelters are now more able to move forward on issues
that affect their lives,” he says.
Sandeep is working on mobilising the residents to demand
the necessary renovation work on the buildings. It is early
days yet, but the men of the shelters are already working as
a group. In some shelters they have pooled their money for
purchasing necessary communal items. Others have offered
their skills and time to the renovations.
“Our biggest achievement,” says Sandeep, “was insisting
that the homeless themselves were at the forefront of this
campaign. They run the shelters and set the agenda.”
And it certainly seems to be working. “For once we can
sleep in calm and safety,” says Dinesh. “Now we finally have
a home.”
If you would like to support our work
in India, please visit www.actionaid.org.uk,
call 01460 23 8000 or email
commoncause@actionaid.org.uk quoting
your supporter number or postcode.
common cause SUMMER 2004 www.actionaid.org.uk
www.actionaid.org.uk common cause SUMMER 2004