Generate Income & Hope From Non-Recyclable Garbage

XSProject could not work at the trash picker community in Jakarta without a lot of help. This holiday season, as we celebrate family, life, and good will, we would like to tell you about The Angels of Cirendeu. Our “Angels” are trash picker women, mothers, wives, sisters, and cousins to the more than 500 men, women and children who live at the Cirendeu open garbage dump.

Wati has been helping XSProject the longest. She has always helped distribute the money XSProject pays to assure the students have a seat in their classroom each semester. She registers the children, pays the school fees, and makes sure the children go to school each day.

Wati is the daughter of Pak (Mr.) and Ibu (Mrs) Salim. Pak Salim, the head of the first trash picker community, approached XSProject ten years ago to ask for help to educate the children at the garbage dump. Since her father's passing, Wati is XSProject's liasion. If families need XSProject to help them, or if there is a problem in the community, Wati is their first point of contact.

Wati’s sister is Supena (Pena). There are so many children under XSProject’s XSEducation program now and they go to 7 different schools in the area. It is more work than Wati can do alone. So, along with Pena and two other Angels, Bedah and Aminah, Wati has help keeping track of which children go to what schools, what grades they are in as well as making payments to the schools.  Bedah helps Wati prepare the list of expenses for the school needs so XSProject has the funds available when they are needed.  

Some schools have fewer children attending from the community. In those cases, Wati or one of the other Angels will give the money to the parents to take to the school. Wati or Bedah then collect the receipts for the payments. This gives the parents the opportunity to see the school their children attend, to meet the teachers and reinforces the importance of supporting their children’s education by making sure homework is completed and they have clean uniforms each day.

Behah and Aminah are sisters. Bedah is the only one in the community who is a college graduate. She is the Librarian at the XSCommunity Center. She keeps the books organized, makes sure the students follow the library rules, are serious about their studies, do their homework and assists our tutors three afternoons a week.

All four Angels prepare nutritious meals for the children. They help XSProject organize programs in the community such as health check-ups, vaccinations and building homes or trash carts. If there are problems and/or concerns about an individual child, schools, health, family issues, that XSProject needs to address, all four ladies are always there to help XSProject find solutions.  

If you ask General Manager Retno Hapsari how the Angels of Cirendeu help her, she will say, “Do they help me do my job better?  Now I have extra hands to make things run more smoothly at the community. “

 The Angels of Cirendeu watch over the Cirendeu trash picker community with care and love for each other and their neighbors. XSProject and the Cirendeu trash pickers are rich in so many ways because of these lovely Angels.

Happy Holidays to all our GlobalGiving donors and supporters. Thank you for donating to XSProject in 2017.