PFR Founder Amitesh Deo

The Pacific Recycling Foundation has welcomed the recent comments of the Permanent Secretary for Education Selina Kuruleca that school counsellors are essential for the mental health and emotional well-being of students.

Founder Amitesh Deo says this support is also critically vital for the children of Collection Pillars of Recycling who continue to be stigmatized, just because their parents are involved in waste-picking.

Deo made this call following the PRF’s Mapping Exercise of the Waste Collection Sector that brought to light many cases of CPRs, and their children subjected to harassment, abuse, and mistreatment.

He says they have seen a CPR who was teased as a “rubbish collector” in his school because he would collect recyclables with his grandfather to help his family battle poverty.

The stigma stayed with him, and he shared how he felt ashamed which could have possibly led him to not complete his education.

Deo says the PRF team also interviewed a single mother who is a CPR who shared that her children are continuously tesased in school when she is seen with them.

He adds that they support the call made by the Permanent Secretary for Education on the importance of factoring psychological support in schools, and in this case, this support is necessary for students who come from CPR and marginalized communities.

The PRF’s Founder has also confirmed that the Mapping Exercise Report will be launched in November which will provide a comprehensive database of people involved in waste picking that will be useful for policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders.