Vimal Kumar
India
Human Rights
Vimal Kumar is the founder of Movement for Scavenger Community (MSC), an organization committed to the eradication of manual scavenging in India and bringing education and awareness to the existing scavenger community. As one of the rare members of the scavenger community who was able to obtain higher education, Kumar provides the unique perspective needed to provide insight on the issues caused by India’s caste system. Kumar’s Leadership Action Plan seeks to eradicate caste violence and prejudiced attitudes towards the scavenger community through the establishment of leadership education centers.
To date, the five MSC centers have provided 10,000 people with free meals, working together with upper caste members through collective community action.