Trash collectors hit the jackpot - 28th August 2023

Eleven sanitation workers in Kerala, India have won a lottery jackpot of over $1.2 million. Struggling with debt, the women pooled their money together to get a ticket.

Individually, they earn roughly $3 a day for collecting and separating household waste. This salary often wasn't enough to make ends meet, as the women struggled with medical bills or took out loans for their children's education.

When they saw the Kerala lottery had a "bumper prize", they decided to purchase a $3 lottery ticket collectively.

Pulling the winning ticket, their fortunes reversed. Winner, Radha stated, "It's unbelievable. We had to check with multiple people to make sure that we won and still we couldn't believe it. We all come from very poor families with lots of debt and liabilities."

Each will spend their portion of 100 million rupees differently. Having lost money to financial scams, Radha will pay off her debts. Leela will pay for her daughter's surgery after she fell off a train one month earlier.

Five of the winners are a part of an Indian social class called the Dalits, which still suffers from discrimination and abuse. For one winner, hitting the jackpot's bittersweet. Bindu's husband died a year ago due to kidney failure after the family couldn't afford a transplant. According to Bindu, her husband often bought lottery tickets, hoping for a miracle.

Each member of the group, with the exception of two women who split their part of the ticket, will receive a little over $80,000 after taxes.

Regardless of this financial success, all of the women will continue working at the sanitation company. Leela explained there wouldn't be a lot of money remaining after their debts were paid. "We decided one thing… We will not leave this job because it was this collective that brought us prosperity."