The smell of garbage fills the air for miles. It comes from a landfill near Jammu, India. It’s not a nice place to be. But some very poor people try to earn a living there. Waste pickers search for anything in the dump that they can sell.

“If we don’t do this, we don’t get any food to eat,” says 65-year-old Usmaan Shekh.

The job is especially hard during a heat wave. In Jammu, temperatures this summer have regularly reached about 110 degrees.

The heat isn’t the only problem. As garbage breaks down, it releases gases. Some are dangerous to breathe. Sometimes fires start. They can burn for days.

At the Jammu landfill, small fires dot the massive pile. They send up plumes of smoke. Two men haul a frayed tarp loaded with garbage. A six-year-old boy clutches an armful of plastic sandals. A few pickers shelter from the heat.

Some people seek to help the waste pickers. Abhiyant Tiwari works with a public health group. He says the pickers need a regular water supply, shade, or a cooler building near the landfills. He encourages them to avoid working in high heat.

“We have a responsibility to protect them,” says Mr. Tiwari. He tells Indians that simple steps can help, such as offering water.

Geeta Devi searches a landfill in New Delhi. She says she takes shelter when she feels dizzy in the heat. Sometimes someone gives her water or food. But she has to earn 150-200 rupees ($1.80 to $2.40) per day to feed her children.

“It is difficult to do my job because of the heat. But I have no other job,” she says.

This is a hard and sad situation. The Bible tells us that God loves and cares for the poor and needy. Ask Him to provide for the waste pickers and to open the hearts of people to help.

For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress. — Isaiah 25:4