EveryChild
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Children enslaved by debt….literally
In India, the world’s child labour capital, 15 million children are
subject to the horrific practice of bonded labour. World Day Against Child Labour, June 12th, was a day to think about these vulnerable children.
Bonded child labour occurs when extreme poverty meets desperate situations. Parents are forced to sell their child for labour in exchange for a loan. In poor communities, families often have no choice but to do this put food on the table. Some children are put to work
Uppendra, 13, another of India's bonded labourers. |
For these children, attending school is not an option. Instead they are forced into arduous labour for up to 12 hours a day to repay their family debt, working in constant fear of their ‘master’. They are paid so little they will never have a real chance of fully repaying the family loan. Bonded labour is one of the worst forms of child exploitation, perpetrated by India’s caste system. The practice is illegal but in reality it happens all over India. This is a form of modern day slavery.
The experiences of Sudeepa (right) are typical of the horrors of bonded child labour in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sudeepa is from a low-caste Dalit community. She is forced to work up to 12 hours a day for 20 rupees (about 25 pence). Sudeepa operates a loom, making ropes for a local farmer. She has been doing this since she was seven, after her family borrowed 33,000 rupees (less than £400).
Despite Sudeepa’s whole family being bonded, they are paid so little they will never repay the family debt. She has no chance of an education whilst she remains a bonded labourer. Sudeepa’s father says: “I would like for Sudeepa to go to school but there is nothing I can do.”
EveryChild, with your support, can help children like Sudeepa escape the vicious cycle. We identify cases like Sudeepa’s, gather evidence against the landowner to bring him to justice and work to secure the release of bonded child labourers. Once freed from this horrific practice, we help place the children in school and assist with the prosecution against the landlord. Our activity centres provide extra tuition for the children allowing for a smoother transition back into mainstream school.
We also run support groups which help families access subsidised loans from the government to pay off their debt to the landowner. We then find parents legal, legitimate employment so they can pay back the loan from the government and free themselves from family debt for good.
For more pictures of Sudeepa click here