The week has been lengthy, D Sivakumar (30) informs us on his approach again from a brick kiln in Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu. Right here, he spent the higher a part of the day interacting with over 40 households who’ve discovered refuge — together with everlasting housing — on this government-operated shelter. Sivakumar explains, “Bonded labourers are majorly expert in wood-cutting jobs or working in brick kilns.” So, this mission, he provides, permits them to proceed their work whereas being pretty compensated for it.
Nonetheless, the day felt nearly like déjà vu for Sivakumar, who was pressured to work at a kiln shortly after his father handed away when he was simply six years outdated.
Explaining his early foray into baby servitude, he shares, “After my dad handed away, I started residing with my aunt and uncle. Someday, considered one of their neighbours took an advance [sum of money] from a kiln close to the Karnataka border. I keep in mind being despatched to work on the website.”
Nobody appeared to fret that the fragility of Sivakumar’s arms was no match for the heavy masses he was anticipated to shoulder from 5 am to eight pm day-after-day. “I might stability one brick on my head and two in both hand,” he recollects.
The story, whereas heart-wrenching, is sadly a commonality. The export and building trade — which majorly accounts for baby labour in India — manages to evade the lengthy arm of the regulation, consequentially contributing to some appalling statistics: India accounts for 7.2 p.c of the world’s inhabitants of child-bonded labourers.
In circumstances of profitable crackdowns, there are gaps in rehabilitation. Which means by the point corrective motion is taken, scores of younger kids have already traded their innocence for contemporary slavery. To them, hope for a greater life appears a far-fetched idea, because it did to Sivakumar 23 years in the past.
Throughout his teaching classes with survivors of child-bonded labour, he recognises their hesitancy to dream huge. In an try to assuage their issues, he tells them, “What’s behind you is just not your future. There’s a stunning future ready for you.”
Sivakumar credit his redemption to the strangers in his life — “The NGO that rescued me from the brick kiln, the individuals who helped re-enrol me at school, and everybody who believed in me”.
“I need to have the ability to do the identical for these kids,” he provides. And he may do with just a little assist from us.
‘Baby labour is a wierd life’
Like many child-bonded labourers, Sivakumar’s elementary schooling took a backseat. Recent out of Class 1 when his dad died, the following few years noticed him confined to the drudgery of the brick kiln.
“As a baby, doing such heavy work is just not okay. However there was nobody I may open up to. There was nobody to assist me,” he shares.
Issues reached a hilt when the backbreaking job took a toll on his well being and he fell sick. Naturally, his turnaround time on these days was slower than typical. However there was no room for mercy on the kiln. “The proprietor’s son-in-law began interrogating me. After I advised him I wasn’t feeling nicely, he wouldn’t hear and began hitting me along with his shoe and abusing me within the native language. It was very unhealthy.”
For 3 years — earlier than a sting operation in 2003 led to Sivakumar discovering freedom in the end — he bore the brunt of those nefarious practices. After the rescue, when requested what he want to do, Sivakumar, who craved some semblance of childhood, responded, “I wish to examine.” And, the NGO (which needs to stay nameless) made this attainable.
Nonetheless, this era wasn’t fully untouched by labour. He was nonetheless put to onerous work by his kin underneath the garb of home chores. “I needed to take the cows and goats to the forest day-after-day. Typically I wouldn’t have the ability to attend college for days as a result of there wasn’t time. I actually wished to check however work would make me miss out on lessons,” he recollects.
Nonetheless, Sivakumar made up for it by taking laptop programs supplied to him by the saviour NGO. On the age of 21, with college behind him, he was able to embark on his school journey. Whereas Sivakumar aced his BCom diploma, everybody was satisfied that he would enter the company world, however he shocked individuals by pursuing a grasp’s in social work from Madras Christian Faculty in 2022.
“I used to be all the time eager on serving society,” he causes. At this time, Sivakumar is placing his information to good use in his function with the NGO’s ‘After Care’ wing, the place he coaches baby bonded labour survivors — serving to them meet up with their friends in mainstream education.
Citing the instance of Shiva, considered one of his college students, Sivakumar says, “Shiva had failed his Class 12. My spouse and I made a decision to educate him at no cost. We helped him try his exams and write his papers. Now he’s pursuing his grasp’s in Tamil literature.”
Watching a baby stay their desires, figuring out he was instrumental in making it attainable, is all of the validation Sivakumar seeks.
Reward freedom to survivors of kid bonded labour
Bonded labour has been branded unlawful since 1976. However it persists; particularly baby bonded labour. This constitutes kids working in situations of servitude to repay a debt that almost all usually is incurred by the youngsters’s dad and mom.
Whereas the Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers is meant to supply monetary and non-financial assist as soon as they’re issued bonded labour launch certificates by district magistrates or sub-divisional magistrates, many bonded labour survivors discover it powerful to entry their dues. “It is because most should not even conscious that what they have been doing was bonded labour,” Sivakumar explains the premise of the issue.
Victims of child-bonded labour should navigate great hardship. This contains working within the sweltering warmth of a stone quarry, selecting rags in metropolis streets, and spending hours within the subject. These atrocities barely scratch the floor of the difficulties they should endure.
With many kids being sentenced to this life from as younger as 5 years of age, research have discovered that by the point they attain maturity, they turn out to be irrevocably sick or deformed, reducing their life span brief. By way of the scope of his work, Sivakumar is reaching out to those kids (and adults) throughout 13 districts of Tamil Nadu. “I assist them with schooling, entry to livelihood, details about authorities schemes and any social service they could want. I mentor college students from Lessons 8 to 12 via profession steering programmes to discover their pursuits.”
Sivakumar shares that he additionally takes the scholars on publicity visits to schools, malls, and workshops whereas additionally helping them with school admissions and counselling. “We conduct common follow-up conferences with college students to test on their progress and supply any assist as wanted. We additionally assist them via typing lessons, internships, English lessons, and tuitions.”
Acknowledging that it’s powerful to renew one’s schooling after a break, Sivakumar and the crew supply particular person counselling whereby dad and mom and youngsters are spoken to about the advantages of schooling. These classes see Sivakumar driving house an essential message: “Settle for your story. I’m right here right now due to the assist of so many individuals.”
“Typically dad and mom inform me, make my baby a ‘Kumar’ too. It makes me pleased,” he smiles.
Sharing extra about his work, Sivakumar says, “Instantly after the rescue, we assist the survivors in getting their caste certificates, Aadhar card, ration card, launch certificates, and a right away rehabilitation quantity of Rs 30,000. We additionally assist them open a checking account.”
He provides that together with this, the survivors are taken for publicity visits the place they’ll get a way of current livelihood initiatives like poultry models, brick kilns and many others. Together with this, routine trainings are carried out, the survivors are made conscious of presidency schemes and month-to-month conferences with the Launched Bonded Labour Affiliation (RBLA) leaders are facilitated.
Presently, Sivakumar works with 22 kids and 300 adults rescued from bonded labour. “We’ve got managed to enrol 12 kids into school this 12 months and assist many households with jobs,” he states proudly.
You may assist Kumar in his endeavour to make the desires of those kids a actuality. Your funds will go in direction of the schooling of kids rescued from bonded labour in addition to these weak to exploitation. Let’s give these kids the futures they deserve.
Donate right here to assist a child-bonded labour survivor make their dream a actuality.
Edited by Pranita Bhat; Footage supply: Sivakumar
