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People stand on the sidewalks, holding signs, shouting out for what they believe in. “No more child labor!” One protester shouts, holding his picket sign high in the air. The crowd get louder as cars pass, hoping to persuade the people in the car to listen and care about their cause. Child labor is a serious issue, and many people are finding different ways to address it- people raise money, protest, or just spread the word about it. This chapter highlights different people who fight child labor, and the actions people are taking against it.
Students at Broad Meadows Middle School in Quincy, Massachusetts started a fund called “A School for Iqbal” after Iqbal Masih, a famous child labor activist who was a child laborer, visited them, and was later assassinated. The students started by collecting $12 donations, which was how much Iqbal was sold into slavery for, and Iqbal was twelve years old when he died. The students started by reaching out to their community, and other schools. At first, the only responses The school got were, as one student, Amanda, put it, “children should be seen and not heard.” However, The school soon started receiving donations. Eventually, The students reached their target, $50,000. As of late, these students, who are now adults, have raised over $250,000, and have helped build eight schools in countries around the world.
In contrast to the way the students at Broad Meadows fought child labor, Kailash Satyarthi took a completely different course of action- at the age of twenty-six, he quit his job as an electrical engineer, and started helping enslaved children. He began leading raids on factories that children, or whole families working as bonded laborers. Also, the factories Kailash raided were often guarded by armed individuals, making Kailash’s work dangerous. After freeing and rehabilitating thousands of enslaved children, Kailash decided to help in a very different way- Kailash started a global movement. He gave inspiring speeches, and raised money to help eradicate child labor. “Kailash Satyarthi has waged a peaceful struggle to stop children being exploited as labor instead of attending school. He has also contributed to the development of international conventions on the rights of children.” (Nobelprize.org)
As another form of helping child laborers, Kailash founded “Bal Mitra Gram”, a program that encourages villages in India to make child labor illegal in their village. The entire village must agree- every child will be sent to school, and no child will be put to work. However, since Kailash knows this will take a very long time to take full-effect, he has founded “Rugmark”. Since many rugs are made with the assistance of child labor, Kailash thought the rugs should be marked as such. Rugs must be marked as child-labor-free, and the factories that make them must be regularly inspected. Kailash plans to extend this to soccer balls, another product that often gets manufactured with child labor.
Child labor is one of the evils in this world, and people are taking action against it. These people are activists. Anyone can help, or do something. As a result, the issue will change, and people will fight until the issue is no more.
Students at Broad Meadows Middle School in Quincy, Massachusetts started a fund called “A School for Iqbal” after Iqbal Masih, a famous child labor activist who was a child laborer, visited them, and was later assassinated. The students started by collecting $12 donations, which was how much Iqbal was sold into slavery for, and Iqbal was twelve years old when he died. The students started by reaching out to their community, and other schools. At first, the only responses The school got were, as one student, Amanda, put it, “children should be seen and not heard.” However, The school soon started receiving donations. Eventually, The students reached their target, $50,000. As of late, these students, who are now adults, have raised over $250,000, and have helped build eight schools in countries around the world.
In contrast to the way the students at Broad Meadows fought child labor, Kailash Satyarthi took a completely different course of action- at the age of twenty-six, he quit his job as an electrical engineer, and started helping enslaved children. He began leading raids on factories that children, or whole families working as bonded laborers. Also, the factories Kailash raided were often guarded by armed individuals, making Kailash’s work dangerous. After freeing and rehabilitating thousands of enslaved children, Kailash decided to help in a very different way- Kailash started a global movement. He gave inspiring speeches, and raised money to help eradicate child labor. “Kailash Satyarthi has waged a peaceful struggle to stop children being exploited as labor instead of attending school. He has also contributed to the development of international conventions on the rights of children.” (Nobelprize.org)
As another form of helping child laborers, Kailash founded “Bal Mitra Gram”, a program that encourages villages in India to make child labor illegal in their village. The entire village must agree- every child will be sent to school, and no child will be put to work. However, since Kailash knows this will take a very long time to take full-effect, he has founded “Rugmark”. Since many rugs are made with the assistance of child labor, Kailash thought the rugs should be marked as such. Rugs must be marked as child-labor-free, and the factories that make them must be regularly inspected. Kailash plans to extend this to soccer balls, another product that often gets manufactured with child labor.
Child labor is one of the evils in this world, and people are taking action against it. These people are activists. Anyone can help, or do something. As a result, the issue will change, and people will fight until the issue is no more.