Children's Stories: Rabbani

After the death of his mother, 10-year-old Rabbani and his two siblings moved in with their grandmother in her two-room hut. One day, Rabbani’s neighbor offered him a job. Imagining a wealthy future beyond his village in Bihar, India’s poorest state, Rabbani agreed. His neighbor took him 370 miles west to a loom shed in Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh, where he wove shag carpets for eight hours a day, earning seven cents an hour.
After two long months working on the looms, Rabbani was rescued by GoodWeave field officers. GoodWeave’s staff accompanied Rabbani on the long journey home on October 12, 2011. When the car arrived, the entire village was waiting by the road to welcome him back.


The field officers met with Danish, one of the most respected village residents. As villagers crowded around to listen, GoodWeave officers told Danish about GoodWeave and its mission. They explained how GoodWeave would sponsor Rabbani’s education. The crowd of villagers listened in amazement. They had never heard of anyone helping child laborers before.
Mohammed, principal of the local government school, immediately enrolled Rabbani in the first grade. GoodWeave’s officers gave his grandmother enough money to pay for Rabbani’s school books, supplies and uniform. Before leaving, they signed an agreement with his grandmother, promising to provide ongoing support for his education. Danish and Mohammed signed the agreement as witnesses.
Rabbani and his grandmother are thankful that he has a renewed chance to get an education and build a future, with support from GoodWeave and his own community.

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Children's Stories: Gopal

Gopal grew up in a poor and violent home in Nepal’s central Makawanpur district, not far from Kathmandu. In a story we hear all too frequently, his father would spend all of his wages from farming on alcohol, return home drunk, and beat Gopal’s mother and often Gopal as well.


Gopal fled to Kathmandu at age 13 and joined his older brothers in a carpet factory. He wove carpets for three months before GoodWeave loom inspectors found him on June 2, 2011. Gopal moved into GoodWeave’s rehabilitation center. Though his upbringing and the harsh environment of the factory had left him antagonistic, today Gopal is fitting in well and happy that he has a chance to study.

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Children's Stories: Sun Maya

Sun Maya grew up in a small trading town in Nepal’s Sindhupalchowk district. She often dreamed of visiting the capital city of Kathmandu, and in fourth grade, she got her chance. Her uncle offered to take her away to the city, lowering her family’s expenses. Sun Maya’s parents, poor farm hands, let her go.
When Sun Maya arrived in Kathmandu, her uncle bought her a wardrobe of new clothes. Though everything seemed perfect, the joy didn’t last; her uncle forced her to work in a carpet factory, weaving carpets in 15-hour shifts with punishment for slowing down. GoodWeave loom inspectors discovered Sun Maya on April 15, 2012.


Thirteen year-old Sun Maya resumed her studies at GoodWeave’s rehabilitation center, where her kind spirit has helped her make many friends. She enjoys visiting home during the holidays and hopes to become a teacher.

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Children's Stories: Yasmin

India Moves Toward Ban of All Child Labor

Until now, India has allowed children under the age of 14 to work in what the government identifies as non-hazardous work. As GoodWeave supporters know, this policy still leaves many children at risk and unable to attend school. In late August 2012, the government was on its way to passing a full ban on all child labor for children under 14 years old, and to ban hazardous labor for anyone under the age of 18. GoodWeave Executive Director Nina Smith applauded the impending decision. “This will strengthen GoodWeave’s capacity to do its work,” she said. “Compliance will be more likely and there will be more government resources for remediation and education.”

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Children's Stories: Ramesh

Ramesh had to grow up quickly and at a young age. His father was an alcoholic with a history of unemployment; his eldest brother and sister moved to India from Nepal to try and earn money to help support the family.
Ramesh wanted to move away, too. As a young child, he had envisioned wonderful adventures in Kathmandu. Hoping to find a better life, he and his two friends ran away to the city when they were in the third grade. When they got to Kathmandu, however, they realized that it was not what they had hoped. They were very hungry, and felt helpless and afraid in the large city. Looking for a way to survive, Ramesh went with a labor broker who took the boy to a carpet factory to work.
Ramesh had worked long, back-breaking days in the factory for a month when he was discovered by GoodWeave inspectors on June 7, 2011. He was 12-years-old at the time. Today, 13-year-old Ramesh has renewed his studies at the LAB school, one of Nepal's premier private boarding schools. Ramesh now wants to become a doctor, and is very thankful to GoodWeave for supporting his education—and for returning his childhood to him.
Rescues like those of Ramesh are only possible because of GoodWeave's rescue, rehabilitation and education programs. Through GoodWeave's factory monitoring and inspection process, part of the best-in-class rug certification standard to which the organization adheres, GoodWeave is able to find and rescue children within mere weeks or months of the child starting to work there.

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Children's Stories: Manju

Twelve year-old Manju grew up in Sajban, in one of Nepal's least developed districts. Although she was a very bright student, Manju's father took her out of school when she was in the sixth grade and sent her to work in a carpet factory. Manju was denied the right to go to school in order to help pay for her brother's private school education.
Manju was very angry with her father for sending her to work while her brother attended an expensive school. In the carpet factory, Manju felt very sad, ignored and neglected.
"My parents never want me to go to school. My brother is going to school but I have to work for my parents. I don't know why they are discriminating me," Manju told GoodWeave staff after being rescued on June 15, 2011.
With the support of GoodWeave, she is now enrolled in the LAB school, one of Nepal's premier private boarding schools. Manju says that she feels her fate has changed. She is thankful to have the opportunity to study at such a good school because it puts her closer to her dream to become a doctor one day. "I am very happy now and one day I will show my parents that I can do better than my brother. I would like to give many thanks to GoodWeave for supporting me," Manju told GoodWeave.

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Children's Stories: Tanka

Tanka has had a rough life from the start. His mother died when he was just three-years-old, forcing him to live with his alcoholic and abusive father and step-mother. Unable to tolerate life in the violent household as he grew older, Tanka chose to go with a man to Kathmandu. He was sad that he had to leave school, but he never wanted to return to the life of constant abuse.
In Kathmandu, Tanka wove carpets for three months. On June 2, 2011, GoodWeave inspectors found 12-year-old Tanka and took him to the GoodWeave rehabilitation center.
At the center, Tanka's intolerable early life was apparent from his disruptive behavior. He got into many fights and bullied other children. He told the staff members that he felt like fighting when others teased him and when he felt hopeless. But as time went on, GoodWeave social workers saw improvement in Tanka's behavior from their patience and persistence in working with him. Tanka received the love and care from GoodWeave that all children deserve, but that he had never received at home.
Now, 13-year-old Tanka is excited to focus on his studies. He is unable to go home because of the likelihood of abuse, but is fortunate that GoodWeave can support him through its residential care program. "I am happy here and would like to continue my education," Tanka says. "If there was no GoodWeave then I have had to weave the carpet, which will ruin my life."
  

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Children's Stories: Anjana

The eldest of six children, Anjana has spent most of her childhood helplessly watching her abusive father push the family deeper and deeper into debt because of his heavy drinking. The young Anjana bravely tried to meet expectations thrust upon her to become the breadwinner of her family, but did so at great costs, emotionally and physically.
Anjana was forced to leave school when she was in the second grade to become a dishwasher in a local hotel for a mere Rs. 500 ($9.30 USD) a month. Eventually, she was taken to a Kathmandu carpet factory by her aunt. Anjana faced very harsh conditions in the carpet factory. She had been working long, hard hours for two months when GoodWeave inspectors found her. Anjana was 12 years-old at the time she was brought to the Hamro Ghar rehabilitation center on July 6, 2011.
Anjana is now thriving in school and has reclaimed her childhood. "I am very much happy at the Hamro Ghar where I am getting the chance for reading, playing, sufficient meals, etc.," Anjana told GoodWeave staff. "I have more friends in this centre. I want to be a singer and dance in future." She loves to read and is admired by her friends for her spirit and accomplishments.

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Children's Stories: Kumar

Kumar's future looked bright until he reached the fifth grade at his Sandu Dhunga village school in Nepal. His father, a construction worker, could no longer afford to support the family on his income so he borrowed money. When the family's loan payments substantially increased, his father pulled Kumar out of school to work and eventually sent him away with a carpet broker in order to pay off one of the loans.
Kumar was taken to Kathmandu to weave carpets. He worked long, hard hours and constantly wept because he missed his family, friends and village. After two months of working in the carpet factory, GoodWeave inspectors rescued 12-year-old Kumar and brought him to the GoodWeave rehabilitation center on Dec. 16, 2011.
Kumar at age 13 is now back at home, studying with his friends in the village school under GoodWeave’s long-term community based rehabilitation program. Kumar hopes to become a teacher in his village after his schooling.

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Children's Stories: Sanju

Born to a destitute family, young Sanju
was sent to work in a rug factory in Kathmandu. Like tens of thousands of other “carpet kids” throughout South Asia, Sanju was exploited for her tiny, nimble fingers that were considered ideal for the intricate motions required for weaving. And like most child laborers around the world, Sanju received no compensation for her toil—she was a virtual slave. She went to sleep each night, wondering if tomorrow would ever be different.
That day came when a GoodWeave inspector found her and brought her to Hamro Ghar (“our home”), a rehabilitation center in Kathmandu. Today, Sanju is experiencing many firsts—from school to sports. She is pensive, but with an authentic laugh and has grown to be a mentor to the other young girls.
In the summer of 2012, the residents at Hamro Ghar participated in an art therapy exercise. The watercolor seen below offers a glimpse into that transformative moment when freedom awakens in a child. According to Sanju, it represents her journey from the grueling, stunting, unjust work of being a child laborer—to the happy, healthy girl you see now.

This is the actual watercolor that Sanju drew in the summer of 2012. She described to the teacher that both of the images are her—the one without arms was her in the past and today she is fully formed.

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Children's Stories

Children's Stories: Laughter and Forgetting: Binod

Watch Binod laughing and kicking a soccer ball around with his friends in the dusty yard at GoodWeave’s Hamro Ghar (a refuge for rescued child laborers) and Binod is just another kid. You won’t notice the depth of sadness in his eyes. He works hard to hide it. Binod has taught himself to NOT feel. It was a skill he almost perfected in the rug factory where he worked 15-hour days tying knots.
In a quiet moment of conversation when one might feel almost guilty taking him from his play and forgetfulness, he tells his story in short bursts. “I felt nothing inside. I was nothing,” he says looking down. Felt nothing but the pain is what he means. “Everything was full of pain.” That is until a GoodWeave inspector came… until he was rescued. “It was my good moment. I didn’t run. The boss said to run, but I stayed so they could save me and get me out.”
Before coming to Hamro Ghar the 13 year old had never been to school. His was a life of work and loss. His father died of tuberculosis. His mother ran off with a neighbor. The children struggled to manage on their own. “We never had enough food for everyone, or water to drink,” he says almost whispering as if he doesn’t want anyone to hear. Or, perhaps, doesn’t want to hear it himself. “Our house was a hut that had one room. We all lived in the room. When it rained outside, it rained inside too.” But at least they were together. However that wouldn’t last.
The children soon split up. A brother went to a factory. Binod was shuffled off to a cousin. Nothing worked out. It might have seemed like a good move when a local villager offered to pay for his bus ticket to Katmandu, but that trip was most certainly not to a better life. It was, of course, to a rug factory.
Binod’s story is familiar, but no less moving for being so. “There was so much pressure. The designs were so hard to learn,” says the child who now wants nothing more than to study hard to become a doctor and for whom learning at Hamro Ghar is a joyous experience. Oh yes, and there was the pain he has been trying so hard to forget. “Tying so many knots hurts so bad. We had to wash the blood off the rugs. We never stopped bleeding.” Wounded fingers, lack of sleep, beatings and endless work. That is Binod’s story. That is the story of forced child labor.
It’s evident no one and nothing can erase Binod’s memories of this twisted and downright Dickensian childhood. But the recuperative powers of children are well known and the power of loving attention, good nutrition and educational support he receives at Hamro Ghar are almost limitless. The brave little boy who dared to stand his ground when the factory manager ordered him to run from the inspector who would free him has this wise advice to share with other children who are in the prison of child labor. “Run away to a school… study and learn,” he says. “It’s the only way to a happier life.”
 by khushi yadav

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Schools and Opportunities

                                           Schools and Opportunities




GoodWeave matches each rescued child with an educational program, depending on whether they need to be close to home or at a boarding school. Children start with intensive literacy and math training to prepare them for formal education, which includes language training, social studies, math and science. Children also enjoy recreational activities and extracurricular pursuits in music and art.

GoodWeave-affiliated schools encourage high academic standards, and every effort is made to help children continue their education through high school. At the age of 14, children can also choose to enter a vocational training program to learn locally marketable skills, such as auto and motorcycle repair, tailoring and electrical wiring.

In addition to child rescue and rehabilitation, GoodWeave programs facilitate the prevention of child labor and the healthy development of weaving communities. These include daycare and early

Non-Governmental Organizationchildhood education, school sponsorship for children of adult weavers, adult literacy programs and health clinics. Your support makes it all possible. GoodWeave has provided over 11,000 children with schooling and/or rehabilitation and other vital services, funded entirely through  and the sale of GoodWeave rugs. For an unforgettable look at the childhoods that have been restored by GoodWeave's efforts, visit the  website or read th.

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