The Path to Healing: Remedying the mental scars of child labour

The declaration of the class 10 board examination results is looked forward to by students all over India. It is a time of uncertainty and anticipation, of hopes and dreams hanging in the balance. But amidst all this, it is also a time when better, brighter futures are written.

“I had never thought that I would get an opportunity to study again. I have done well in the exams. It’s a different reality that I am coming to terms to”, says Pradeep from Darbhanga, Bihar. “I want to get a job so that my family can get a better life. This is a new beginning for me.”

A few years ago, Pradeep had been rescued from a bangle-factory in Jaipur where he had been employed as child labour. He was not alone. For several children in India, who have been trafficked into the world of bangle-making, that is their reality. At the age when they are supposed to run amok and play, these children instead spend their days by large furnaces, blowing glass into shape, inhaling toxic chemicals and slowly losing the light in their eyes. This was the case of two boys from Bihar, both victims to one of the most treacherous forms of abuse; child labour.  

Pradeep was only twelve years old when he was sent to Jaipur and forced to work for 12 or 18 hours at a bangle factory. It was a life very different from the one his step-father had promised him when he had said that Pradeep was being sent away for education—one wrought with unhealthy conditions and frequent physical abuse. One day, Pradeep was so severely beaten and battered to the point that he was forced to flee. The neighbours found him crying loudly on the top of their roof and alerted the authorities. From what was perhaps the lowest point in Pradeep’s life, hope sprung anew. It was because of the neighbours’ intervention that he was finally rescued from the factory by the proper authorities. When asked where he wanted to go, Pradeep expressed his desire to go to his maternal grandfather’s home, where he was promptly sent.

He had been rescued from the bangle factory and reunited with his family, but in truth, Pradeep’s story had just begun.

The physical scars of abuse are easy to treat, but the mental wounds that it leaves on the mind of a young child linger, festering and growing till it consumes them whole. No matter how mature and strong certain children—primarily those exposed to less-ideal conditions— may appear to be, they are vulnerable beings by nature, and the need for help is innate.

With that in mind, volunteers from a local NGO which CRY – Child Rights and You, works with, met him (and his family) quite a few times, till he finally opened up to them and expressed his wish to go to school again. The team coordinated with the authorities in a local school and arranged for his admission in Class 8. They also arranged for him to attend special support classes in various subjects.

With the help of incentives and competitions, Pradeep was encouraged to learn to the best of his potential, and two years later, Pradeep’s diligence, combined with the continued support of the volunteers, culminated in him passing the 10th Board Examinations—and becoming the first person in his family to do so.

Similarly, Raju from Dumrawan village was lured by the promise of education into a life of making bangles by a trafficker. In a dark, closed room with nearly 25 other similar children, Raju was forced to toil away for 16 to sometimes 18 hours in a day. Rest was not an option in the factory, where the owner would often smear hot bars on the skin of the children who would express their unwillingness to work. Following Raju’s rescue from the bangle factory by the NGO, he was sent safely home. In 2018, he was enrolled in school, and continuously followed up by an NGO worker. Raju’s father was provided with a pushcart so that he could earn his livelihood, and his mother was connected to a government scheme, from where she availed a loan and started poultry farming. Even during the uncertain times of the pandemic, Raju’s family received financial assistance. Even now his family is linked with government schemes that enable them to earn their livelihood as well as generate disposable income. Raju himself was provided with adequate tuition support, and as a result he has passed his 10th exams with 63.4% marks and obtained first division. “I am happy that I have performed well. In the future, I want to study science”, says Raju, “We have received a lot of support. I hope that I can continue my studies and become financially independent”. Raju’s testimony to authorities have helped then nab a gang that takes children to work in Rajasthan.

Now, Raju is an active member of the Shakti Survivor Group, a community group that spreads awareness on issues such as child labour, child marriage and child trafficking and also important government schemes and regulations that they could avail and seek redressal from.

Pradeep and Raju are not only united by their similar stories of suffering, but also by the immense support they have received in terms of rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Their journeys serve as examples of how intervention and extended efforts for rehabilitation by NGOs such as CRY and its partners can transform young lives. Their lives are a testimony to the success of change, but the unspoken benefits of reform accrue to all those who are in the periphery of the lives directly changed. Both of their families can now proudly claim that their child has a good education. In Raju’s case, he is one of 13 children. In his village, the main profession is to work at the brick kiln, and so would have Raju’s siblings—had Raju’s story not led his family to promise that all those children will be sent to school to get an education. Because of Raju, the ones dear to him may get a chance at more opportunities and a better life.

Today, on the 12th of June, we observe World Day against Child Labour. On a day like this, Pradeep and Raju’s stories shine bright, as reminders of triumph over social evils. And although it is always heartening to hear stories of children overcoming odds to shine in life, we must remember that it is of utmost importance to try to build a society in which no child has to face such odds in the first place, in which no child has to fight for a childhood unburdened by the evils of child labour and abuse.