Author: Salesian Missions

Publication Date: October 03, 2011

A Brighter Future For Child Laborers

Bala (not her real name) is only eight years old. She spends her days in a dusty, dirty brickfield in India working alongside her parents and 11-year-old brother. Together, the family of four makes 1,000 bricks a day and earns $5.56. It's barely enough to feed themselves and avoid starvation.

Bala and her family are too poor to live in a house. Instead, they sleep in a temporary shelter infested with bugs and surrounded by mud. They are chronically malnourished, lack adequate sleep and endure constant pain.

Children like Bala and her brother deserve a better life – which is why the Salesians are in the process of building a new community center in Passor. Although the center is currently open with limited services, more funds are needed for additional buildings and the purchase of food and medicine.

The new center will offer a safe and clean place where small children can learn and play. It will be a refuge where child laborers can escape for a few hours of learning, recreation, rest and a nutritious meal. And it will be a beacon of hope for families struggling to provide better lives and more opportunities for their children.

Someday, we hope that children like Bala will never have to sacrifice their childhoods just to put food in their mouths. That someday begins today with a new Salesian community center in Passor.

Your generosity enhances the lives of poor, exploited children like Bala and her brother. Please consider a gift that will help fund schools and community centers that provide the support and resources needed to end child labor and the vicious cycle of poverty.