What happens when you run up against the deep problems of life and the mystery, you find that they aren’t any easy answers. This week, I was again reminded that it only takes a small number of dedicated people to effect change. Regardless of the adversity that the children in this community face, they are committed to encouraging each other and to break this vicious cycle of relying on child labor practices as the only source of income. These families are often landless and marginal farm households and cannot afford to send their children to school. The irregularity of the parents’ employment often see the children’ labor as an additional or more stable income source for the family. Even when the children do attend school, they are still expected to contribute to the family’s income.  The fellowship with BASE takes me different districts every other week, to the hardest places to reach in an effort to gain great insight of the causes of child labor practices. This community-based approach allows me to understand the factors that affect child labor recruitment and to formulate prevention strategies. Below are the stories of Amina and Dipak Chaudhary. I was caught off guard when I found out that they were siblings. Their last name is a common last name in the Tharu community.

Dipak Chaudhary is the oldest of four children, two sisters and two brothers. Dipak’s father died long time ago and the family is now being raised by their mother. At age 14, Dipak ran away from home to Kathmandu. His mother could not afford sending him to school and they do not own any land where he can at least work. For two years, he worked in Kathmandu in the carpentry business. His masters enrolled him in school, in Level 1 instead of Level 3. For two years, he was pushed back in his education and for his labor, he was paid a mere 5000rps ($71) a year. Most masters tend to enroll the child laborers in a lower grade because the enrollment fees are cheaper. When Dipak returned to his village for a visit, the Shanti Citizenship Child Club intervened and convinced him to stay and go to school. Dipak agreed to stay but later dropped out of school. He felt embarrassed that he was attending classes with students two years younger than him.  Again, the child club came to his side and attempted to find an alternative than Kathmandu.

The work of the Shanti Citizenship Club should be admired. The current child club president, Ginesh Chaudhary along with the other members thought that Dipak could build up on the skills learned as a child laborer and utilize them to build a career. The club wrote a proposal to BASE asking for funds to cover Dipak’s apprenticeship program. His proposal was approved for 5000rps. Dipak is now a certified carpenter, earning 250rps ($3) a day. To put it into perspective, as a self-employed Dipak makes $93 a year, $22 more than he was earning as a child laborer. He helps his mother to provide for the family.

His sister, Amina Chaudhary is now sixteen years old. She was sent to work in Gorahi, a nearby village, at the age of five. However, she ran away after few months as the living conditions were intolerable. Upon her return, her mother sent her to another landlord.  Amina worked from 6am to midnight every day cleaning the dishes, washing clothes and taking care of the landlord’s children.  In addition, Amina, who was six at that time, took care of the landlord’s one-year old by feeding and bathing her daily. She spent three years at the house until she was rescued by BASE in partnership with Friends of Needy Children (FCN). Her rescue came at a time when FCN was starting to provide financial help to children, those at risk of becoming child laborers. For now Amina is in school, after spending six years of her life as a child laborer and not attending school. However, she also goes to work to the same landlord every weekend along with her mother. Their double income along with Dipak’s carpentry position allow them to live comfortably.

So, yes.., there are no easy answers. For now, these stories illustrate the courage of a child club. It took 22 members of the child club and $71 to save Dipak and to encourage him to use his skills to advance his career. They helped him realize that he was capable of more and that he can use his skills to pursue a profession that will generate an income for his family. Ginesh and the club members I met are incrementally saving children from exploitation. The feeling of hopelessness that overcomes me is often due to my inclination of looking at the problem as a big and almost impossible one to tackle. However, I cannot succumb to pessimism, as I believe my reaction would be a dismissal of the time and resources that these children put in to saving each other from exploitation.

As promised, below are the pictures of the final product, the love blanket. It is probably better to start this blog by congratulating AP fellow, Maelanny who was also a peace fellow with BASE and had begun the blanket project prior to my arrival. The blanket represents paintings from 77% of former child laborers from Banke and Bardiya districts. After the collection of all the panels, they were assembled in two blankets. I really enjoyed meeting the children and understanding child labor issues. If you are in the United States, I will be inviting you to one of the events that I hope to organize upon my return. The quilts are a powerful tool of advocacy, a way that the children can relate to us on their experiences as child laborers and on the need for all of us to do what we can to eradicate the child labor practice. Maelanny will do the same in her home country Indonesia as well as when she returns to school at Oslo University. In the past, past fellows have been able to raise money for their organization and I am hoping that we can follow in their footsteps as BASE is doing a lot of good work in the community and can use more resources, especially in rescuing more children from child labor.

BASE staff with the two blankets

The love blanket

The love blanket

The inspiration to create another quilt, this time showcasing the Tharu culture came during my field visit with Maelanny to Bardiya District. I met Asmitha Chaudhary who invited me to her house and to meet her family. During our walk around her neighborhood, I observe her sister making a ‘byana.” A byana or as called in Tharu language “banka” is a hand fan, unique to the Tharu community. It I beautifully made of wool of colorful colors as well as bamboo sticks. I am particularly interested in creating a quilt out of these byana because; most of people who are affected by child labor practices as well as bonded labor are Tharu. The end result will be a compilation of these byana sewed together into a quilt. Unlike the love blankets where we had an idea of the end result, I have no clue on the byana project. This is a learning process for me and of course you will all be joining me on this journey. For now, cross all fingers that it turns out to be a good quilt.

Bayna. A Tharu hand fan. By Chantal U.

Bayna- a Tharu tradition

The difficulty of regulating child labor in Nepal becomes obvious as one travels across the country. While in Nepalgunj, we were served by a waiter who was probably around the age of 12. He cleaned our tables, cleared away the dirty dishes, brought us water and took our orders, tasks that he performs many times throughout the day and into the night. His piercing eyes seemed to silently condemn us for enjoying the naan that was served to us. I couldn’t help but noticed how many children were working in teashops and restaurants in Nepalgunj. These children were not the ones we saw in the villages, playing and interacting with us. They were not Birendra, Samita, the children who shared with us their homes and their future aspirations of becoming engineers. These children working in Nepalgunj are no more than 14 years old.  Yet, the harsh conditions in which they are compelled to work in have prematurely aged them. I take this moment to contrast what the government has legally pledged to do and what I experienced while in Nepalgunj.

It is worth nothing that BASE and other nongovernment organizations, recognized that one of the leading causes of child labor is poverty and to that end have implemented many programs aimed at boosting the literacy rate and at providing economic development to many at risk communities. Additionally, the government has implemented many laws and amended other rules providing free education, prohibiting the use of child labor and, establishing the minimum age for work and employment.

Children free of child labor, Banke District

Children free of child labor, Banke District

After a week traveling through the western part of Nepal, in mostly rural areas, I had for one moment forgotten about the pollution, the animals, the traffic, etc.  My scenery was instead replaced by mountains, rice fields, cows, buffalos and of course goats. I became inspired with the development that BASE is doing in the districts I visited. The child friendly village model is definitely working and I was fortunate enough to interact with rescued children and as stated in my previous blog, we collected paintings that will be assembled into a love blanket.  I returned to the city of Nepalgunj, a city with the record for the hottest place in Nepal (reaching above 104 degrees). Close to the Indian border, the city receives many visitors from both India and other Nepal cities, for business and touristic purposes.

Many international organizations (UN) and other NGO’s have their offices located in Nepalgunj. It definitely has a vibrant society, retail shops, restaurants, factories and hotels. If you are in Nepalgunj, you have to try the samosas, the best in Nepal.  There is the constant traffic and it has currently been exacerbated by the raining season which makes it almost impossible for travel. As typical of other Nepalese cities, the presence of the respect of all life that the Buddhist and Hindu religions inculcated in their followers is well and alive in Nepalgunj: all animals, I mean all animals, roam the street untouched. It is amazing to see the very narrow streets being shared by goats, donkeys, cows, dogs, and pedestrians, small and big cars in a somehow organized chaos!

I got a chance to talk to Dilli Raj Dhital, a member of the Nepal Bar Association and an expert on Nepal Human Rights. According to him, there are provisions in the National Constitution (1990 and 2000) and the interim Constitution that all pledge for the advancement of children and the right against exploitation with a specific clause that state that “no minor shall be employed to work in any factory or mine, or be engaged in any other hazardous work.” Additionally, the Nepalese government endorsed many international laws that indicate the government’s commitment to eradicate child labor. One of the international agreements is based on the Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC) ratified by Nepal in 1990. Under Article 32, state members “recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely […] to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.”

In 2000, the government even went further by raising the minimum age for hazardous work from 14 to 16 years old.  However, children under the age 14 are still prohibited from working and only those between 14-16 years can engage in light duty work or work that may not hinder their development.  Nepal is also one of the first countries to sign the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention Number 138. As per Article 1, by being a signatory to this convention, Nepal has the duty to “pursue a national policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and to raise progressively the minimum age for admission to employment or work to a level consistent with the fullest physical and mental development of young persons.”

The government legally committed itself to end child labor; however the progress has been delayed with the lack of the implementation of those laws into practice. The very fact that child labor issues are handled by three different ministries:  the ministry of Labor and Transportation, the Ministry of Women and Child and the Ministry of Land and Property should be of concern.

If it is not the lack of available laws, then what needs to happen to save these kids from further exploitation?

The sad reality is that everywhere I went, even where I was staying, I contributed to further exploitation of children. At my hotel, I was served by a boy who was probably 10 years old. He was still working when I went to bed and woke me up in the morning with chiya (tea) at my door step.  With every dollar that I spent in a restaurant in Nepalgunj, I reluctantly accepted the normalcy of employing children. These children, according to the law are prohibited from working. Yet, Nepalgunj, a fast growing city in Nepal, thrives on the exploitation of these children, crippling the next generation. I left the city wondering  about the  factories I passed, and if there are any children working there and what the likely consequence of those chemical exposures can do to their bodies…

Nepalgunj may be a flourishing business center, but at what cost?

What would my childhood drawings look like? When I was little, my father used to ask me to draw him and his friends. He would beam with pride as he shows off my drawings, which I was told were nothing more than just four lines to make legs and arms and an oval shape for the head! My childhood upbringing was fortunately free of forced labor of any kind and I was left to use my imagination in drawing all sorts of images. I am returning from a week visiting four child friendly villages in Banke and Bardiya districts. The experience brought back good childhood memories although I am sure my attempt at drawing will be as mediocre as it was in the past!

Sunita Chaudary, 16 years old. child laborer at age 12. Rescued by BASE.

Sunita Chaudary, 16 years old. child laborer at age 12. Rescued by BASE.

The process of making a love blanket:

A child transferring the image onto the cloth.

A child transferring the image onto the cloth.

The project involves giving each child a piece of cloth with the hope that they would visually depict their lives: whether as a child right now or as a former child laborer. The pieces will be assembled into a blanket: the love blanket. Past fellows have created amazing blankets from Nepal, Congo, Peru and Bosnia. The concept of child friendly villages is a blanket itself, a place where the children are surrounded by love and protection and free to have a normal childhood and attend school. The blanket once wrapped around us gives us a source of comfort and protection. The same concept is used for the love blanket. The purpose of the blanket is to compile the stories of the children, including former child laborers, who all live in these child friendly villages.  The paintings show a certain level of innocence, imagination, hope and fear as they draw not only what they see on a regular basis but also improvise with the use of bright colors (yellow cows, red goats) which make the pieces more interesting.

The children fist practice on a piece of paper and then paint those images on a piece of cloth.  I suspect that this concept of drawing their experiences on a piece of cloth, relying on their imagination is a foreign concept. But the children never shy away from participating and you can see their excitement the moment that the BASE staff translates into Nepali our instructions and the purpose of our visit. The children giggle, laugh at each other’s attempt at drawing a person and copy each other’s concept. The innocence of the children is undeniably the same everywhere and transcends cultural boundaries. I myself used to rely on the school textbooks for inspiration on how to draw a dog or a house. Some children look with a blank face while others chew on their pencils, their mind pacing hoping to eventually land on an inspiration thought enough to translate into a picture.

The thoughts finally come together into pictures on their piece of paper and their mind goes somewhere else, a world they would like to imagine or for the former child laborers a world they would rather forget. Some of the children manage to draw their experiences; others draw obscure and dark images and others imagine trees being blue or yellow.

Birendra Chaudhary, 12 years old. was a child laborer from age 8. until he was rescued last year.

Birendra Chaudhary, 12 years old. was a child laborer from age 8. until he was rescued last year.

Ram Prasad Tharu and Berandra Chaudhary copying each other!

Ram Prasad Tharu and Berandra Chaudhary copying each other!

The most reoccurring images are the Nepali flag, a house, water pumps, things all too familiar to them. As the images start to take form, from a paper to a cloth and added colors, the children’ faces bloom with joy and excitement in anticipation for the final product. The pieces that they produce all tell a different childhood experience. They are all colorful with the popular color being yellow and pink. I am excited to see the final product. My hope is that the blanket will tell the stories of Nepali children, and serve them justice in explaining their daily lives, their struggles, their experiences and most importantly their longing to have a normal childhood.

A week has passed since I have been in Nepal. I am now in Tulsipur where I will be living for the remainder of my time here. The organization that I am working with is called BASE (Backward Society Education). It is a grassroots people’s movement involving around 200,000 members. It is an organization that is ever growing in order to include other programs, all with the aim of promoting the education to marginalized communities. Their major focus and one of the programs that I will be closely working on is on the issue of spreading awareness and advocating for the ratification of child rights laws, especially in the movement to end child labor.

One of the most stellar attributes of BASE is that they advocate for a community-based approach to development and problem solving. For example, for their movement against child labor, they have recognized Child Friendly Villages (CFV) and BASE works with the families and children in those communities. This Child Friendly Villages model is a tool of changing communities into child laborer free societies by working to eliminate child labour practices and working towards having all the children attend school. It is quite an impressive program and in my opinion a way to empower the communities themselves in effecting change.

There are about 244 child friendly villages located in five districts: Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali, Kanchapur.  BASE is involved in educating the parents about the children’s rights and the need for them to go to school. The model has been successful and in 2010, BASE annual report found that in those child friendly villages, school attendance increased by 64% (the number of children going to school in 2007 was 12,111 and in 2010 it was 22,269). The number of child laborers decreased by 59% in those villages (from 2093 in 2007 to 771 in 2010). One of BASE staff shared with me that in those villages, the communities (families and children) have agreed to all work together in order to end child laborer.

This week, I am joining another AP fellow, Maelanny Purwaningrum as we travel to Bardiya and Banke. The purpose for this visit is to further our work in producing love quilts with the children in those CFV as well a chance to interview some of the former child laborers. BASE is an amazing organization and all the staff have been very welcoming and willing to show us around and to explain to us all the different programs that they are working on. I hope to highlight in future blogs other programs that they are involved in.

If anything about the next two months in Nepal is going to be like the last 48 hours, then you are all in for a good treat and a good laugh. On June 15, 2011, I decided that I had waited enough for an Indian Visa and would rather attempt to get a visa to Nepal. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be a peace fellow in either country. With a flight booked for June 18, 2011 to New Delhi and no visa, I was pretty sure that I was not going to go there, let alone anywhere else. But, I figured, I never give up until I have exhausted all remedies.

So, I marched to the Nepal Embassy with a smile and a conviction that if I get to speak to someone then at least, I could know how long I should expect a response. This is the moment that I take and thank the staff at the Nepali embassy for their patience and their understanding of the fact that I had a plane to catch on June 18, 2011. Not only did they expedite my request but they also called to further assist me with anything else I needed. I was ready to depart, but had not made any preparations whatsoever. I had two days to buy all I needed, book my ticket to Kathmandu, pack and say good-bye to my friends and family.

In the afternoon, I was caught in the rain with no umbrella and a huge shopping bag with all my items for the trip. Great…. I was soaked in rain! I said to myself if this is how the monsoon season is going to be, then I cannot stop in the middle of my work because it is raining! So I marched on and cursed at the rain… I passed people who were braving the rain, albeit, they had an umbrella. One lady took a look at me probably saying: this poor girl with an oversized shopping bag soaked in rain and wearing flip flops! She offered to share her umbrella. We talked about how we hated the rain and how the weather channel is always off on the weather! (a smart lady never forgets an umbrella)

It is during our conversation that she informed me that she had spent six months in…. NEPAL!!! I am not quite been to a level of writing that can fully express how I felt. Here I am, in the middle of the street in downtown D.C, under an umbrella with a complete stranger and talking about Nepal. My day ended with a new appreciation for Nepal. Both my experience at the embassy and the lady with the umbrella sent a warm feeling. I knew that regardless of what would transpire in the next day before my departure to Nepal, I was ready and prepared and it felt right.

But what I was not ready for was the cold that I got the next day. My courageous act of embracing the rain came with consequences. I was coughing and now I am voiceless….what a good way to travel! All the medicine that I bought for Nepal was prematurely opened as I continuously took medicines so I can feel better. I was not going to let this cold delay my trip!!!! So I took lots of fluids and medicine and managed to pack. I will tell you later once I open my luggage if what I packed was important or relevant to the climate of where I am going. For now.. a word of advice is.. do not pack your luggage after you have taken Nyquil!