Eradicate Child Labor in India
Storyboard Text
- In a small, rural village in India, an 11 year-old boy wakes up in a dusty one room shack. "Wake up, Arav!" his mother calls. "Wake up! You don't want to be late." Arav shoots out of bed and runs out the door saying "See you tonight, mother."
- Running down a dirt road with nothing in his hands, Arav chases after a figure in the distance. It is his friend Jeyesh. The road ahead is unpaved and rugged and difficult to see as it is still dark. “Wait for me!” Arav calls to his friend.
- Arav catches up to Jeyesh. “Oh, sorry”, Jayesh replies. “My mom made me leave without you. She doesn't want me to lose some of my wages for being late again.” Arav responds, “I can't be late again either. My family is running out of rice.”
- The two boys pass a school house and can see through open windows groups of children building something. Curious, they both stop to look. “Wonder what they're learning today? What class do you think Hiran is in?” asks Arav. “He is upstairs in the 3rd grade,” replies Jeyesh.
- As the boys begin to walk away, they hear a young voice calling from the window. “Arav! Jayesh! Come quick. Look at my experiment. It works!” yells Jayesh’s little brother Hiran with a big smile and bright eyes. They both shake their heads with disappointment. “Sorry we have to get the fields”, Jayesh quietly responds, as he turns back to the road.
- They continue down the road in silence as the sun continues rise. Arav says, “I wish school wasn’t so expensive. It sure beats working in the fields all day.” “I wish we could use the money we make to pay for school, but work takes so long we have no time for school anyway.” says Jayesh solemnly.
- “Hey, at least we make enough money to help our parents pay the bills. It is better than working as a servant to pay off debts” says Jayesh. “Yeah. I guess we can look on the bright side. We don't have to work in the mines!” said Arav.
- When they arrive at the fields for work and begin picking cotton right away. They work tirelessly the entire day picking cotton with no breaks, until the sun sets.
- Tired and dirty, the boys collect their money for the day, carefully sliding the few coins they earned deep into their front pockets. They begin their long journey home as the sun is setting.
- When they pass the school upon return home, it is empty and quiet. They stop for a second and stare at the building. “I know we both want to go to school, but if we didn't work, our siblings wouldn't get the chance to attend school like we did.” says Jayesh. They continue walking home in silence.
- The next morning, Arav and Jayesh meet up again and begin the long journey to the fields for work. “Morning. Ready to go?,” Arav mumbles sleepily. “Yeah, but my back is sore from yesterday,” responds Jayesh.
- In the distance the boys see a large, white pickup truck slowing moving down the bumpy road and heading towards the fields. The truck has a big, blue logo on the back. “Wow! I wonder what that's for?” exclaims Arav with great curiosity and excitement. They both run towards the truck that is now stopped at the entrance to the fields.
- When they approach the truck, a strange but friendly man greets them. “Do you boys work here in the cotton fields?” Both nodded “yes.” “You should be in school, don't you think?” said the man. “Well, yes. We liked school a lot, but our families need the money we earn picking cotton. Besides, it is our sibling’s turn to go to school now. We are done,” said Arav.
- That night when the boys arrive back in their neighborhood, they see the same white truck and strange man, but this time he is talking to their parents outside Arav's home. The parents are gathered around the truck. The white man is talking with passion, while the parents carefully listen and ask questions.
- Arav is lying in bed and hears his parents conversing late into the night.
- Early the next morning, Arav jumps out of bed. The sun has already risen, and he worries that he is very late for work. He looks around for his mother, but she is not in the kitchen. Outside he sees the white truck again, and his parents beside it. So is Jayesh and his family. His father is signing a piece of paper.
- He turns to Arav and says, “Arav, I have spent my life in these cotton fields because I never had the chance to learn a better skill that would bring us out of this poverty. But you have this chance. This man is giving you the opportunity to go back to school. His organization is paying for your books, and they are going to find ways for us to make ends meet so we don’t have to send you to work. You must do your part. Go to school. Study hard and learn new skills so that you don’t have to stay in this neighborhood and work in these fields forever. Go and get an education because it is our best chance for a better life.”
- The International Labor Organization’s (ILO) project to eliminate child labor is an affiliate of the United Nations, but it is largely funded by donations from people like you. Your donations will be used to help children return to school instead of working long hours for poor wages. In the end, it is an education that will allow them to truly support their families. The government of India reports only 12 million cases of child labor, while experts predict the real number is about 60 million. So many of these cases go unnoticed, and we are trying to change this. The ILO is trying to bring an end to the suffering of these 60 million child laborers. Three out of four child laborers work in the fields harvesting either coffee or cotton. The rest work in the mines or as servants. I strongly urge you to consider donating so that these children can learn the skills they need to obtain higher paying jobs. In the end it is an education will help not only them but their families out of poverty.
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