Building a Future for Brick Kiln Children in India

In late January, I visited our fantastic partner working with the children of brick kiln workers in Thane. It was a deeply inspiring visit, where I could see the impact of the funding on the lives of the young children that the project is working with. There is so much I could say about this visit, so I will be sharing some stories and experiences over the coming few months.

I was particularly delighted to see how engaged all the children were in learning. Our partner has developed an alternative curriculum which uses creative and fun ways to engage the children in education. The children were very keen to demonstrate the different songs and dances that they use to learn English words and Marathi. The teachers really encourage peer-to-peer learning and it was great to see children standing up in front of the class and leading various activities. By doing this, we are helping the children to build confidence, leadership and communication skills which will prepare them for more skilled work.

The harsh reality of life for brick kiln workers was also very apparent. The conditions are very dusty and the parents told me they woke at 2am every day to do the hardest manual labour before the sun rose and it got too hot. I'll be sharing a little bit more about their lives as well over the coming few months.

Even though the project is running 'non-formal education' classes, our partner wants the children to feel like it is "real" school to encourage the children to eventually make the transition to formal education, so you will see in the photos that the children are wearing a special uniform.