Building a Future for Brick Kiln Children in India

Nagobai is 60 years old and works at the brick kilns in Thane, along with her two daughters and their families. Nagobai is illiterate and her two daughters, now in their 30s, only received education up to 5th standard, dropping out of education when they were 10 years old.

Like many brick kiln workers, Nagobai and her family migrate for this seasonal work each year. She comes from Gulbarag in Karnataka. There is no work available in her village and the monsoon destroyed her home. The family were struggling to eat, so they started working for the brick kiln 2 years ago.

Nagobai and her family get paid 1Rs per brick they have made. It takes 5 people three days to make 1000 bricks. This is back-breaking work. The family wake up at 1am and work until 8am to  make the mud ready for the mounds. The family then make the bricks and let them dry in the heat of the sun.  The work is intensive, with 3 diferent stages to the process and there is little time for rest. The family grabs sleep when they can, only managing a few hours between 9pm-1am each day.

Nagobai wants a different, better life for her 6 year old twin granddaughters and one 4 year old granddaughter who live with her at the brick kiln.  She knows that completing education is the best opportunity to escape a future of hard labour. The children were attending a school in Karnataka but, in common with virtually all brick kiln children, had to drop out when the extended family migrated for work. Due to the family's poverty, they cannot afford to send the girls to a good English medium school. The non-formal schools that we fund provide the girls with their only opportunity to gain an education. Nagobai has noticed changes in her grandchildren over the past year. They can now talk about themselves in Marathi and English and write perfectly. She is very happy that the children are getting the opportunity to learn.

Nagobai also values the nutritious lunchtime meals provided as part of the school day. The family can only afford to feed their grandaughters simple food of roti and vegetables once a day, and the additional meal is helping the girls grow and develop.