Arvind was only seven. His brother was even younger. To help pay the debt, they left school and joined the production line at the beedi factory.
Suddenly they were working six days a week, 12 hours a day.
Arvind’s job was to cut the stem of the leaves, a job he never liked. He would cut his own fingers often.
“In the beginning my hands and my thumb would hurt but once I got used to then it was not a problem,” Arvind explains.
“I liked school. I did not want to cut the leaves.”
World Vision workers in the community were concerned that the boys had left school at such a young age.
To help the family they paid off the loan, on the condition that Arvind and his brother be allowed to return to classes.
They also gave the family four goats which now provide a much-needed addition to the household income.
Arvind and his brother outside their home - far too young for factory work.
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Arvind has returned to a World Vision transit school where the curriculum is designed specifically for children returning to the school system. Many of the children there have been released from bonded labour.
At the school Arvind learns his alphabet and numbers, gets a free lunch and plays cricket with his new friends. He loves it.
Arvind’s father is also delighted that his boys have a second chance for education. He wants the best for his children.
“Whenever I get extra money, I spend it on clothes for the children,” he says. “For festivals I get them two sets of clothes. I would like to give them more – but that is all I can afford."
