Asha Nepal Archives - Shared Hope International

In Congressional Briefing, Panelists Discuss Exploitation of Vulnerabilities That Lead to Child Labor — Photo credit: (Sharon Farmer/sfphotoworks)

By: Elizabeth Clapp

On Tuesday, April 8, a Congressional Briefing was held on Capitol Hill, entitled “Combating Exploitative Child Labor.” In attendance was Senator Tom Harkin, along with a panel of activists and professionals working within the anti-child labor trafficking movement. These individuals are on the front lines, helping young children who have been exploited by working in harsh conditions for the profit of others. David Abramowitz of Humanity United noted that child labor is “morally, physically, [and] socially harmful,” and that it keeps children from gaining opportunities such as education. One of the focuses of the briefing was on the exploitative roots of the industries that feed off of child labor trafficking.

A primary way that children end up working in these dangerous conditions is through the economic vulnerability of their families. Shauna Bader-Blau of Solidarity Center observed that in Liberia’s rubber plantations, if parents are given more than they can handle in workload, they will often recruit their families to help them fill the quota in order to pay the bills. Another way in which children end up in exploitative labor is if their families cannot afford to put them into school. As Ms. Bader-Blau confirmed, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) there are often school entrance fees that families cannot pay. Therefore, their children may join the tens of thousands of other kids working in the DRC’s cobalt and copper mines. The promising futures of children are stolen because the economic tables are turned against them and their families.

Shared Hope International acknowledges that economic vulnerability can be a factor that leads to exploitation, whether that comes in the form of labor or sex trafficking. That is why we partner with organizations worldwide to fight the epidemic of exploitation, focusing on sex trafficking. One of our partners is Asha Nepal, an organization that provides Nepalese trafficking survivors a welcoming home. These women are often lured by the prospect of a better job – only to become trapped in the sex industry. By offering education and job skills training programs, we work to encourage financial stability and independence.

Learn more here about Asha Nepal and the stories of Nepalese trafficking survivors.

We also partner with Sparsh, an organization based in India that provides a sanctuary for survivors of sex trafficking in India’s brothels and their children, as well as the children of the mothers still trapped in the brothels. One mother recalls she had worked long hours in a factory and heard about a job with higher wages. What she didn’t realize is that the new job required her to sell her body, health and dignity for hours each day in an Indian brothel. Economic disincentives such as these steal opportunities for a better life and drive people of any age into the exploitative sex trafficking and labor trafficking industries.

Learn more here about Sparsh and the stories of women escaping from India’s brothels.

Reshma looked like a child herself as she lay sobbing for her baby. In painful recovery from a C-section, but with no baby in her arms, she was inconsolable. Seven months earlier, she had nearly decided to abort, but a missionary she happened to meet in Kathmandu urged her to preserve the life and promised to take the baby and raise it. Besides abortion, that was her only other choice.

Reshma’s pregnancy was the result of one of the many times she was raped. From a remote village in Nepal, she was lured to the city with the promise of work, and ended up enslaved by a bar owner that sold girls for sex along with the drinks. She had no family to run to, no friends in the city, knew of no place to flee where she and her child could survive, so in mid-May when the baby came, the nameless little girl was delivered from Reshma’s womb into the hands of the missionary family.

The family had heard about Shared Hope’s partner, Asha Nepal, outside Kathmandu—a place that understood and loved young women like her and would offer her a place to recover from her surgery—and they made arrangements for Reshma to come to Asha Nepal. She was received with warmth and tenderness, something she was amazed to experience. But more than that, she learned that this was a place that was alive with children also! As she lay on her bed, hearing their voices, the regret of giving up her baby overwhelmed her. She had no idea there was a place like this–that would love and care for her—much less her child too!

The Shared Hope team arrived at Asha Nepal the day after Reshma came to them and was immediately caught up in the dramatic events as Asha Nepal’s director interceded with the missionary family to reunite mom and baby. With sadness but with blessing, they agreed to give back the precious little one that Reshma named “Angel.” There was great emotion at Asha Nepal and a joyful welcome into their new family when little Angel was placed in the arms of a beaming Reshma.

The timing of the Shared Hope visit was serendipity! It gave us a first hand, vivid demonstration of how our supporters love and generosity changes tears of sorrow to tears of joy! We’re so thankful!