GlobalGiving.co.uk: Rescue and educate "carpet kids" in South Asia

Three Moments in the Rescue of Rajkumar

Rebecca Shaloff — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:22:49 GMT

Soon after he was found

Dear GlobalGivers,

Two weeks ago, on Valentine's Day, our team in Nepal found 13-year-old Rajkumar toiling on a carpet loom. He was forced to work to pay off a debt owed by his brother. In other words, he was a victim of bonded labor.

We want to share three photographs that capture critical moments of Rajkumar's rescue.

The first picture was taken shortly after he was found. His clothes were torn, and he was still afraid, but you can see the hint of a smile developing across his lips.

The second picture is Rajkumar being counseled by our veteran staffperson. Drona has been with GoodWeave for the better part of two decades, and is incredibly compassionate and adept when working with vulnerable children and communities.

The third picture was taken the next day, after Rajkumar had been brought to our transit center in Kathmandu. This is the moment he walked out in his brand new school uniform. Before that afternoon, Rajkumar had only been enrolled in school for three months of his 13 years.

These three moments - and the many more uplifting ones to follow for Rajkumar - are what this project is all about. This is what your support makes possible.

From Rajkumar and all of us -- thank you.

Being counseled by the head of our team

Decked out in his new school uniform

Giving Freedom on this Giving Tuesday

Nina Smith — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:54:57 GMT

Sanju (right) with a friend at the rescue center

Dear GlobalGivers,

We recently received an envelope from our rescue center Hamro Ghar in Kathmandu, Nepal - home to "carpet kids" we find working on looms who have no safe place or family to return to. Inside the package were watercolors that our beneficiaries had drawn - inspired by the concept of freedom.

When asked by their teacher what freedom means to them, many of the kids answered with words like “food,” “doctor” and “education”—things we in this country take for granted as basic rights for children. Hamro Ghar provides those necessities so that rescued children can imagine even greater freedoms. The watercolor seen here, created by Sanju, offers a glimpse into that transformative moment when freedom awakens in a child. It represents her journey from the grueling, stunting, unjust work of being a child laborer—which impacts 215 million children around the world—to the happy, healthy girl she is today.

I share this with you because I want you to know: your donation not only helps us rescue children from looms—you’re giving them the freedom to shape their future as they embark on a new life. Thank you for all your support of the project Rescue And Educate "Carpet Kids" In South Asia, at this year-end season and all year long.

With gratitude and best wishes for a happy holiday season,

Nina Smith

Links:

A photo album of inspiring artwork from project beneficiaries

Attachments:

Watercolor drawing made by Sanju (PDF)

Maya-A One in a Million Girl

Nina Smith — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 20:49:49 GMT

A life transformed, thanks to your support.

Dear GlobalGivers,

With your support of the project Rescue And Educate "Carpet Kids" In South Asia project, GoodWeave has worked for many years to rescue children from labor and exploitation to transition them to school. Eleven-year-old Maya, a beneficiary of GoodWeave programs, is one success story.

Growing up in Nepal, Maya watched as her two older brothers were sent to work as servants to repay their father’s gambling loan of $34. Maya dreaded she’d be next, and then she was.

Maya was taken to a Kathmandu carpet factory and forced to weave rugs to pay off her father’s latest loan. There she suffered silently through taunts and beatings, stomachaches and fevers. She accepted that she would grow up illiterate, just like her brothers.

Then, earlier this year, on February 28^th, Maya was rescued by GoodWeave inspectors. Today, 11-year-old Maya is happy to have a safe home at the GoodWeave center and the opportunity to go to school. She is a disciplined and diligent student. Maya hasn’t decided what she wants to be yet, but that’s okay. Thanks to your committed support to Rescue And Educate "Carpet Kids" In South Asia project, she can now choose her own future.

With gratitude,

Nina Smith

PS. Just a reminder that on October 17^th is GlobalGiving’s final Bonus Day of the 2012. GlobalGiving is offering a match on all donations given on that day. This is a fantastic opportunity to increase the impact of your support to help end child labor and transform the lives of the thousands of children trapped in carpet work.

Also, please help us spread the word about this opportunity to your family and friends through Facebook and email.

This Will Make You Smile

Nina Smith — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:11:40 GMT

Getting ready for the talent show.

Dear GlobalGivers,

Thank you for being a part of the movement to end child labor, on June 12^th—World Day Against Child Labor—and year-round. I wanted to share an update about how GoodWeave in Nepal commemorated the occasion earlier this summer. I promise it will make you smile.

In recognition of World Day Against Child Labor, rescued child weavers at our rehabilitation center in Kathmandu put on a talent show presenting their dancing, singing, poetry and storytelling.

The winning performance came from a young boy who choreographed an amazing routine—his break dance moves and free spiritedness are all possible because now he can spend time on hobbies and classes, rather than exploitative work.

In addition to the talent show, this project also brought in health technicians to do a regular health check-up for the beneficiaries. Many kids who are forced to work in the carpet industry suffer respiratory disease, spinal deformities, wounds from sharp tools, and even premature arthritis.

Without our GlobalGiving supporters, neither of these events would have been possible. Thank you for contributing to the project Rescue and educate "carpet kids" in South Asia. Hopefully, with you by our side, one day soon we’ll instead be celebrating a new day—the day we end child labor.

With gratitude,
Nina Smith

A young boy receives a thorough wellness exam.

Links:

A former child weaver's winning break dance performance.

On June 12 We Honor World Day Against Child Labor

Nina Smith — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:54:09 GMT

Thank you for your project support!

Dear GlobalGivers,

June 12^th is the 10^th anniversary of World Day Against Child Labor, which marks the adoption of the landmark International Labor Organization Convention No. 182. It’s a call to action against worst forms of child labor, including carpet work.

On this anniversary, I wanted to thank you and all of our GlobalGiving friends for your generosity. Thanks to your investment in this project, GoodWeave is making significant impact. Since our founding:

we’ve rescued more than 3,700 “carpet kids” who have been offered rehabilitation, education, medical treatment and a home;
we’ve sponsored more than 10,600 emancipated and at-risk children in India and Nepal to attend school;
our partners have sold more than 8 million certified child-labor-free rugs.

Hopefully, with your continued support, we won’t need World Day Against Child Labor in the near future. Thank you for being a part of the movement to end child servitude—on June 12^th and year-round.

With gratitude,

Nina Smith

Links:

www.GoodWeave.org

Akkas, Now 16, Strong and Thriving

Nina Smith — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:56:20 GMT

Akkas today

Dear GlobalGivers,

By now, you probably know how our organization rescues children from slave-like conditions and transitions them from carpet loom to classroom. But you may not know about what happens after that. What becomes of these “carpet kids” when they grow up?

From the early stages to young adulthood, GoodWeave cares for the most vulnerable children in weaving communities, in many instances for years. I want to give you one touching and powerful example—about a beneficiary that I recently reunited with on a trip to Nepal.

We first met Akkas back in 2007. He was just 12 years-old and our inspectors found him in the middle of one of his shifts that lasted from 3a.m. to 8p.m. He was small for his age and lamented how he had to “drop his dream” of going to school after his parents sold him to a debt broker for the equivalent of $7.

When I recently visited Kathmandu, I paid a visit to the Lab School, one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the country. There, I saw Akkas, so much bigger and stronger than before but with his recognizable smile and charm.

Thanks to GoodWeave’s intervention of rehabilitation and education, Akkas is a healthy and athletic 16 year-old, who recently won numerous gold medals in track and field, including in the 100-meter dash and the long jump. Most importantly, he is living his dream of learning.

On behalf of Akkas, thank you for your ongoing support and partnership. Your support literally transforms lives.

With gratitude,
Nina Smith

Akkas 12 years-old

Links:

Learn more about Akkas and other rescued children.

You made their wishes come true.

Rebecca Shaloff — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:13:39 GMT

The cake.

Dear GlobalGivers,

This winter, we told you about a wonderful annual tradition in our Nepali rescue center. Almost none of the children we care for have ever had a birthday party, and many can't even tell you their birth date. So on the first day of every new year, we host an "(un)Common Birthday" celebration.

The residents of Hamro Ghar ("our home") are unlike most children. They have been treated as commodities for much of their young lives, put to work weaving rugs in dimly-lit and dusty loom sheds. But on January 1st, we made sure they felt like every other kid.

The images of their smiling faces speak for themselves. They danced, enjoyed a festive meal with cake, opened gifts, and received birthday cards from GoodWeave supporters around the world. When you see the photos here, or the full album on our Facebook page, please know that you are part of the reason they are smiling.

In March, GoodWeave's life-changing work was featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy in an article (attached) entitled "A Charity Braves a Shadowy Industry to Rescue Children." In it, they tell the story of 11 year-old Manju who was the first child rescued by GoodWeave in 2012. While her hands still bear the scars of her hazardous work, she has a contagious joy about her and our social workers report that she is one of the brightest students.

Thank you for helping us create new beginnings for Manju and all our beneficiaries, on January 1st and everyday.

With gratitude,

Rebecca

The dancing.

The gifts.

"Face of Philanthropy" feature article

Links:

"A First Birthday Party" photo album

Two More Reasons to Celebrate

Nina Smith — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:49:58 GMT

Kulmon

Dear GlobalGivers,

This is a season of celebration - some of us are observing Hanukkah, while others are preparing for Christmas and the New Year. Here at GoodWeave we are thinking of another kind of occasion - a birthday! Let me explain.

Thanks to you, Kulmon is getting food, clothing, shelter, counseling and an education. But there’s one thing he doesn’t have: a birthday. Like most of the kids we rescue, Kulmon doesn’t know exactly when he was born.

Before he was rescued by GoodWeave in March 2010, Kulmon had been ruthlessly trafficked between carpet factories in Nepal and India, his childhood consumed by long, crippling hours at the looms.Today, Kulmon is studying at GoodWeave’s Hamro Ghar (“Our Home”), the first stop for rescued kids on their way to a better life.

In October of this year, two of my colleagues had the privilege of meeting Kulmon. They remember his smile as he described the first time he ever celebrated his birthday: “We put colored paper in balloons and burst them so that there is confetti everywhere.”

On January 1, 2012 - a symbolic date of starting anew - GoodWeave will throw its annual "(un)common birthday" party for all our beneficiaries. You've already had a hand in making their wishes come true, but now you can also be there when they blow out the candles. Click here to send an electronic card that will be presented to the kids at the upcoming festivities: http://www.goodweave.org/e-card

And finally, we have one more reason to celebrate this holiday time. Last week, Google.org joined you in the fight against human trafficking and child servitude. They selected GoodWeave to receive a grant as part of their first-ever dedication of funds to end modern-day slavery. We've attached the press release with more of the details.

With wishes of peace and freedom for 2012,
Nina Smith

Cutting the Cake (2009)

Links:

Reaching for the STARS and a special message from Kathmandu

Rebecca Shaloff — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:16:02 GMT

A team effort...

Dear GlobalGivers,

We are proud to share some exciting news - our Nepal program has received the 2011 STARS Impact Award for children’s protection in Asia! The coveted prize, sponsored by the UK-based STARS Foundation, recognizes organizations that achieve excellence in the provision of services to disadvantaged children and demonstrate effective management practices.

As investors in this project, our victories are your victories, so we hope you will celebrate with us.

And we have another message from Nepal - this one directly from the beneficiaries. During his recent visit to our Kathmandu center for rescued "carpet kids", our colleague Scott Welker took two photographs that, taken together, are so touching.

The first picture is a group of our kids huddled around a table working on a project. The second is the result of their team effort - two colorful handwritten papers that simply say: "Thank You." They made these for you - the individuals around the world who have been touched by their plight and made contributions to their future.

With gratitude,

Rebecca Shaloff

...to say "thank you."

Links:

Press Release: GoodWeave Nepal Earns its STARS

Breaking the Education Barrier

April Thompson — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:58:08 GMT

Raj, former child weaver turned teacher

As the kids in our lives go back to school this month, we at GoodWeave can’t help but think about the children in Asia who won’t – including some 250,000 boys and girls weaving a rug as you read this.

Education can decide a child’s future – yet many kids in the weaving communities where we operate have no such choice. Government-run schools in Nepal and India are often inaccessible, contributing to a 40 percent illiteracy rate. Many parents face hard choices between having their children walk miles to attend a poor-quality school, or putting them to work making bricks, glass or rugs, which offers the lure of a more immediate pay-off for the family.

With your support, this project breaks down the barriers to education, in turn breaking the vicious cycle of poverty that entraps generations of families. “Education is the basic element of life,” said Raj Kumari, a rescued child weaver. “Ten years ago I was weaving carpets in a dark room, but today I am a teacher, bringing the light of education to kids who suffered like me.” Rescued by GoodWeave in 1997 at age 11, today Raj is a teacher and caretaker at Hamro Ghar (our home), GoodWeave’s rehabilitation center in Nepal.

Though Raj’s path is extraordinary, it is not unusual. Many children come to Hamro Ghar having little formal education and many strikes against them in life, but with support from GoodWeave and GlobalGiving, they often leap-frog through our accelerated learning program and go on to higher education or vocational programs. Given their drive to succeed and use the “golden chance” given them, they often perform just as well if not better on standardized tests, according to Ganga Battharai, Hamro Ghar’s residential social worker and counselor.

“Many of the ‘carpet kids’ have had devastating childhoods, enduring beatings, neglect, sexual abuse, the loss of parental figures and other forms of trauma,“ said Ganga. “These children transform during their stay at Hamro Ghar in so many ways. They develop a positive outlook on their future and their own self-worth. They learn their legal rights and acquire life skills like negotiating and critical thinking. Many develop talent in sports, academics and other activities they didn’t know they had.”

Hamro Ghar (and Bal Vikas Ashram, its equivalent in India) sets the children up for success with a stable, supportive environment, providing nutritious meals, comfortable lodging, individualized counseling and education, and plenty of recreational opportunities. Yet this is just one of many forms of educational support we provide. In addition to rescued child weavers, GoodWeave serves at-risk kids and children of adult artisans with programs to include early childhood education, residential-based schooling, scholarships for top private schools and vocational training. Since GoodWeave’s founding in 1994, a total of 10,600 have received the life-changing gift of education.

No matter what road a child chooses with GoodWeave and GlobalGiving at their side, these educational opportunities offer a better life not only for the child but also for future generations. “I am providing my daughter a good education so that she would not be a child laborer like me. I cannot imagine having another child unless I can afford his or her education,” said Raj, who is now married with a six-year-old girl. “I didn’t know how important education was until I had it.”

Links:

Read more from our "back to school" newsletter

The Magic of Macy's

Rebecca Shaloff — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:25:53 GMT

Faces of Freedom signage at Macy's

For over a decade, GoodWeave USA has worked to get the nation's largest retailer to carry certified child-labor-free rugs. Last month, Macy's officially launched a partnership with GoodWeave (see link to press release).

In July, Executive Director Nina Smith and I traveled to the Herald Square location in Manhattan to see this milestone come to fruition. In addition to the beautiful and prominent display of the rugs themselves, Macy's also agreed to show the "Faces of Freedom" photo exhibit. You can see all the wonderful images from this visit in our Facebook photo album (link provided).

This may be the first time a certified “slavery-free” product line has launched with a major department store – so this is an exciting moment for all of you who support our project. Most importantly, this will have a dramatic impact on the lives of current and at-risk "carpet kids" in India, where these rugs are manufactured.

According to human trafficking expert Siddharth Kara, child labor remains a pervasive problem in India, where children are coerced to work 16+ hours-a-day weaving carpets for export to Europe and North America. Kara remarked: “GoodWeave offers a successful, replicable model for transforming the industry, by putting the power into consumers’ hands to hold producers accountable for their actions and by giving them the choice of a child- and slave-labor free purchase.”

Thank you GlobalGiving supporters for helping us realize the Magic of Macy's!

GoodWeave at point of sale

Links:

Attachments:

New York Times advertisement (PDF)

Purnima is One in a Million

Rebecca Shaloff — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:43:08 GMT

Giggling

Dear GlobalGiving Supporters,

We just received the attached photograph of one of our beneficiaries in Nepal and we wanted to share it with you.

Eleven year-old Purnima was literally born in a Kathmandu factory where her parents worked as carpet weavers. She and her two brothers knew nothing about the outside world, but only the pain that came from her alcoholic fathers’ drunken rages and the hunger from barely eating two meals a day.

In Purnima’s world, carpet weaving was an exhausting daily routine until June 29, 2010 when a GoodWeave inspector discovered her. She is now enrolled in a second level class at GoodWeave’s rehabilitation center and receiving counseling to help cope with her tragic upbringing.

With your support, Purnima has entered a new world, as you can see from the image of her giggling, and she hopes one day to be a doctor to help other children.

Thank you for making this possible,

Rebecca

Jaidul is One in a Million

Rebecca Shaloff — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 18:45:42 GMT

Jaidul

Last December GoodWeave inspectors found young Jaidul working on a carpet loom in Bhadohi, India. He was far from his family's home in West Bengal. Jaidul told the GoodWeave team how difficult it was to survive with three siblings, a paralyzed father, and only two meals a day, so he started to work to supplement their meager income.

Our organization's staff accompanied Jaidul back to his village to reunite him with his parents and discuss the best way to keep Jaidul safe, fed and in school where he belonged. GoodWeave offered to sponsor Jaidul's education - one of the choices given to rescued "carpet kids" who feel comfortable returning to their local community.

But the story doesn't end there. GoodWeave's dedicated staff are sure to check-in on the children who return home. So in late April, we were delighted to see Jaidul again and hear about his joy of learning. His teacher said that he attends school every day and his mother proudly stated that with her son's education, he will be better able to help the family in the future.

Jaidul is just one of the beneficiaries of the GlobalGiving project "rescue and educate carpet kids in South Asia" that you generously support. He's also One in a Million - the awareness campaign that GoodWeave has launched to inform consumers about the estimated one million children once exploited in this industry and the one million knots that it takes to make a handmade carpet.

This week, GoodWeave commemorated World Day Against Child Labor. To honor the occasion, CNN International played two powerful segments about our work. Please watch the clip we've attached, get inspired, and feel proud that you are supporting this urgent and effective solution.

Next report, we'll tell you about the official announcement of our partnership with Macy's!

Links:

Inspiring three minute video about our work in Nepal

From Slave to Student, Narayan is One in a Million

April Thompson — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:10:07 GMT

While his elementary school peers repeated addition and subtraction drills in a classroom each day, Narayan wove knot after knot at a Kathmandu carpet loom. For eight years of his early life, Narayan was a bonded child laborer without access to education, toiling up to fifteen hours a day.

Now a bright, friendly high school student at one of Nepal’s most prestigious private schools, Narayan is an articulate student and a natural leader. Narayan was rescued from the factory by the nonprofit organization GoodWeave, which works to eradicate exploitative child labor from South Asia’s rug industry and provide educational opportunities for these young children.

“Because of GoodWeave, now I have a pen in my hand instead of working tools, knowledge in my mind and confidence towards life,” says the student. Narayan’s friends from GoodWeave’s rehabilitation center “think of their time as child laborers in the carpet industry as the dark age of their life. Now they really understand the power of confidence and dignity in life, and they know they deserve these things,” he explains.

GoodWeave’s new One in a Million campaign was inspired by the one million children who, like Narayan, were illegally working in the carpet-making industry when GoodWeave began in 1994. The campaign seeks to create awareness and build demand for the handmade rugs GoodWeave certifies as child-labor-free, ultimately eliminating this “dark age” practice from the industry.

Through the GoodWeave certification program, local inspectors in Nepal and India visit licensed manufacturers on a surprise, random basis. Companies that join GoodWeave and meet its strict no-child-labor standards are issued GoodWeave labels for their carpets, each bearing a unique, traceable number. When inspectors do find children working at the looms, they are rescued and provided free schooling, room and board, and counseling, among other critical services.

GoodWeave works to not only get children off the looms and back into schools, but otherwise help families overcome the barriers that keep them from putting and keeping their children from school. For example, the organization also sponsors education for children found to be at risk for carpet work, and provides daycare for the children of adult weavers to help prevent their children from ending up on the looms. Since GoodWeave’s founding in 1994, child labor in South Asia’s rug industry is down 75 percent, to an estimated 250,000.

By seeking out GoodWeave certified rugs, consumers can use their purchasing power help bring the number of child weavers to zero. And given the precarious state of the rug industry, rug buyers have more leverage than ever in the marketplace. From 2007 to 2010, the U.S. market for imported handmade rugs dropped a record 46 percent, as consumers bought fewer and cheaper rugs. Meanwhile, the price of key materials, such as high-quality Himalayan wool, is soaring.

In such dire market conditions, rug companies could easily be tempted to employ children (who typically earn a fraction of an adult wage) to lower prices and boost profits. And it’s even easier for companies to justify cutting corners by skimping on third-party inspections and monitoring services. Yet without the rigorous system of checks and balances provided by an independent organization like GoodWeave, the exploitation of children will remain in the shadows, far from view of not only consumers but often even the companies selling the rugs themselves.

Companies can do the right thing by becoming members of GoodWeave’s certification program, ensuring that the rugs they produce and sell are child-labor-free. While GoodWeave’s low company membership fees help to pay for inspections and social programs for weaving communities, on average, the fees are typically the equivalent of just a few dollars on the cost of each rug, and don’t come close to covering the full of its operations in Nepal and India. As a result, GoodWeave relies on donations for much of its funding.

Consumers can incentivize companies to do the right thing by only buying handmade rugs that bear the GoodWeave label. Their purchase sends a signal down the supply chain that a child’s life is more valuable than a few dollars’ bargain. A GoodWeave certified rug is truly one in a million, not only because of its handmade beauty will last a lifetime, but also because its purchase helps kids like Narayan enjoy the life of freedom that every child deserves.

Links:

Reflections on the past year, through the eyes of Kusum

Erica Auker — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 20:19:01 GMT

Kusum, in her school uniform

By early 2009, 12-year-old Kusum had already been working four years at the carpet looms near Kathmandu, Nepal, following in the paths of her two older sisters. All three of them, in fact, had been sold by their alcoholic father to labor brokers – Kusum was worth only $14 to her father. Besides being separated from her sisters, Kusum grew up without her mother, who died as a result of her father’s violence.

Kusum endured the harsh conditions of the carpet factory, toiling hour upon hour, day after day, with little hope that anything would ever change. But on March 9, 2009, it finally did. A GoodWeave inspector found her, rescued her, and brought her to a GoodWeave rehabilitation center.

Today, Kusum is 13 years old. She has started school, and spends her days studying, playing and talking with children her own age. For the first time in her life, Kusum is happy.

In a recent report from Bahadure, a GoodWeave factory inspector in Nepal, he talks about how individual children like Kusum are helped through rehabilitation and schooling:

“At first, when they were brought to Hamro Ghar (Our Home - the GoodWeave rehabilitation center), most of them were shy, frightened, and physically weak due to the exploitation... they have become confident, recouped their energies and spirit, and now speak and interact without hesitations and fear. They find ways and opportunities to bring out their hidden talents and show the world they are no less than children from rich families.”

GoodWeave is proud of Kusum and the courage and confidence she has developing since her rescue almost two years ago. In the below video, Kusum tells part of her story in her own words.

Links:

Hear Kusum tell her story in her own words in this video

A story and a song from Prem, Kathmandu, Nepal

Erica Auker — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:07:00 GMT

Prem, Kathmandu, Nepal

GoodWeave USA Executive Director Nina Smith from a two-week field visit to the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, where she visited our local partners and caught up with dozens of GoodWeave children in day care, residential rehabilitation, and inschool. One of them, Prem, sang to us in a voice that was bold and resonant – a video of his singing can be viewed on our YouTube page, linked below – and shared his story:

Prem is in the 10th grade at Nepal’s prestigious Laboratory School under our sponsorship. A friendly, outgoing, and charismatic teenager, you’d never guess that six years ago Prem was toiling at a Kathmandu carpet loom, far from his family in rural Nepal.

Rescued at just nine years old by GoodWeave inspectors, Prem made up for stolen years of basic education at our residential rehabilitation center. Next, he enrolled at the Lab School, where he now studies accounting and economics. He’s his class captain, helping maintain a peaceful environment by solving problems with his classmates. He told us he likes soccer, basketball, and poetry. And he said this: “If GoodWeave weren’t there, we’d still be in the carpet factory”.

Links:

See Prem sing in his video on YouTube

GoodWeave Board Members Visit Nepal

Sara Goodman — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:49:59 GMT

Happy Children, Learning and Playing

As I approached the looms, the woman nearest to me scooted over and patted the bench next to her for me to sit down. All day I'd been wanting to try to do the weaving myself. Without aid of a common language, my new friend very patiently showed me how to do the carpet weaver's knot. This kinship, this connection with textile artisans from around the world, is a wonderful feeling. It reaches back through the centuries, binds us together in the present, and will flow through us to future generations.

In early February, I journeyed to Nepal with fellow board member and weaver Mary Zicafoose to witness the good work of GoodWeave programs firsthand. Our first stop was GoodWeave's Kathmandu rehabilitation center for rescued child weavers. A boarding school with space for about 100 girls and boys, the center is bright and sunny, with a large play yard, bunkrooms for sleeping, a kitchen, three classrooms, and a computer lab. There are about 45 children enrolled, and all were concentrating hard on their studies.

The next visit was to a GoodWeave-sponsored daycare center for children aged two to five whose parents work in nearby carpet factories. From the two-year-olds cuddled asleep on large mats for naptime to older children seated at bright child-sized tables, this was a cheerful place full of smiling kids. The finger puppets Mary distributed to the children were met with squeals of delight.

We also visited The Lab School, one of Nepal's top private boarding schools. Some 15 former child weavers, rescued from carpet factories when they were young and sponsored by GoodWeave ever since, currently attend this elite boarding school. The Lab School admits "GoodWeave kids" who meet its academic rigor, and provides them with a scholarship co-funded by GoodWeave. These teenagers were polite, well-spoken, and extremely appreciative. After much conversation and photo opportunities, one of the boys asked to sing a Nepali folk song for us. His voice-sweet, and clear and strong-rang out as his classmates listened in respectful silence.

As weavers and dyers ourselves, we were eager to see carpets being made. We visited several GoodWeave-licensed facilities, like the one referenced in the first paragraph, all of which are routinely inspected by GoodWeave and are staffed only by of-age workers.

Carpet weaving is an art form, worked by artisans. It is a crime and a shame that for so long children have been exploited by unscrupulous producers in this field. But, thanks to GoodWeave, this is changing. Having witnessed this transformation for ourselves, and having seen so many happy, healthy children in GoodWeave social programs, our dedication as directors is redoubled. We couldn't more proud.

Having Fun with Finger Puppets

Links:

GoodWeave Certification Launches in 2010

Amy Bagwell — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:01:29 GMT

A Collage of Children's Art by Rescued Child Weavers

With the support of our dedicated family of supporters and industry partners, we are transforming the US market to bring us nearer to the end of child labor in the South Asian handmade rug industry.

In 2009, we increased U.S. market share for rugs certified by us to have been made without illegal child labor from 3.2 to 4.2 percent. This 30 percent growth stands in encouraging contrast to the overall 41 percent decline in the U.S. market. This economically difficult year has proven the motivating strength of our certification, and reinforced our belief that consumers will make ethical choices in their purchasing when given information and opportunity.

Also in 2009, 14 locations welcomed our Faces of Freedom photograph exhibition, co-sponsored by the US Fund for UNICEF, and featuring images by renowned photographer and humanitarian U. Roberto Romano. The installations were visited by 18,000 attendees, with 10,000 on-line viewers to date. The tour culminated with year-end installations at the Miami International Airport and the World Bank, with introductory remarks by University of Miami President Donna Shalala and Nepal's Ambassador Shankar Sharma, respectively.

Our transformative effect on the market is preventing children from being exploited. In addition, we provide direct assistance on the ground. In 2009, our inspectors in Nepal rescued 83 child laborers from carpet looms, and 3,400 emancipated and at-risk children are enrolled in school under our educational sponsorships.

In 2010, our new GoodWeave certification launches, with a renewed outreach campaign: The GoodWeave Campaign to End Child Labor. Our GlobalGiving project will shortly be revised to reflect this reinvigorated campaign, and the expanded impact for which GoodWeave brings promise. Soon, in addition to providing your best assurance that a handmade rug is child-labor-free, the GoodWeave certification will include other humanitarian and environmental criteria, from living wages for of-age workers to environmental benchmarks for waste products.

We are also shifting the GlobalGiving country categorization to Nepal, where we inspect 50 percent of carpet production facilities, in order for donors and other interested individuals to readily find us. Our work in Nepal was recently exemplified by a visit paid to our Kathmandu rehabilitation center for rescued child weavers by the principal of Creative Matters, one of our devoted industry partners.

She spent a sunny afternoon on the center’s rooftop, teaching a painting class to 33 of our children. As she describes:

"I instructed them to paint themselves in a setting that they liked and, WOW, the results were amazing…One boy painted the RugMark house that they all currently live in, with him on the roof flying a kite…Gorgeous work. And they were so proud of themselves. I couldn't take enough pictures of them holding their artworks. It was absolutely lovely."

Photographs of these incredible children and their works of art are attached. In 2010 and beyond, we hope to do even more for them--and for the 250,000 remaining child laborers in South Asia's carpet industry.

A Child Models for Friends

Self-Portrait

2008 Audit

Erica Auker — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:54:00 GMT

For supporters of RugMark interested in knowing more about our 2008 financial statements, please feel free to browse through our recently completed audit.

Attachments:

2008_RMF_audited_Financial_statements_final_June_17_2009.pdf (PDF)

Faces of Freedom

Nina Smith — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:32:55 GMT

Sunita

Out of economic desperation, Sunita’s family sold her to a thekedar (broker) for the equivalent of $2.50. She was made to work 18 hours a day as a carpet weaver and domestic servant to pay off the “loan.” RugMark rescued her in 2005, and from then on Sunita began to live and study at the RugMark rehabilitation center. Now 12, she dreams of teaching Nepali and English.

In the time since RugMark’s founding in 1994, the number of children working as weavers in South Asia has been reduced from 1 million to 300,000. And while this is a great improvement, there is still much left to be done. Part of what makes child labor so intractable is its invisibility. RugMark endeavors to bring light to this issue through Faces of Freedom, the traveling photo exhibition. Co-sponsored by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Faces of Freedom is part of RugMark’s Most Beautiful Rug campaign to end exploitative child labor in the handmade rug industry.

In this collection of images, award winning photographer U. Roberto Romano brings consumers, interior designers and industry entrepreneurs into the hidden loom sheds in South Asia, showing them the poignant faces of bonded carpet weavers as well as those liberated from the looms by RugMark. The stories of Sunita and many others like her remind viewers of their impact on the lives of children across the world, and of the real life difference made by RugMark.

In February, the collection debuted in its first major public venue at the Senate Russell Building Rotunda, in conjunction with a standing-room-only event to honor Senator Harkin. The images have since appeared at the Minneapolis Children’s Theater, George Washington University, and Robin Gray Design, among other venues, bringing the estimated total number of viewers to date to nearly 13,000, not including online viewers totaling over 3,000.

Over the next several months the exhibition will reach thousands more viewers as it travels all over the U.S.; the tour will be highlighted by a month-long display at UNICEF House in New York City. We welcome you to view the full image collection and tour schedule online at www.FacesofFreedom.RugMark.org.

Your support makes it possible for RugMark to share the stories of these “carpet kids,” underscoring the opportunity for each of us to make meaningful difference by choosing child-labor-free. With every ethical RugMark certified purchase, resources are being redirected back to impoverished weaving communities in South Asia, educating thousands of children and sending an important. Thank you for your help in bringing children from carpet looms to classrooms.

Please share your thoughts on this update in our comments section!

RugMark Offers Hope to Former Carpet Slaves In 2008 RugMark inspectors in India and Nepal rescued a

Heather Joseph — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:14:32 GMT

In 2008 RugMark inspectors in India and Nepal rescued and rehabilitated over 116 enslaved child carpet weavers, bringing the number of rescued children to over 3,200 since RugMark’s founding. Every single child is offered an opportunity to reunite with their families and to get an education. RugMark ensures that students have the necessary financial and social support to stay in the classroom and off the carpet looms.

Nina Smith, RugMark USA’s Executive Director, recently returned from a trip to India and Nepal where she visited RugMark’s schools and was able to talk with many of the former child laborers and children of adult weavers who are studying with RugMark’s support. Laxmi Shresta was one such student. A RugMark inspector rescued her from a carpet factory at the age of six and she has since flourished as a student in Nepal. Now 18, Laxmi is the pride of her family, studying hotel management, speaking fluent English and offering hope to her mother and three sisters. Her family can barely scrape together the 1,500 rupees (equivalent to $20) to rent one dilapidated room for their home. Laxmi’s education will break the cycle of extreme poverty that has kept her family living on the edge. Laxmi's mother said that "RugMark is Laxmi's second family". RugMark continues to offer hope of a better future to more children like Laxmi each year.

While much progress has been made in Nepal and India, the number of children rescued from factories and enrolled in school remains directly connected to how many companies and consumers in rug purchasing countries, such as the United States, care about the issue. RugMark USA recently launched a travelling photo exhibition, Faces of Freedom, in order to drive home this message. A collection of 50 images captured by photo documentarian and filmmaker U. Roberto Romano, the exhibition takes you behind the looms and inside the carpet factories of South Asia. The photos also connect you to the positive, real-life difference made by RugMark and its partners.

2007 Audit

Rebecca Shaloff — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:31:29 GMT

For supporters of RugMark interested in knowing more about our 2007 financial statements, please feel free to browse through our recently completed audit.

Attachments:

2007 Audit (PDF)

In Honor of Iqbal

Rebecca Shaloff — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:15:33 GMT

There are stories that offer hope, bring tears, shed light, teach lessons… but only a few start movements. This is the story of Iqbal Masih and the birth of RugMark.

Each spring, RugMark commemorates the tragic murder of Iqbal Masih, an indentured carpet weaver who ultimately became the face of the child labor movement. On this 13th anniversary of Iqbal’s death, RugMark would like to announce a new initiative to continue his legacy.

RugMark is assembling a photo exhibition of South Asia’s ‘carpet kids' to tour the U.S. later this year. Iqbal put a human face on an otherwise anonymous issue. With your support, RugMark will traverse the country introducing more faces and making certain that companies and consumers face up to this problem. Iqbal is woven into all we do year-round and has now inspired the “Faces of Freedom” exhibit.

You may know the story of how four year-old Iqbal was sold into slavery in Pakistan for a loan the equivalent of $12. He was forced to weave rugs for six years, 14 hours-a-day, six days-a-week. Despite his relentless toil, the debt grew to 13,000 rupees or $260, an insurmountable sum in a country where 13% of the population live on less than $1 a day.

Iqbal was rescued at the age of 10. Having spent half of his life malnourished and in a cramped loom shed, Iqbal was only four feet tall and a mere 60 pounds. The most dramatic part of this story is actually what happened next. Iqbal became the ambassador of child slaves and traveled to the U.S. and Europe, where the rugs children make are bought and sold.

Lauded as a hero by the human rights community and fellow children still toiling on carpet looms, Iqbal was also perceived as a threat to a certain industry faction. On Easter Sunday in April 1995, Iqbal was murdered while riding his bike in his hometown. Over a decade later, the case remains unsolved. It is widely held that he was targeted by the so-called 'carpet mafia’ for his highly visible role.

RugMark was born in the wake of Iqbal’s death and is dedicated to ending child labor, one industry at a time. In addition to inspecting carpet manufacturing facilities and offering educational alternatives to those rescued, RugMark confronts the invisibility of child labor. It is difficult to see small children hidden in dark loom sheds, their sweat and tears absorbed by the yarn. RugMark, with your support, shines a light on this inhumane practice for all consumers to see and creates a transparent trading system so shoppers know the responsible option.

With "The Most Beautiful Rug" campaign, RugMark USA ensures that no one can claim ignorance of this injustice. Since its debut, RugMark’s market share has doubled, touching the lives of 10,000 child weavers, generating $250,000 from certified rug sales to support social programs in artisan communities, harnessing the power of 75,000 consumers, and partnering with almost 50 companies to build ethical supply chains.

On this anniversary, let me thank you again for supporting RugMark's work to end child labor in the way that Iqbal began - by reaching consumers. Please stay tuned to RugMark's website for more information on the "Faces of Freedom" exhibit.

Picturing an End to Child Labor

Rebecca Shaloff — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:38:58 GMT

Laxmi in 2000

Nearly a decade ago, a single photograph captured the plight of one million ‘carpet kids’ and helped launch RugMark USA’s campaign to end child labor. Rescued nine year-old Laxmi Shrestha, with her stoic yet innocent expression, was seen in stores and homes throughout North America. Laxmi came to symbolize the tragic consequences when children are forced into an adult world.

Today, I’d like to paint a very different, but equally powerful, picture for you. RugMark has reduced child exploitation in South Asia’s handmade rug industry by two-thirds. As for RugMark’s poster child, Laxmi is now 16 and enrolled in college. On a visit to Kathmandu this summer, I found Laxmi laughing with fellow students at the Laboratory School, one of Nepal’s foremost academic institutions. I wanted to share this recent photograph with you (link below).

To transition the remaining 300,000 children from carpet loom to classroom, RugMark USA unrolled "The Most Beautiful Rug" consumer awareness campaign in 2006. A snapshot of the campaign after one year shows the face of RugMark is indeed changing. From the pages of "Good Housekeeping" to "Fast Company", the websites of PBS to "Interior Design", the channels of CNN to "Conscious Living", RugMark has brought unprecedented attention to the problem and galvanized millions of shoppers to be part of the solution.

In 2007, RugMark was labeled by one prominent design blog as “amazingly proactive,” hailed by a humanitarian magazine for “winning the battle to end child labor” and thanked by a former child weaver for giving her “a new birth in this world.”

The burgeoning consumer demand for RugMark rugs has brought results overseas – childhood was restored to 124 children like Laxmi already this year. And we’re just getting started. Fifteen percent of imported handmade rugs could carry the RugMark® label in the next decade, effectively eliminating child labor from South Asian looms. Unfortunately, child slavery is far from gone. Last month, a story broke that showed the world the urgency and importance of RugMark’s work. An investigation in India by "The Observer" uncovered a sweatshop, including workers as young as 10, making clothes for GapKids. In the aftermath, activists and experts have repeatedly cited RugMark’s program as a model to which the fashion industry and others should look.

Next year, RugMark USA plans to share its expertise with the child labor and wider fair trade movements. While still young ourselves, RugMark, like Laxmi, has grown up and our organization has valuable insight about how to build an equitable global marketplace that can transform individual lives. In 2008, RugMark will also work to expand its program – reaching even more children trafficked throughout Asia’s carpet belt. In order to do this, RugMark needs increased philanthropic support.

This season of giving, I ask you to make a contribution to move our mission forward and to honor how far we’ve come. Your investment will help RugMark to unroll "The Most Beautiful Rug" in new markets, share our model and rescue and educate more children.

Laxmi is a testament to what RugMark has achieved in under 10 years. With your support, imagine the picture we can create in the next decade.

Laxmi Today

Links:

The Observer article

Behind the Loom: The Story of Hem Moktan

Rebecca Shaloff — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:52:23 GMT

Every rug has a story; some are quietly woven into the fabric. This story takes you behind the loom to tell you the story of a child weaver.

Hem Moktan grew up in a squatter settlement in Nepal. His parents earned a small wage as farm laborers, but it was barely enough to feed their six children. So when a man came to Hem’s father with an offer to provide food and clothing plus a salary for work in the city, he considered it a great opportunity for his son.

Hem was brought to a carpet factory in Kathmandu where the hopes of his parents quickly dissolved. He was forced to work day and night, often half-starved and regularly beaten. After three years, Hem had earned 3,000 rupees - the equivalent of 45 American dollars. This is tantamount to slavery.

Hem’s story is not unusual. More than a quarter million children toil in South Asia’s handmade rug industry. Many earn nothing at all. They are subject to malnutrition, impaired vision, and deformities from sitting long hours in cramped loom sheds. They suffer respiratory diseases from inhaling wool fibers and wounds from using sharp tools. HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are commonplace in carpet-weaving facilities.

The enrollment of an American company in RugMark’s certification program is what ultimately precipitated Hem’s rescue in Nepal. Inspectors found Hem working in a carpet factory in Kathmandu at the age of 12. He was offered psychological support and enrolled in a RugMark-sponsored school for formal education.

Hem Moktan, now 19 years-old, is still working hard but in a classroom rather than on a carpet loom. Illiterate at the time of his rescue, Hem is enrolled in PTI college in Lalitpur, the first person in his family to accomplish such a feat. His goal is to be a social worker.

In Hem's own words: "My life up to today is only due to RugMark… my parents gave birth to me, but RugMark has given me the human life."

RugMark thanks all the GlobalGiving supporters who have helped provide the 'human life' to carpet kids like Hem throughout South Asia's carpet belt.

"The Most Beautiful Rug" Rolled Out

Rebecca Shaloff — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:42:00 GMT

With "The Most Beautiful Rug" now in its first full year, RugMark has evaluated the campaign strategies and written the following detailed report to share with our current and prospective investors.

Attachments:

GlobalGiving Progress Report 8.07.doc (DOC)

Facing Child Labor

Rebecca Shaloff — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:16:27 GMT

In April, the true beauty behind "The Most Beautiful Rug" campaign was revealed when two former child weavers from Nepal came to the U.S. to tell American audiences their stories.

Thousands came face-to-face with child labor and millions more heard their collective voice when Sanita Lama, Jaya Bhandari and RugMark Executive Director Nina Smith were interviewed on BBC’s "The World" and "Voice of America." Over the course of the 10 days, Sanita and Jaya had a poignant visit to the Statue of Liberty, saw the ocean for the first time, and most importantly, blossomed into spokespeople for the modern day anti-slavery movement.

Links:

"The Young Heroes of RugMark"