A rag pickers day .....

Some Child laborers Work here too ...

A pig loitered around and foraged in the garbage. She stood in the corner afraid to move in the heap. She was afraid of the animal. The animal grunted and then kept sniffing the plastic bags lying around. The little girl stood in the corner. She searched for a twig or a stick. She could find none. She picked up a stone and threw at the animal. The animal moved towards the other side of the heap of garbage. The little girl stepped into the heap and started collecting the plastic bags. She took the plastic bags shook the contents out and kept the bag in her plastic sack. She was a rag picker. Her job was to collect plastic bags and bottles. She did it every day. She moved further in the heap picked out up a plastic bottle. There was something written on it but words were of no use to this child labor. She was never introduced to the wonders of words. It was a bottle of some milk product. She brought it closer to her nose and soon she removed it. The smell was repugnant. She kept it in her sack. The child foraged in the place where the pig looked for food. A lady from the nearby building came. She was carrying a dust bin in one hand and a small packet in the other. The little rag picker looked at her and smiled. She stepped down to the side of the heap. The lady came nearer and shouted to her, “Hey  ...Chutki take it and throw near the far end of the wall.” The child laborer dropped her sack and ran towards the lady. She took the dust bin and ran over the heap of garbage and poured out the contents. The foul smell from the bin rose. The pig ran towards the content, a few dogs also came towards the fresh dump. The girl handed over the dust bin to the lady and smiled. She wiped her hands in her frock and bent to gather her collection in the sack. The lady handed her the other packet in her hand and said, “Eat it… You might be hungry.”

The girl smiled she didn’t speak. She sat down on a stone nearby opened the packet and started eating. She occasionally fed the dog which squatted nearby. This was the only dog which never barked at her unlike other dogs. The child laborer ate the food and kept the plastic packet in her sack. The little laborer who was also a child took her sack and walked towards the next lane in hope of collecting more plastic bags and bottle.

The laborer had no schools to go and no friends to play. She had only a dog following her. Slowly they faded in the distance.

There are millions who suffer daily across streets around you. Spare a thought for them. You can find ways to make them smile. A small step is beautiful. Give a smile, a kind word or just a polite look. This will be a small step for a journey towards fighting this social curse of child labor.

Mail your suggestions to ling2liang@gmail.com. Your ideas can help change the world, Spare a moment contribute a THOUGHT for a child labor