Building futures: Combatting child labour in Pakistan

Childhood should be a time of joy, discovery and development.

However, across the globe, a staggering 152 million children (aged 5 to 17 years old) are trapped in a life of child labour.

Around half of these children are working in hazardous unsanitary, unsafe conditions. Robbed of their right to gain an education, their physical and emotional wellbeing suffers immensely.

Working in mines, factories, farms and on street stalls, these children are simply unable to enjoy the joys childhood.

Sadly, for these boys and girls, the right to play, learn and grow into healthy adults with a bright future is a mere dream.

Pakistan: Children forced into labour

In Pakistan, like many other parts of the world, child labour is widespread.

In fact, over three million children across the country have been forced into labour.

With high levels of poverty and lack of educational awareness on the issue, the number of economically active underage children is increasing.

To safeguard the wellbeing of these vulnerable children, we need to act quickly. And that’s where our project Protection of Children at Risk (POCAR) comes in.

We’re addressing this deep-rooted issue which is common in urban areas.

We’re encouraging children involved in any form of labour to join informal basic education schools. Working in collaboration with the local government to rehabilitate these educational facilities, we’re ensuring that once children are enrolled, they have access to free books, bags and stationary.

Islamic Relief: Helping children into education

One of the many children we’ve been helping is Hira*.

At just nine years old, she was selling boiled chickpeas on the roadside to support her family.

Her father is gravely ill and with five other siblings requiring care, the only source of income for the family was the money that Hira was making.

Understanding the complexities of child labour, we work to ensure that caretakers, guardians and siblings also recieve training, to increase their skillset and employability.

Alhamdulillah, thanks to the project, Hira is now attending a rehabilitated school and is already dreaming of a better tomorrow.

She wants to become a doctor and treat patients like her father, free of charge. Insha’Allah!

Of course, none of this would have been possible without your support.

Thank you for enabling us to protect vulnerable children such as Hira and help provide them with a brighter, safer future.

You are lifesavers.

Find out more about our work enabling children across the globe to gain an education.

By donating today, you can transform and save lives.

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*Name has been changed to protect the individual’s identity