D Sivakumar (30) was forced to work at a brick kiln shortly after his father passed away when he was just six years old.

He shares how he would carry bricks daily from 5 am to 8 pm, balancing one on his head and two in either hand.

Recalling those years, Sivakumar shares, that when he couldn’t complete his daily targets, “the owner would start hitting me with his shoe and abusing me in the local language. It was very bad.”

When Sivakumar was 10 years old, an NGO rescued him and encouraged him to study, providing him with all the necessary resources.

With their help, he aced his BCom degree and then went on to pursue a master’s in social work from Madras Christian College in 2022. Today, he educates other child-bonded labour survivors.

Through the scope of his work, Sivakumar is reaching out to these children (and adults) across 13 districts of Tamil Nadu.

“I help them with education, access to livelihood, information about government schemes and any social service they might need,” he shares.

Sivakumar adds, “I mentor students from Classes 8 to 12 through career guidance programmes to explore their interests.” He shares that he also takes the students on exposure visits to colleges, malls, and workshops while also assisting them with college admissions and counselling.

“We conduct regular follow-up meetings with students to check on their progress and offer any support as needed. We also help them through typing classes, internships, English classes, and tuitions.”

Along with this, Sivakumar helps the survivors with getting their caste certificate, Aadhar card, ration card, release certificates, and an immediate rehabilitation amount of Rs 30,000.

Currently, Sivakumar works with 22 children and 300 adults rescued from bonded labour. “We have managed to enrol 12 children into college this year and help many families with jobs,” he states proudly.

You can help Sivakumar in his endeavour to make the dreams of these children a reality.

Your funds will go towards the education of children rescued from bonded labour as well as those vulnerable to exploitation. Let’s give these children the futures they deserve.