When I look down, I just miss all the good stuff, and when I look up, I just trip over things

This morning David called and he can't find a house in Louisiana, so it looks like a tiny apartment instead, I tripped over a brick in the "road" if you could call that, and embarrassed myself in front of hundreds of people, and I had to interview 8 kids and it made me sad. Boo the 5th of July. The only good thing is that my dear friend Christina Munoz was born on this day 21 years ago. Happy Birthday, Tina.

So back to the interviews. There is nothing take makes me mean more than people being mean to defenseless kids. Several of the children I talked to today were consistently beaten, screamed at, locked in a room all day, abused, given scraps to eat, and one even jumped out a window and almost broke her ankle so she could escape. One of them had lost his entire family to an illness and was consistently depressed b/c he had to change employers 3 times in 7 months b/c they are mean and don't give him enough to eat. One girl's mother said she was taking her to see her sick grandmother and left her with an abusive family that keeps her from school to watch their two children with one on the way (she is 11 years old by the way, she's been working for them since she was 8!!!!). I've interviewed 12 kids in two days and it's been hard to listen but not as hard as it must have been to go through it. I get so angry when the kids are talking that I want to go buy a baseball bat and show their employers what its like to have someone bigger than you beat you up.

I finished editing this start-up NGO's report last night and spent four hours with them trying to formulate a strategic plan. To be honest, I think they are optimistic and haven't done research on things that work. They just read my report and now they want to try putting money into parent's saving's accounts, a suggestion I had written based on success in Brazil with this program. He then asked me if I could convince 100 of my friends to give 50 dollars a month, and I told him that was a lot, but he didn't think it was for Americans. They are nice people, and they have good hearts, but I think it will be a painful learning process for them.

Anyway folks, I'm tired and hungry and my ankle hurts (and my pride) from falling in the street, so goodnight and stay on your feet.

I come from the future, where it is the 4th of July right now

In the future, fireworks look like those toys you used to get in Rice Krispies that climbed down walls: Wacky Wall Walkers, if you don't remember them, click here.

And in the 7th inning....

Take that team Kosovo. It looks like team Nepal is coming in from behind with Flat Stanley with, what appears to be a “Clinton School” and an homage to Arkansas’s favorite musician, Mr. Johnny Cash. This is becoming a pretty exciting match. I think what’s on everyone’s minds is, “Where’s team Africa?” They do greatly outnumber the competition, but we have yet to see anything substantial.

Case story no. 10: Parbati

Parbati is 14 years old. She is very pretty and seems quiet. Before the interview she sat in the corner and softly read three or four books aloud while we spoke to some of the other children. When it was her turn, she quietly got up and sat down next to us. She is from the Dang district and she has no parents anymore. When you ask her how many people are in her family, she says “Now there are only three.” Her 17 year-old sister is married and lives in Kathmandu. Her younger brother lives in Dang and is a Domestic Child Laborer as well. He also goes to school.

Parbati’s mother died when she was very young. She can barely remember her mother anymore. Her father sent her to work in Kathmandu when she was 11 because they didn’t have enough money. She has been working for her employer for 3 years. After one month of working in Kathmandu, she heard that her father had also died. Since then, she hasn’t returned home. Her 14-year old face looks straight at mine, and I glimpse the strength of a warrior.

She doesn’t mind her work. It gives her a place to stay, food and an income. She lives in Chakrapath and takes care of her employer’s child, who has a disability. After tending to the child, she cleans, cooks and does the other household chores. She says her employers are very good to her. They love her and take good care of her. When the CWISH facilitator asked if Parbati could come to the DIC her employers quickly agreed. Since that day, she has been attending the DIC for 8 months.

When we ask Parbati if she likes school, her quiet face lights up. “I love school,” she says. “Before I came here, I couldn’t even recognize the letter A. I used to look at the back of tea boxes, where the instructions on how to make the tea are, and stare at them baffled as to why or how anyone could write so many words about tea. Now I can read and write.” To demonstrate this she picks up a book and begins to read aloud from the pages, the entire time beaming with pride. “I never dreamed in a million years I would one day be able to read and write. It has completely changed my life.” She says that the math she is learning is helping her with her shopping. Her favorite subjects are reading and writing though.

Now that she has been at the DIC for 8 months, she has decided she wants to open a vegetable shop one day. She says she is much happier now, happier than she ever thought she could be.

I want to be around to watch the Southern kick in

Yesterday I said "Y'all have to help me eat all these mangoes." Later I said "The traffic's been backed up a ways." Oh Arkansas, how I miss you.
I'm really busy, so I'm just going to post a picture of me at work today. I got to interview 4 kids at the Basundhara DIC close to my house. I have to interview 41 kids by August 2nd and turn their interviews into stories, work with an organization called Room to Read to turn some of those stories into a children's book, Edit a report by the Alliance Against Child Labor and help them with their strategic plan, write the Literature Review and the Methodology for the School Health Report and a final paper for the Clinton School all by August 4th, when I will arrive in Little Rock at 11pm. Get 'er done (okay, that was too Southern)

P.S. you know how advertisements on gmail and photobucket cater directly to you? Lately I see advertisements like "get rid of nasty parasites" and "Big women are beautiful" I think the internet gods think I have a very strange eating disorder.

All of these children are domestic laborers at CWISH DICs

A little bit about Child Labor in Nepal

To help you understand a little more about what I’m doing here. I’ve decided to give you a rundown on child labor in Nepal. This is a description of the problem and the causes of the problem from a paper I wrote last semester.

CWISH focuses on Domestic Labor in the Kathmandu valley where there are approximately 83,000 domestic child laborers in Nepal. The project I am working on is to get the word out and encourage participation in programs and interventions for education of domestic workers. In response to the child labor problem, CWISH has been successful in creating a hotline for suspected abuse of domestic workers, multiple drop-in centers where domestic workers can attend classes for free the few hours employers let them off work, counseling centers for abused workers, awareness raising programs, child rights clubs so children have an influential voice and aided in the creation of the first labor union for child domestic workers.

Child labor in Nepal, especially bonded labor, domestic labor, trafficking, soldiering, portering and ragpicking, is extremely damaging to a child’s physical, emotional and mental health. The elimination of this problem lies in the resolution of the causes such as poverty, limited access to education, low importance of education for girls, societal acceptance and discrimination.

One out of every three 5- 14 year olds in Nepal is a victim of child labor. Child labor in Nepal is a constant reminder of an ineffective government, an insufficient education system and widespread acceptance of a social wrong in the face of great poverty. In 1997, overall child labor incidence was 26.6 percent (People’s Daily, 2005). There was an overall child labor incidence of 32 percent in 2004 (NLSS II Vol. II, 2004, p.45). Political instability and civil war has displaced many children in the past decade, forcing them to work (People’s Daily, 2005).

Typically 20-25% of household income is from child labor. Nepal has the highest percentage of children who are economically active in South Asia at 45.2 percent. Ninety-five percent of Nepal’s working children are functioning in an agricultural job. Children in rural areas are twice as likely to engage in child labor. Six percent of child laborers are full-time waged labor children who are working for an employer outside the home. Girls are much more likely to work and not attend school (Gilligan, 2003, p.1-7).

Of all child laborers in Nepal, 127,000 or 2 percent of all children in Nepal are engaged in what the International Labour Organization has identified as “The Worst Forms of Child Labour,” including bonded laborers, trafficked children, ragpickers, porters and domestic laborers (Gilligan, 2003, p. 6-7 cites ILO-Child Labor). These types of labor are considered intolerable and dangerous (Gilligan, 2003, p. 6-7). They are hard to research since they are often illegal and conducted in secret (Sharma et. all, 2001, p. 1). The worst forms of child labor often involve no access to education, separation from family, unlivable housing, physical, mental and sexual abuse, torture, discrimination, deprivation of food and recreation, loss of self-esteem, loneliness, insufficient training leading to injury and no access to medical care (Shrestha, 2005, p.15).

Bonded and Domestic Labor

Bonded labor and domestic labor can be compared to slavery. Many bonded child laborers are working off a parental debt. It is estimated that there are 33,000 bonded child laborers in Nepal. Many of these children are of the Kamaiya caste (Sharma et. all, 2001, p. 1). Disproportionate numbers of Bhutanese and Tibetan refugee children are enslaved in bonded labor. This illustrates the rampant discrimination against caste and minorities (Varghese, 2004, p. 3). The practice of bonded labor was declared illegal in 2000, but is not enforced adequately (IPEC, 2001, p. 5).

There are approximately 83,000 domestic child laborers in Nepal. These children are often not allowed to have contact with the outside world and must be constantly available to their employers. The secrecy and confinement of these children makes them very vulnerable to abuse (IPEC country profile, 2001, p. 6).

Child Trafficking

Child trafficking, particularly female child trafficking is a large problem in Nepal. About 12,000 children are trafficked from Nepal to India each year to become sex workers. Most are females between the ages of 12 and 15. “Girls who were forced into

prostitution in brothels reported an average stay of two years, an average of fourteen

clients a day, and 60% reported that their clients used condoms “sometimes”, “rarely”, or

“not at all”. The risk of contracting a sexually-transmitted disease (STD) is very high” (Gilligan, 2003, p. 9). Often the girls are sold with the consent of their parents and suffer marked physical, emotional and social consequences of their “work” (IPEC, 2001, p. 7).

Ragpicking and Porting

Ragpicking and porting can be very dangerous professions for children. Ragpickers sift through dumps to find recyclables. This can result in infections and injuries from items in the dump. This occupation also increases the child’s risk of drug use and illness (IPEC country profile, 2001, p. 6).

“Child porters face a number of serious health risks: increased heart, circulatory and digestive problems; tuberculosis; malnutrition and stunted growth; chronic leg and back pain; and a life expectancy shortened by as much as 20 to 30 years. The longer the distance, the greater the exposure to hazards. Long distance porters carry loads for many days (on average six), do not eat regularly and risk accidents on dangerous mountain paths (IPEC country profile, 2001, p.5).” In Nepal it is illegal for a child to carry more than 25 kilos, but the children are paid by the weight of the load and often carry loads heavier than their body weight (IPEC country profile, 2001, p. 6).

Causes of the Child Labor Problem

Poverty

Poverty and parental debt often produce child labor (IPEC, 2001, p.14). The need for more income and an employer preference for children are both determinants. For employers, children are less troublesome, more trustworthy, more likely to do monotonous work, less likely to steal, less likely to miss work, can be exploited, and don’t form trade unions (Edmonds, 2003, p. 34). Unfortunately, child labor can cause lower wages, unemployment and under-employment for adults, perpetuating poverty (IPEC, 2001, p.14). Other factors that contribute to child labor in Nepal are lack of access to education, the dangers posed by the Maoist conflict, inadequate enforcement of criminal and labor laws, a perceived low status of children, and lack of government support in enforcement (IPEC country profile, 2001, p. 3) (Shrestha, 2005, p. 7-9).

Social Acceptance

Public perception of child labor can also be a cause. The culture of Nepal widely accepts child labor as necessary or beneficial (Gilligan, 2003, p. 9) (Nepal Human Right News). Hiring a person to complete household chores is a central part of South Asian tradition. In Katmandu, it is estimated that 20% of all households employee a child for these tasks (Devkota et. al, 2001, p. vi). Some children even work because the benefits of work returns and work experience are perceived to be higher than the benefits of education, especially for girls. Many of the most dangerous forms of child labor have high payouts like soldiering, prostitution and mining ( IPEC, 2001, p.15).

Educational Opportunity

Another significant problem is the focus on eliminating child labor without ensuring education access or lessened poverty (Shrestha, 2005, p. 7). Lire Ersado (2005, p.3) compared household survey data from Nepal (Asia), Peru (Latin America), and Zimbabwe (Africa). Nepal had the lowest percentage (61%) of children attending school. This is possibly due to a lack of access to education. When compared to Peru and Zimbabwe, Nepal had larger disparities between male and female attendance in rural areas, with boys attending more often. This also suggests that access in rural areas is a problem, and gender bias is more prominent in rural areas. Educational institutions should encourage the admittance of females and be made more accessible to rural children.

Children need to be rehabilitated, and social and educations programs need to be in place to ensure a successful transition from work to school (Gilligan, 2003, p. 14). NGOs can help in these arenas. Children who have to work but want to be educated have to choose between work or school because school schedules conflict with working hours. If a child has to choose between food and shelter or education, they ultimately choose food and shelter (Shrestha, 2005, p. 8).

The award for best email ever goes to....

"Dear Aunt Chandle,
I am having a good day. I was having fun with Jed. My mom works at
nights and mornings,not a long night just a little night. I like helping my
mom and Joe work. Sometimes I give Isabella her bottle but it is hard. I
saw StarWars stamps at the post office. I haven't got to go swimming it has
rained alot. I love you and miss you. I got to ride with papa on the big
backhoe. I want to run fast like David.
Love,
Ashur"



I swear that kid is growing like a weed. I miss you too, Buster.

Go to your room

I went in to work yesterday, but everyone was so worried about me they told me not to come back today. I'll start interviews again on Monday. I've finished a first draft of the entire school health report, the newsletter is finished, now I need to interview 45 child workers and make a book out of it. Milan also mentioned a start up organization that is focused on child labor asked for someone from CWISH to look over a report they recently completed, so I'm doing that as well. I'm coming home in 36 days. I can't wait to see all of you, but I still have a lot of work to do here. I know I've been really sick, but I've read three books, played a million games of spider solitare and slept enough for a month. I'm ready to get back to work.

This picture of me is terrible, I have big hair (notice the gray coming in?) and it's blurry, but I can show off the 15 pounds I've lost, who cares if it was a parasite.

Back in the Saddle

I'm back at work today and feeling much better. I've definitely lost 15 pounds since I've been here, but it's not a fun way to lose weight. Last Night we had pumpkin vines and rice for dinner and I could only eat half, imagine that. Milan is doesn't want me to go out into the field so I finished up what I could on the school health report. I thought I'd post a quick picture of the Himalayas poking out above the clouds from my flight home on Sunday. I changed everyone from the Clinton School's blogs to CSPS, so If you want to see what other idealist are doing in Nicaragua, Vietnam, Malawi, Rawanda, Argentina, Tanzania, Kosovo and NYC check out the links.