Pal's father was unable to work after becoming handicapped, and his mother had never been to school and couldn't read. When Pal was 7 years old, an agent from a rock quarry came to their house making big promises about the income he could provide to his parents and the good future that he would have. Those promises turned out to be lies. Pal was a slave.
In the quarry, Pal suffered from malnourishment and abuse. Supervisors constantly slapped and hit children who they judged to not be working hard enough. Pal used a crude hammer and chisel to break rocks to make room for heavier equipment. Life in the quarry is terrible for anyone, but for children it is torture. Eventually, Pal was rescued by one of our field teams that searches quarries and brick factories for child workers.
Today, Pal lives at The CFC Children's Home while our team in India works to locate his parents. He has recovered his strength from a combination of good food and medicine. He loves hearing Bible stories, and his favorite pastime is drawing. Someday, he hopes to become a police officer. His favorite class in school is English, and when he is old enough, he wants to learn life skills like the older boys who are attending vocational training classes.
When you do what you can For One, you help end child slavery for good.
Dozens of other children are waiting to be connected with a sponsor. See their stories.
*The name used is a pseudonym to protect this child’s identity.