Earlier this year, in the early hours of one Thursday, exhausted workers and their children lay asleep at a brick kiln in a small village in South Asia, unaware that their lives were about to change. At 3 a.m., as was their routine, they were woken up and summoned for yet another day of grueling labour. But this time, the day would unfold differently.   

By 10 a.m., officials from the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and 20 police officers entered the brick factory to investigate. A local judge had instructed this team to inspect the worksite based on a local NGO’s report of abuse and exploitation.  

Authorities were shocked to find little children covered in dust and forced to make bricks alongside adults. Moved by what they witnessed, authorities extended the investigation to the neighbouring kiln as well. As a result, authorities freed 36 victims of bonded labour, including 28 children, from two brick kilns. 

IJM addresses labour trafficking in South Asia by working with local authorities to help rescue and restore children, men, women and even entire families.

At this year’s benefit, we will celebrate survivors like these, who were once enslaved working in brick kilns, rice mills, garment factories and other exploitative environments, and are now being restored to freedom.