Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Great initiative by the Dutch fashion houses for abolishing child labour. However, it is a very tricky issue for the poverty-ridden families in the developing countries, something which the affluent of the developed nations can never fathom. I work in the school health and come across children who work part-time to augment the income of the family. I reprimanded one such 14 year old boy, some weeks back. But, what he told me, brought tears in my eyes. His father is a drug addict, mother is a maid( washes utensils and scrubs floors of the employers) earning only Rs 1000=$20/month, which is highly insufficient these days. He himself works in a cloth shop after school and sometimes misses school to bring Rs2000=$40/ month, to feed the family of six. "Madam, my family will die of hunger or will be forced to beg, if I don't work. Education is important for me, but my family is more important to me!" I had no answer. Then there was a boy, who had lost his father, another's dad had deserted the family due to debts, anothers's mother was deaf and dumb, while father was no more...I had to appreciate them for balancing the act, their way. And sometimes, some kids do it excellently. My colleague-a renowned surgeon here, used to do the home chores, stitch clothes and knit sweaters with his widowed mother, to bring up the family, after his school hours. He was quite good at studies, and later enrolled in a medical school to become a surgeon. So, it is really tricky to pass the judgement, if we really cannot help the family monetarily.