He should’ve been at school, but instead, 12-year-old Karan* worked long, gruelling hours in a shoe factory with dangerous chemicals. “I liked going to school, and if I had a choice, I would rather go back to school and learn than work,” says Karan.
Depending on the amount of work, he would spend 8-9 hours every day in the factory. The factory had been set up in a residential home to keep it hidden from the authorities.
“My work usually involves sticking pieces of the shoe together with glue,” says Karan. “The glue has a very strong smell that makes me dizzy and sick when I use it for too long. I can’t focus on work sometimes because of this, and the manager gets angry and shouts at me when I make mistakes.”
*Name changed to protect identity.