Overview

Heavy lifting is a way of life in Nepal. But the 250,000 workers—many of them children—manning the Himalayan country’s brick kilns suffer on a different level, toiling in terrible conditions and earning less than one cent per brick. In collaboration with the Christian Science Monitor, special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on efforts to reform Nepal’s critical brick making industry.

Videos

Discussion Questions

What problems can you identify in this story? Are solutions presented?
In what way might this story be relevant in your community?
Enforcement of child labor laws is weak in Nepal, and employers find loopholes. If punishment doesn’t work, how can employers be incentivized not to use child labor?
Many kiln owners claim they aren’t employing children because the contracts are made with the parents. Does the responsibility for child labor fall on the employers, parents, the customers or anyone else?

Writing Prompts (250 Words)

How does work in the brick kilns make it even more difficult to break free from the poverty cycle?