The Power Of A Child’s Voice

8-year-old Amar Sain used to migrate from his village in Karora Dang, UP, to Haryana for 8 months every year, to work in a brick kiln with his parents. His family could barely make ends meet. So, they pulled him out of school and he began contributing to the household income. While he felt proud of being able to help his parents, Amar often wondered what it’d be like to be able to study like other children.

In 2016, when YOUNGISTAAN held a children’s workshop in his village, Amar decided to go as well. Feeling different from the rest of the child participants, he silently observed as everyone discussed the importance of education. The next day, he surprised everyone by announcing that he has spoken to his parents about not working as a child laborer anymore and would like to continue his education. “Everyone else was more accomplished in studies than me,” he would remark later, “I wanted to study and gain knowledge as well.”

It wasn’t easy, but Amar managed to convince his parents to let him go back to school – even though it meant losing an earning member of the family. Today, he lives with his uncle in the same village, goes to school regularly, and dreams of pursuing higher education!