Children chained to the loom – end child slavery

Thinking of buying a carpet? Think again. Is it ethically crafted and made? Does it use child labour? Approximately 218 million children toil in today’s global economy. Hundreds of thousands are exploited by the South Asian carpet industry. Children aged 4 to 14 are kidnapped or sold into debt bondage or forced labor where they suffer physical and emotional abuses. As adult wages are driven down and children are deprived of education, poverty is perpetually “inherited.” The GoodWeave program has helped to reduce the incidence of child rug weavers by two-thirds, but an estimated 250,000 children continue to work in the inhumane conditions portrayed in these photos.

Today we share an exhibition known as Faces of Freedom. The Faces of Freedom photo exhibition is a collection of images captured by award-winning photo documentarian, filmmaker and human rights educator U. Roberto Romano during his travels to India, Nepal and Pakistan. As you view the collections you will learn about the ancient craft of carpet weaving, come face to face with grim images of child labor, and be uplifted by the smiles and stories of children who have been rescued by the GoodWeave program.This exhibition tells a powerful story, one that begins with exploitation and ends with empowerment. Through the GoodWeave certification program and the commitment of businesses and consumers, children in South Asia are going to school instead of laboring on the looms. The exhibition aims to raise awareness about the grim reality of child labor and the simple acts we can all take to end it. The complete exhibition and tour schedule is available at facesoffreedom.goodweave.org.

The beauty of a handmade carpet is inextricably linked to the people who make it. Yet today approximately 250,000 children weave the rugs that adorn North American and European homes. GoodWeave offers hope to these children. For over a decade GoodWeave’s child-labor-free certification has made a meaningful difference in South Asian weaving communities while transforming the carpet industry.

Faces of Freedom offers a look into the heart of that transformation. This traveling photo exhibition, part of GoodWeave’s campaign to end child labor, takes you behind the looms and inside the lives of the carpet weavers of South Asia. The 50 black and white and color photographs that make up the exhibition were taken by documentaryphotographer, filmmaker and human rights educator U. Roberto Romano during visits to India, Nepal and Pakistan from 1996 through 2007.

As viewers journey through the exhibition, they will learn about the ancient craft of carpet weaving—the skill, art and tradition involved in each hand woven carpet. They will also come face to face with grim images of weavers, too young to be at the looms, laboring in poor conditions where childhoods remain incomplete.

For many of these children, GoodWeave-funded schools and centers provided their first opportunity to be in a classroom or playground. Man Maya’s smiling face is a testament to the power of our choices; a few years ago she was working long hours weaving carpets after she became homeless as a result of her father’s alcoholism. At that time Man Maya did not dream of a different life—she simply endured the hardships. Though illiterate at the time of her rescue, she completed the seventh grade, enrolled in a vocational training and job placement program, went on to work as a seamstress in her home town. Through the commitment of retailers, importers,designers and consumers who produce and purchase GoodWeave certified rugs, her future is now promising.

2009 marked the 10th anniversary of the International Labor Organization’s passage of Convention 182 on Worst Forms of Child Labor. Today in 2012, 173 countries have signed ILO Convention 182. In conjunction with the exhibition’s national co-sponsor, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, Faces of Freedom is  hosted in venues across North America to herald the progress that has been made in the fight against child labor worldwide. Be good to aso see it in Australia too! Venues have include UNICEF House in New York City, Miami International Airport, the Children’s Theater of Minneapolis, and the Senate Russell Rotunda in Washington, D.C.

Let’s meet Nina Smith
Nina Smith is the executive director of GoodWeave USA, having launched GoodWeave’s US organization in 2000. A fair trade advocate and marketing professional for over 15 years, Nina won the 2005 Skoll award for Social Entrepreneurship, acknowledging her work to employ market strategies for social change. Nina was formerly the executive director of The Crafts Center (1995–1999), a nonprofit organization providing marketing and technical assistance to indigenous artisans around the world and publisher of Crafts News. As president of the Fair Trade Federation (FTF) from 1996 to 1998, Nina raised funds for and launched FTF’s first consumer education campaign. Nina’s overseas experience includes a crafts export consultancy to the Tibetan Government-in-Exile in Dharamsala, India from 1994 to 1996, where she oversaw the development of new market-driven product lines, quality control mechanisms, and artisan training programs. Nina’s broad expertise includes nonprofit management, writing and publishing, marketing, public relations and small business development.