Breaking the Cycle: Child Labour in Gujarat and What We Can Do

Gujarat is one of India's most industrialised states. It is also home to a troubling reality: thousands of children who work instead of attending school.

The Scale of the Problem According to census data, Gujarat has one of the higher rates of child labour among Indian states, particularly in industries like textiles, agriculture, brick kilns, and small-scale manufacturing. Many of these children work alongside their parents, not because families are careless, but because they have no choice.

The Poverty Trap Child labour and poverty form a vicious cycle. A family that cannot afford school fees or meals sends a child to work. That child grows up without education, finds only low-skill work, and their own children face the same predicament a generation later.

Breaking this cycle requires intervention at multiple levels. Education, nutrition, and family welfare support must work together.

What AFJS Trust Does We don't just enroll children in school and walk away. We work with families to understand their specific financial pressures and provide holistic support: - Full school fee coverage removes the financial barrier to education - Nutrition support means parents aren't forced to choose between feeding a child and sending them to school - Family welfare counselling helps parents see education as an investment, not a luxury

The Long Game Change in deeply entrenched social patterns takes time. But every child we enroll in school is one less child in a factory or a field. Every girl we keep in education is one who won't be married off at 14. Every meal we provide is one less reason for a family to pull a child out of class.

We are playing the long game, because children deserve nothing less.