Pakistani Brick Kiln

A fourty minute bike ride out of Lahore, lies one of the many thousands of Brick Kilns of Pakistan. These Brick Kilns are often referred to as places of modern-day slavery. Labourers are tricked into accepting loans to work there, soon these loans inflate and the workers are henceforth trapped in a vicious cycle of making their living and paying of their depth and are therefor bound to the Brick Kiln for years – sometimes even generations.
The Brick Kiln I visited in March 2022 is not too different, from the circumstances mentioned above, with the small exception that a group of young Christians from the local church community tries to steer against the fate by providing basic education for the many kids on the brick kiln. This, in the hopes of providing a better future for the next generation.
While Pakistan’s government makes education free for all its citizens, the problem lies much deeper than that. In order to survive, often all family members are required to help out working on the Brick Kiln - they can simply not afford their living if the children go to school. In addition to that Brick Kilns are usually far out of the city center with no facilities near by and no money for fuel or a tuk tuk for transportation, it is nearly impossible for the parents to provide their children education to build a better future.