Rawalpindi, Pakistan, September 25, 2006--A large number of Pakistani children do not find their way to schools and work in different sectors to earn a livelihood for their own survival and supplement the incomes of their families. Denied to educational opportunities, these children land in abject conditions for whole life and the chains of poverty and darkness are never broken.
There is no proper method to ascertain the number of children working in the market but they are usually found in carpet weaving, shoe making, carpentry, restaurants, workshops, transport, beggary, vendors and rag-picking.
These informal sectors are not covered by labour laws and laws protecting children. The variety of work that is done by these children is almost limitless and many occupations, normally associated with adult, attract them.
Scavenging for recyclable rubbish is widespread amongst the children. Easily identifiable by the large bags they carry to hold the spoils of their labour, these children work from dawn to dusk collecting paper, cardboard, glass, bottles, bones, metal, wire and other things, which they sell to junk dealers.
These self-employed kids go about their work completely oblivious to the dangers they are exposed to. They walk long distances on rough roads and rummage in dumpsters containing all kinds of sharp and dangerous materials without any protective measures.
