What It Takes to Rescue a Child From Modern Slavery
“She’ll work in a nice home.”
“He’ll earn and send money back.”
Category
Date
June 9, 2025
Author
It starts with a lie.
It starts with a lie.
“She’ll work in a nice home.”
“He’ll earn and send money back.”
The family, caught between hunger and hope, agrees. A child leaves, not knowing that the road ahead isn’t work. It’s confinement. Exploitation. Sometimes, even abuse.
In villages across Jharkhand and Bihar, children are routinely trafficked under the pretext of labour. Some are taken into city homes as domestic workers. Others land in factories, dhabas, or brick kilns. And many young girls are sold, not for jobs, but for reasons that silence their names forever.
Aashray Samiti’s rescue campaign, Bachpan Bik Raha Tha
Aashray Samiti’s rescue campaign, Bachpan Bik Raha Tha, doesn’t just pull children out of these dark corners. It rebuilds their stories with patience, dignity, and truth. Over 1000 children have been rescued through our work, each one carrying trauma deeper than words.
But the mission doesn’t end with rescue. That’s only where it begins.
But the mission doesn’t end with rescue. That’s only where it begins.
- It involves trust and timing.
Rescuing a trafficked child means earning their belief, often after months of manipulation and fear. - It requires strong legal and local networks.
From police coordination to community informers, every rescue depends on a team that’s alert and committed.
It calls for long-term care, not just temporary relief.
Post-rescue support — shelter, mental health care, education — is crucial to break the trauma loop.
“Modern slavery doesn’t always wear chains — sometimes, it wears silence, debt, and the fear of being replaced.”
A rescued child often arrives with nothing: no documents, no school records, no voice. Many flinch at touch, avoid eye contact, or freeze at sudden noise. In our shelters, they are not rushed. They are welcomed, fed, and slowly introduced to safety, sometimes for the first time in years.
Some begin drawing. Others start writing their names again. Some just sit in silence, and even that is healing. Because silence is no longer feared. It’s rest.
Awareness is also a key part of our work. We conduct sessions in high-risk villages, educating parents about false job traps, safe migration, and helpline numbers. When people know better, they choose better.
Bachpan Bik Raha Tha is not a slogan. It’s a truth we’ve seen, touched, and undone — one child at a time.
Every child brought back is a universe restored.
And behind every rescue is someone who noticed. A neighbour who reported. A volunteer who travelled. A donor who believed.
At Aashray Samiti, we believe no child should grow up in chains disguised as jobs. Rescuing them is not an act of bravery. It’s a shared responsibility.
Because the next child won’t be rescued by luck.
They’ll be rescued because you decided they mattered.