Rugmark Foundation USA
A grant from the RSF New Initiatives Fund supports Rugmark’s The Most Beautiful Rug campaign so children like Narayan will have a better future.
Narayan Lal (the name has been changed to protect his identity) is a ten-year-old boy from Sindhupalchowk, one of the poorest areas of Nepal, who was forced out of his village by the conflict between the Maoist and the Royal Nepalese Armies. He fled by himself to the Kathmandu Valley, the only secured area in the country, and ended up working in a carpet factory until Rugmark inspectors found him one month later. Today, he is in a Rugmark transit center being offered psychological care and long-term educational support.
According to the International Labor Organization, nearly 220 million children are engaged in child labor. Nina Smith meets hundreds of them on her travels as executive director of Rugmark Foundation USA, an organization working to end child labor in South Asia’s handmade carpet industry. RSF is currently supporting Rugmark’s three-year consumer awareness campaign to help end the use of child labor in this industry.
“With the launch of The Most Beautiful Rug campaign, child servitude in the handmade rug industry can conceivably be wiped out within the next decade,” says Smith. “Support from the RSF New Initiatives Fund brings us closer to realizing this goal of building a humanitarian marketplace and preserving childhood.”
Founded in 1994, Rugmark works in six countries. In producer countries (India, Nepal, and Pakistan) Rugmark inspects carpet looms, certifies rugs made without child labor, and educates rescued child workers. In consumer countries (U.S., U.K., and Germany) Rugmark recruits industry participation and builds an informed consumer base that will look for the Rugmark label.
To support Rugmark and for more information, please visit www.rugmark.org. To donate to the RSF New Initiatives Fund please e-mail philanthropic.services@rsfsocialfinance.org.
Photo courtesy of Rugmark Foundation USA
Friday, June 30th, 2006