A Freedom Fighter

A recent follower of my blog pointed out a man who had given up everything and devoted his life to ridding Southeast Asia of child labor and trafficking. His name: Kailash Satyarthi. 

Kailash was a born giver. Even as a child, he was always frustrated by the problems of this world and wondering what he, one child, could even do about it.

I enjoy reading one story about him. On his first day in school, he saw the son of a cobbler, his same age, siting and working rather than going to school. Kailash saw the differences immediately: He, dressed up in shining, polished clothes with a Tilak on his forehad, versus the cobbler's son, ragged, no dreams or hopes in his eyes. He constantly asked about the cobbler's son, to his parents, the principal, the teachers, always getting the same answer: This is the way it was.

Kailash's life of giving back started there. Not taking no for an answer, he would help out the cobbler's son a lot, as well as organize fundraisers for local children. One day, the cobbler's son was getting beaten for using a plastic sheet to shield himself from the rain instead of the leather. Without a second thought, Kailash handed over his new umbrella to the cobbler's son. He didn't stop there.  Kailash organized clubs, fundraisers, and even door-to-door pitches in order to get people to donate books and money to the cause of getting kids to school.

Giving up a lucrative electrical engineering career at 26, he decided to follow his passion of helping kids get out of school and into work. He headed the Global March for Child Labor, a worldwide grueling 103-country march spanning 80,000 km. Other than that, he has founded organizations like Bachpan Bacho Andolan and ICCLE, working to remove child labor worldwide. He has earned numerous awards, including being a Nobel laureate and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. He has rescued more than 80,000 kids from child labor.

What really amazes me about him is his tireless dedication to the cause of saving children from child labor, and his willingness to sacrifice everything for the good of others.