For example, there are more than 100 million child labourers in India alone, a country that has declared child labour to be illegal and has ratified the United Nations Conventions outlawing child labour. Real and committed efforts need to be made by governments in those countries where child labour exists. In addition, those of us who live in countries where child labour is not a problem have an obligation to assist with solutions. There have been many attempts over a long period of time to address child labour. Some of these have been marginally effective, but all too often they have been too short term or too focussed on government and policy without a real and practical application.
Child labour is a cyclical problem.
A child labourer's children are likely to be child labourers because their parents know of no other work and do not have either the economic or educational means to break the cycle. It is now generally accepted that education is the key to breaking the cycle of child labour. The schools are based in communities where child labour is rampant and where the communities themselves made the decision to pursue education as a solution to what they know is their unsustainable situation. The schools are so successful that the expected number of students has been exceeded and in many cases, families are both foregoing the income their children's labour previously provided and paying some contributions towards the cost of running the schools. Shortly, it is expected that the funding of at least one of the schools will be taken over by the regional government on a permanent basis.