For the first 14 years of her life, Jothi only knew the harsh life of working inside South Asia’s rice mills. Her family was enslaved by brutal mill owners because of a debt they owed and would never be able to repay.
Every day, Jothi woke before dawn to work. Her parents would boil heavy loads of raw rice and haul it to the courtyard where she had to dry the piping-hot grains by spreading them out with her bare feet. Shoes weren’t allowed in order to protect the mill owner’s rice. “It was as if I was walking on burning coals,” Jothi remembers.
Worse, the family was given little food and became malnourished, making their daily work even more difficult. Dreaming for a better life felt hopeless.
Even in the midst of their suffering, new hope finally arrived thanks to you. One day IJM and local authorities conducted a rescue operation at a mill next door. Hearing the commotion, Jothi’s parents and other laborers jumped over the wall to plead for help.
In total, 47 people from the two mills were rescued that day. Jothi and her family joined our aftercare program where, thanks to you, we walked beside them to overcome their trauma and learn to thrive in freedom once again.
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