BONDED BRICK KILN LABOURERS (RRR) PROJECT

Bonded Brick Kiln Labourers – Release, Relocation and Rehabilitation (RRR) Project

LEAD Ministries – LEAD (Legal Evangelical Association Development)

Supporting Brick Kiln Workers, Bonded Labourers and Children's Education in Pakistan

Organization: LEAD Ministries – LEAD (Legal Evangelical Association Development)

Organization Status: Registered charitable and non-profit organization

Project Area: Kasur, Lahore, and Sheikhupura Districts, Punjab, Pakistan, including such other areas within Punjab as may be agreed upon by the Parties.

Registered Office: Mohallah Patwarian, Mian Key Mor, Church Street, Bhai Pheru (Phool Nagar), Tehsil Pattoki, District Kasur, Punjab, Pakistan.

Sub-Office (Head Office): LEAD Ministries, Bhobtian, Raiwind Road, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.

Implementation: Through our partner organization

Project Leadership

• Zulfiqar Masih – President, LEAD Ministries
• Pastor Imran Amanat – Vice President, LEAD Ministries
• Farzana Imran – Secretary, LEAD Ministries

1. Introduction

LEAD Ministries – LEAD (Legal Evangelical Association Development) is a registered Christian, faith-based charitable and non-profit organization committed to serving vulnerable and marginalized communities in Pakistan through humanitarian assistance, human rights advocacy, and community development.

Through our partner organization, LEAD Ministries supports brick kiln workers, bonded labourers, and their families who face exploitation, debt bondage, poverty, and limited access to education.

Bonded labour in brick kilns is a serious human rights concern and a form of modern-day slavery when workers are trapped in coercive conditions and cannot freely leave their employment. The Peshgi system, which involves an advance payment or loan from a brick kiln owner, can trap workers and their families in a cycle of debt when low wages, harsh working conditions, and repayment arrangements prevent them from achieving financial independence.

Our Release, Relocation and Rehabilitation (RRR) Project aims to help affected families move towards freedom, safety, dignity, and sustainable independence. Protecting children and ensuring access to education are central priorities, helping to break the cycle of bonded labour across generations.

2. Release: Freedom from Bonded Labour

The release component focuses on helping brick kiln workers and their families access appropriate legal assistance and support to escape exploitative working conditions and debt bondage.

Modern-Day Slavery and the Bonded Peshgi System

Many brick kiln workers receive Peshgi (an advance payment or loan) to meet their immediate family needs. However, low wages, long working hours, harsh working conditions, and accumulated debt can make repayment extremely difficult. Consequently, workers and their families may remain dependent on the brick kiln owner and feel unable to leave their employment freely.

This situation can prevent families from meeting basic needs, including adequate food, healthcare, housing, and their children's education. In some cases, children are drawn into brick kiln work or lose educational opportunities because of their families' financial circumstances.

Such conditions can perpetuate generational bonded labour, depriving families of a dignified and independent life and restricting their freedom to participate fully in social and religious activities.

The RRR Project seeks to help affected workers pursue freedom from these conditions through lawful means, appropriate legal assistance, and coordinated support. Families are encouraged to seek sustainable alternative livelihoods and avoid returning to exploitative employment once their Peshgi obligations have been lawfully resolved.

Key Activities

• Identifying and assessing families affected by bonded labour in brick kiln communities.
• Facilitating access to qualified lawyers, legal aid, and appropriate legal remedies.
• Raising awareness of labour laws, workers' rights, and protections against bonded labour.
• Helping families understand their options concerning Peshgi debts and exploitative employment.
• Connecting vulnerable families with emergency food, healthcare, and other humanitarian assistance where available.
• Identifying children at risk of labour exploitation and referring them to appropriate protection and educational services.
• Coordinating with relevant stakeholders and the partner organization to support affected families.

Objective: To help brick kiln workers and their families pursue freedom from bonded labour, protect their rights, and rebuild their lives with dignity, safety, and independence.

3. Relocation: Safety and a New Beginning

After release from bonded labour, families may face difficulties finding accommodation, securing alternative employment, and meeting their children's basic needs. Without appropriate support, some families may be at risk of returning to exploitative working conditions.

The relocation component aims to help affected families establish themselves in safer environments and begin a new chapter in their lives.

Key Activities

• Assessing families' safety, housing, and relocation needs.
• Facilitating access to suitable accommodation and transportation, subject to available resources.
• Assisting with essential household supplies where possible.
• Connecting families with healthcare, legal services, social support, and alternative livelihood opportunities.
• Helping parents identify suitable schools for their children.
• Connecting relocated families with supportive community networks and relevant service providers.
• Following up on family safety, housing, and overall stability.

Relocation decisions should respect family unity, informed consent, safety, and the best interests of children.

Objective: To help formerly bonded families establish safer living conditions and provide children with a stable environment in which they can learn, grow, and develop.

4. Rehabilitation: Children's Education and Sustainable Family Recovery

Children's education is the central priority of the rehabilitation phase. The project aims to help children from brick kiln families access education, continue their studies, and build a future free from labour exploitation.

Rehabilitation involves helping families develop the stability and independence needed to avoid returning to bonded labour while enabling children to pursue opportunities beyond the brick kiln.

A. Children's Education and School Enrollment

The project seeks to help children from formerly bonded labour families enter or return to school.

Key activities include:

• Identifying children who have never attended school, have dropped out, or need assistance continuing their education.
• Supporting school enrolment and re-enrolment where possible.
• Facilitating access to books, uniforms, stationery, and other educational necessities, subject to available resources.
• Helping families address barriers to attendance, including transportation and school-related expenses where assistance is available.
• Working with parents, schools, and relevant organizations to encourage regular attendance and educational progress.
• Promoting equal educational opportunities for girls and boys.

The goal is not simply to enrol children in school, but to help them remain in education and develop the knowledge and skills needed for a better future.

B. Protecting Children from Brick Kiln Labour

Children deserve the opportunity to learn, play, and develop rather than carry the burden of family debt bondage.

The project aims to:

• Raise awareness of children's rights and applicable protections against child labour.
• Help families understand the importance of education for children's long-term well-being.
• Identify children at risk of entering or returning to exploitative work.
• Refer children who have experienced exploitation or abuse to appropriate protection services.
• Encourage families and communities to prioritize children's safety, education, and development.

Our commitment is to help break the cycle of bonded labour by placing children's education and protection at the centre of rehabilitation.

C. Educational Follow-Up and Learning Support

Children who have missed schooling may need additional support to catch up with their studies.

The project aims to:

• Monitor school enrolment and attendance where appropriate.
• Identify barriers that prevent children from continuing their education.
• Connect children with tutoring, remedial education, or other learning support where available.
• Follow up with parents and schools, with appropriate consent, to understand children's educational progress.
• Help families access relevant educational services and resources.

Continued follow-up is essential to help children remain in school and progress with their education.

D. Alternative Livelihoods for Parents

Families need sustainable sources of income to reduce their dependence on Peshgi advances and exploitative employment.

The project seeks to facilitate livelihood assistance for eligible families, subject to assessed needs, available resources, and partnership arrangements.

Potential activities include:

• Vocational training and skills development.
• Employment assistance and referrals to responsible employers.
• Tools and equipment for income-generating activities.
• Small enterprise and self-employment support.
• Livestock and agricultural assistance where suitable.
• Household budgeting and responsible financial management guidance.

By helping parents pursue alternative means of earning a living, the project aims to reduce the economic pressures that can force children into labour or interrupt their education.

E. Potential Rehabilitation Support

Depending on each family's assessed needs, eligibility, and available resources, the following forms of rehabilitation support may be considered or facilitated.

Potential support checklist:

• ☐ Employment assistance
• ☐ Skills development and vocational training
• ☐ Tools and equipment for income-generating activities
• ☐ Small enterprise and self-employment support
• ☐ Livestock for sustainable livelihoods
• ☐ Agricultural assistance and farming inputs
• ☐ Educational support for children, including school fees where applicable, uniforms, books, and stationery
• ☐ Basic necessities, including food, clothing, and essential household items
• ☐ Other support based on the family's assessed needs: 

Objective: To help formerly bonded brick kiln workers and their families achieve sustainable livelihoods, meet their basic needs, keep their children in education, and avoid returning to debt bondage.

Note: The checklist identifies potential forms of support; it does not guarantee assistance. All support is subject to needs assessment, available resources, and the terms of the existing partnership agreement.

F. Women's Empowerment and Family Support

Women in brick kiln communities may face additional challenges related to poverty, economic dependence, and limited access to education and employment.

The project may facilitate skills development, livelihood opportunities, awareness of legal rights, and referrals to appropriate support services.

Family support may also include referrals for healthcare, counselling, and other services that promote children's safety, educational development, and household stability.

G. Labour Rights and Legal Awareness

The project promotes awareness of workers' rights and applicable legal protections against bonded labour and exploitation in Pakistan.

Activities may include:

• Community awareness sessions on labour rights and bonded labour.
• Information about legal protections relating to Peshgi debts and exploitative employment.
• Referrals to qualified lawyers and legal aid providers.
• Guidance on appropriate legal complaint mechanisms.
• Awareness of children's rights and applicable child labour protections.
• Information about available channels for reporting exploitation and abuse.

These efforts aim to help workers understand their rights and access appropriate assistance when exploitation occurs.

H. Emotional, Social and Spiritual Support

Families affected by bonded labour may experience fear, insecurity, emotional distress, and social exclusion.

The project seeks to facilitate access to appropriate counselling, community support, and professional services when needed.

For individuals and families who desire it, voluntary pastoral care, prayer, biblical encouragement, and spiritual counselling may also be offered through LEAD Ministries' Christian network.

All assistance should respect the dignity, privacy, and choices of beneficiaries. Access to education, legal assistance, and humanitarian support will not depend on participation in religious activities.

5. Project Leadership and Responsibilities

The RRR Project is implemented through our partner organization under the leadership of LEAD Ministries – LEAD (Legal Evangelical Association Development).

Zulfiqar Masih – President, LEAD Ministries

Primary responsibility: Release and Relocation

Zulfiqar Masih is responsible for carrying out release and relocation activities for brick kiln workers and families affected by bonded labour.

His responsibilities include:

• Identifying and assessing affected families.
• Coordinating release-related assistance through appropriate legal and partner channels.
• Facilitating safe relocation and access to suitable accommodation.
• Helping families transition from exploitative working conditions to safer living environments.
• Coordinating with relevant stakeholders and service providers.
• Communicating family needs to the team responsible for ongoing follow-up and rehabilitation.

Pastor Imran Amanat – Vice President, LEAD Ministries

Primary responsibility: Follow-Up and Rehabilitation

Pastor Imran Amanat is responsible for follow-up activities after families receive release and relocation assistance.

His responsibilities include:

• Monitoring the well-being and changing needs of relocated families.
• Following up on rehabilitation and family stability.
• Identifying barriers to children's education.
• Coordinating appropriate referrals and community support.
• Providing pastoral encouragement to families who desire spiritual assistance.
• Identifying risks of re-exploitation and additional support needs.

Farzana Imran – Secretary, LEAD Ministries

Primary responsibility: Follow-Up, Children's Education and Family Support

Farzana Imran works alongside Pastor Imran Amanat in following up with relocated families and supporting their rehabilitation.

Her responsibilities include:

• Following up on children's school enrolment and educational needs.
• Identifying barriers to regular school attendance and continued learning.
• Supporting coordination with parents, schools, and relevant service providers.
• Monitoring family needs and referring cases for appropriate assistance.
• Supporting educational awareness and family well-being.
• Contributing to follow-up records and project coordination, as appropriate.

Coordinated Team Approach

The leadership team works together to ensure that assistance extends beyond initial release and relocation to include continued rehabilitation, child protection, and educational support.

• Zulfiqar Masih: Leads release and relocation activities.
• Pastor Imran Amanat: Leads follow-up and contributes to rehabilitation support.
• Farzana Imran: Supports follow-up, with particular attention to children's education and family needs.

6. Monitoring, Follow-Up and Expected Outcomes

Continued monitoring helps identify whether families are achieving greater safety and stability and whether children are able to remain in school.

Subject to available resources, agreed project responsibilities, and appropriate safeguarding procedures, the project aims to monitor:

• Families identified and assessed for bonded labour.
• Workers receiving legal assistance or referrals.
• Families supported in accessing safer accommodation.
• Children enrolled or re-enrolled in school.
• Children's school attendance and continued educational participation.
• Barriers to education identified during follow-up.
• Parents receiving livelihood support or vocational training.
• The ongoing safety and stability of supported families.

Expected Outcomes

The project aims to contribute to:

• Improved access to assistance for brick kiln workers seeking freedom from bonded labour.
• Safer living conditions for affected families.
• Increased educational opportunities for children.
• A reduced risk of children entering or returning to bonded labour.
• Improved awareness of labour rights and legal protections.
• Greater access to alternative livelihood opportunities.
• Stronger family stability and sustainable independence.
• Reduced intergenerational dependence on the Peshgi system.

All activities will be guided by appropriate safeguarding, confidentiality, respect for human dignity, and accountability principles.

7. Project Continuation, Funding and Partnership Arrangements

The continuation, scope, and duration of the RRR Project are governed by the availability of resources and the partnership arrangements established with the funding organization and our partner organization.

Project activities are undertaken according to the agreed responsibilities, approved arrangements, and terms of the existing partnership.

Note on Funding and Partnership

The RRR Project is currently implemented through a funding partner under a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). In accordance with this agreement, LEAD Ministries does not independently solicit or collect funds for this project or undertake separate funding-related reporting. All project activities are carried out in accordance with the agreed partnership arrangements and the terms of the signed MoU.

8. Conclusion: Breaking the Cycle of Modern-Day Slavery Through Education

LEAD Ministries – LEAD (Legal Evangelical Association Development) believes that every family deserves freedom from exploitation and every child deserves the opportunity to learn and build a better future.

The bonded Peshgi system can leave brick kiln workers trapped in debt, harsh working conditions, and poverty. When families cannot meet their basic needs or educate their children, the cycle of bonded labour can continue across generations. Helping workers access lawful release, relocate to safer environments, and develop alternative livelihoods is therefore essential to sustainable rehabilitation.

Through our partner organization, the RRR Project seeks to support brick kiln workers and bonded labourers through release, safe relocation, and long-term family rehabilitation, with children's education at the heart of our commitment.

Under the leadership of Zulfiqar Masih, President; Pastor Imran Amanat, Vice President; and Farzana Imran, Secretary of LEAD Ministries, the project aims to help families regain their independence, protect children from exploitation, and create opportunities for a future beyond the brick kiln.

Guided by Christian values of compassion, justice, and human dignity, LEAD Ministries remains committed to supporting vulnerable families in their pursuit of freedom, education, and sustainable livelihoods.

As Galatians 5:1 reminds us:

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”

LEAD Ministries – LEAD (Legal Evangelical Association Development)

Working through our partner organization to promote freedom from bonded labour, protect vulnerable families, and build a brighter future for children through education in Pakistan.