Schools in Brick Kiln Communities

Hundreds of brick kilns dot Pakistan’s Punjabi countryside, turning out thousands of bricks for the building industry. Following age-old methods, almost all bricks in Pakistan are made by hand from mud, dug out of the ground, moulded into shape and fired in a red-hot kiln – all this done under the blazing sun by poorly paid manual labourers, many of them Christians. It is a family business, the children joining their parents to produce 1,000 bricks for about £3 or $5.

Few children of brick-making families can go to school – they are virtual slaves to the industry and to grinding poverty. Starfish Asia is supporting around 10 schools for the children of brick workers, for example 160 attend the Light School in Sheikhupura.