In Tirupur, the heart of India’s textile capital, Mary works on behalf of exploited workers – including children – toiling in the factories. The full-time co-ordinator of the Child Rights Cell and Labour Resource Centre at SAVE (Social Awareness and Voluntary Education) has her work cut out for her: Tirupur’s textile industry employs half a million workers and produces millions of garments each year for the likes of Marks and Spencer, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger and Primark.
‘I work towards rescuing and rehabilitating child labourers, orphans, street children, railway children, children from broken families, those living in extreme poverty and those children subject to physical and sexual abuse,’ explains Mary. ‘Our team works to place the children either in our residential homes or bridge schools, where after a year of quality education, they can be placed back into formal education, with the full support of SAVE.
