“I suffered there. I’m now at peace.”

The next morning, we were up and out of there by 7:30. We had a long drive ahead of us and needed to beat the morning rush hour. We may have done it, but you could have fooled me. It seemed like it took 45 minutes just to get outside the city.

Once we did, however, I experienced a side of India that I hadn’t seen yet; countryside. There were rolling hills, pockets of small lakes and green vegetation. It was beautiful and the farther away from the congestion of the city we got the prettier it was. The land undulated as well, unlike the pancake flatness of Kolkata.

We were on our way to visit a family that had been rescued by IJM in 2005. Here’s there story:

Desperately seeking money to pay for a wedding, family members had heard there was work in a nearby brick kiln. The owner paid them an advance for the wedding and voluntarily, they went to work for him to pay it back, plus receive extra wages for their family. The more members of the family that worked there, the more money they would make. Three family members, a boy (20) and two sisters (15 and 17) walked two hours to the kiln and volunteered to work.

At first, they received fare wages. After a while, however, the owner of the brick kiln began to pay less and less. On top of that, he forced them to stay at the factory at all times. The only time they could leave was to quickly go to the market and back. The work was hard and the owners watched them closely, beating the laborers (there were over 300 at this factory) if they ever slowed down.

They were paid 200 rupees per week. That’s $4.16. Two years later, the owner claimed they had still not paid off their debt, when in reality, the dept had been repaid countless times over.

Three years later, they were still enslaved by the ruthless owner. It was at this time that IJM heard about their case. Through a series of events, operatives helped free this family and many others from the oppressive environment of this kiln. They received their “freedom papers” from the government and under Indian law, were given 20,000 rupees to get back on their feet. IJM aftercare workers provided clothes, food, cooking oil, utensils; items needed in their village to start over. They also taught them about support groups, insurance and how to protect themselves from illness and danger.

What they have done with their land blew me away. Just four years ago, they were slaves with nothing. They used their government money wisely and today they have irrigation, crops and livestock to help sustain their way of life. They sell tomatoes at the local market and harvest rice paddies once every four months.

My buddy Mike crunched some numbers. While enslaved, this family made$4.16 per week, or about $216 per year. After their rescue, they now make approximately $38 per week or almost $2000 per year. That’s a 900% increase! As Brian said, “It’s amazing what they can do with opportunity.”

We asked the oldest sons in the family how they feel now. There responses were powerful.
“I suffered there. I’m now at peace.”

“There, I had so much trouble. Here, even if I don’t have food, if I don’t get to each, I’m happy.”