As long as the little worker is a mouth less for poor families to feed, the law will continue to be flouted...

a simple rule of thumb regarding the role of NGOs (or not-for-profits as they are known) seems to be - if they are pushing policy decisions, keep them away; if they pursue simple, concrete goals like educating a few poor students, support them.

i once read about how one of the sports goods companies (Nike?) moved its factories away from Bangladesh because of NGO pressure regarding child labour. great idea, except that the alternative that the children faced were even more dangerous (like working in mines) or age-old professions that are too sad to describe. the recent move in India to ban child labour falls in the same category. a revolution is just not practical in these matters. yanking children away abruptly from their jobs is a noble idea, but usually produces bad results. it is better to combine child labour with opportunities to study or to get technical qualifications.

the examples quoted in the attached article require a very strong heart to read through, esp the item about the quarries. but they make the same point very well. knee-jerk reactions in response to NGO pressure produces headlines, not results!