Akhil always dreamed of feeling valuable, but his life made it hard.
His father treated him like an inconvenience and sold him as a slave in a rock quarry in exchange for gambling money. The older boys in the quarry beat him and stole his food, saying it was wasted on him. The supervisors told him he was useless and never worked hard enough even though he tried his best.
By the time our team rescued Akhil, he had forgotten his dream and started believing he wasn't very valuable at all. When he came to live at The Children's Home, he struggled to feel like he deserved kindness and help. He kept to himself, wasn't interested in school, and avoided making friends with the other children. One of his caretakers noticed Akhil was having a hard time, so he took Akhil under his wing and gave him extra encouragement. The caretaker told Akhil every day how glad he was that Akhil was there, how smart he thought Akhil was, and how much he believed in him.
After a few months, Akhil began to believe him. He remembered his dream of being valuable and realized it had come true.
Now, Akhil has settled in with a good group of friends, enjoys playing cricket, and loves learning at school, especially science. He still remembers how it felt to think he wasn't important, so he tries to help other kids who seem to feel the same way when they're first rescued.
When you do what you can For One, you help end child slavery for good.
Dozens of other children are waiting to be connected with a sponsor. See their stories.
*The name used is a pseudonym to protect this child’s identity.