Poster Child

When GoodWeave inspectors found six year-old Laxmi working in a Nepali carpet factory in 1997, she told her rescuers she had to work to survive. Her family had migrated from their village to Kathmandu after a landslide wiped out their home. Her mother, who usually worked the looms, fell ill, and her father squandered his small earnings on liquor and was terribly abusive. Laxmi was illiterate at the time of her rescue but became an eager student. With aid from GoodWeave, she quickly progressed in her studies and graduated from one of Nepal’s top universities. This image was taken by acclaimed human rights photographer Robin Romano in 2000 and soon became a symbol, not just a snapshot. Laxmi gave a face to the plight of South Asian children when a poster with her image appeared in showrooms and stores across North America.

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