Once a bonded labourer, now an entrepreneur
New Indian ExpressBENGALURU: On a sunny afternoon, Poornima and her husband, after wrapping up their daily wage work, recalled their hard-hitting ordeal of being trapped with bonded labour for over four-and-a-half years, for a mere loan of Rs 20,000. A month after her marriage, Poornima found herself working hard hours daily from 5.30 am to 7 pm at a brick kiln to repay the loan her husband Marappa had taken for the ceremony. For over four years, Poornima and her husband with nine other men and five women lived in sheds next to the kiln and even while they both cut bricks throughout the day, they barely saw each other as the owner ensured both were separated. Since their rescue in 2014, now 27-year-old Poornima made a turnabout in her life, an independent and self-reliant entrepreneur, helping other released bonded labourers through the Udayonmukha Trust led by the labourers to find their voice by selling handicrafts.
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Rescued bonded labourers recall their woes
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