Child Labor: A Moral Dilemma? | Kinsu Kumar

Born in Uttar Pradesh, a slum in India, Kinsu Kumar couldn’t make friends when he was young. While kids in his neighborhood went to school, Kinsu worked as a car cleaner and domestic helper to help his family earn a living. He was only 6 years old.

Worldwide 152 million are victims of child labor and almost half of them, 73 million, find themselves in hazardous working conditions. In this episode, we unravel the dangers and hidden costs of child labor. We identify factors that make child labor widespread, as well as the policies and systems needed to protect the rights of children. On the podcast, we will look at the moral dilemma parents face in choosing to escape the poverty trap for their families or build a better future for their children.

Featuring policy and advocacy insights from experts: Soledad Herrero, India Chief of Child Protection at UNICEF; and Jason Judd, Executive Director at Cornell University New Conversations Project, School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.

In conversation with Hazami Barmada, Founder of the Humanity Lab Foundation.

Speaker Biographies:

KINSU KUMAR is a Child Rights’ Advocate and a Child Rights Leader at the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation

Mr. Kinsu Kumar is a child rights advocate from India who currently works at Bal Ashram– a rehabilitation home for underprivileged children, and victims of child and bonded labour. He is an enigmatic speaker who has represented India in multiple forums across the world. His journey from a child who was forced into labour to a child rights activist has been inspiring. Born in a socio-economically marginalised household located in a slum area within the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Kumar used to work as a car cleaner from the age of six to contribute to his family’s income. As his father couldn’t afford his education, he contacted Bachpan Bachao Andolan(BBA)/Save the Childhood Movement in 2003 because he wanted his son to have a bright future. He was soon rehabilitated in Bal Ashram which helped him receive education and engage in child rights advocacy. Mr. Kumar has participated in local, national, and international meetings across different countries to advocate for the rights of children and to create a discourse around the need for their protection and development.  He was invited to speak on issues related to children at the European Union in Belgium and Global Child Labour conference in the Netherlands.  He was also one of the 30 youth leaders at the Vatican youth symposium. Twitter: @kinsukumar 

SOLEDAD HERRERO is the Chief of Child Protection at UNICEF in India

Soledad is the  Chief of Child Protection for UNICEF in India. She has worked for UNICEF and other UN Agencies for the last fifteen years in Latin America, Africa, Headquarters in New York, and now India. During her career, she has worked on a wide range of issues in the human rights and protection field, including child recruitment, child labour, juvenile justice, and child marriage, to mention some. In the areas of humanitarian assistance, she has coordinated emergency responses in the border area between Sudan and South Sudan, refugee crises in East Africa and Great Lakes, and drought response in Horn of Africa. Soledad holds an LLM in Human Rights from University of London, a Master on International Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins University, and a Juris Doctorate and a Business Administration from ICADE (Spain). Twitter: @SoledadHerrero @unicefindia

JASON JUDD is a global labor expert and Executive Director of Cornell University New Conversations Project at School of Industrial and Labor Relations in Cornell University

Jason Judd is Executive Director of the Cornell University New Conversations Project focused on global labor practices. He previously led the Ship to Shore Rights Project at the International Labor Organization (Bangkok). He served as Vice President of the Fair Labor Association in Washington, DC, where he directed all accountability programs including the FLA's Fair Compensation work. Jason is an expert on economic policy and global labor rights who has worked in senior roles for the ILO's Better Factories Cambodia, Demos (New York), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the AFL-CIO, the Solidarity Center, and the Industrial Areas Foundation. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Financial Times, and on PBS. He is a former Fulbright Fellow, and a graduate of Duke University and l'École Nationale d’Administration (ENA/RULE). Twitter: @cornellilr

HAZAMI BARMADAis the Founder of Humanity Lab Foundation and co-Executive Producer & Host of the Finding Humanity Podcast.

Hazami is an award-winning social entrepreneur, thought-leader, and public affairs and social impact expert recognized by Forbes as an “inspirational agent of change.” She has consulted for many leading global brands including the United Nations, United Nations Foundation, Aspen Institute, and the Royal Court of the Sultanate of Oman. Among her posts at the United Nations, she served as the Coordinator for the United Nations Secretary General's World Humanitarian Summit, an Advisor to the first-ever United Nations Secretary-General's Youth Envoy, as a member of the United Nations SDG Strategy Hub for the launch of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Hazami has a Masters from Harvard University where she was an Edward S. Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management. She studied social and public policy at Georgetown University and has a BA in Anthropology and Sociology. Twitter: @hazamibarmada @TheHumanityLab