Popsicle Boys and Gardenia Girls p. 2: Why I wrote about child labor in Asia

Raising awareness of child labor is the start of a solution.

As children, we perceive our world as the norm. I wrote about being eye-level with child laborers (Popsicle Boys and Gardenia Girls p. 1) during my formative years in the Philippines and never grasping the injustice of it.

In 2016, I had the honor of seeing my short story published in Childhood Regained, a collection of stories about child labor in Asia. The Philippines wasn't a country highlighted, so I chose India.

As soon as I decided to write about a little girl selling fruit on the pavement, Anha came to life. I'd never been to Mumbai, but I closed my eyes and pictured the slums of Metro Manila: the open sewage, the flies, the garbage stench, the shanties patched together with scrap wood and tin . . . and the setting for Anha tumbled from my keyboard to the page. One of the beta readers remarked my descriptions were very accurate to Mumbai. I believe that's because poverty and hardship play out much the same wherever you go.

I'm proud of my contribution to the book, which is used as a social studies text for Canadian schools, grades 4-9. Jodie Renner compiled and edited it, and all the proceeds from sales go to SOS Children's Villages.

I couldn't help every Doming, every Anha of my childhood but I'm so thankful to give to disadvantaged children in this small way.

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📘Please take time to look at Childhood Regained, and consider using it to raise awareness of the exploitation of millions of children worldwide. Student and teacher editions are also available.