Breaking the systemic chains of intergenerational bonded labor in Pakistan's brick kilns through financial intervention.
Peshgi refers to the advance monetary loans given to desperately poor families by brick kiln owners. What appears as a lifeline during medical emergencies, extreme poverty, or family crises quickly becomes a sophisticated mechanism for enslavement. Once the Peshgi is accepted, the entire family—including children and the elderly—is legally and physically bound to the kiln to pay it off.
Because the workers are illiterate and isolated, the kiln owners manipulate the accounting. Exorbitant, unrecorded interest rates are applied, and daily wages (paid per 1,000 bricks) are kept artificially low. Workers are charged for damaged bricks, rain delays, and even their own tools, ensuring the debt never decreases.
"When a father dies, his debt does not die with him. It is transferred to his sons and daughters. Children are born into debt they did not incur, forced to make bricks instead of attending school, sealing the fate of the next generation."
A family facing starvation or medical costs accepts a loan (Peshgi) from a kiln owner, agreeing to work until it is repaid.
The family must mold 1,000 bricks to earn a meager daily wage. A large portion of this is forcibly deducted for debt repayment and illegal interest.
Illiterate workers cannot track their production. Owners undercount bricks, apply arbitrary fines, and add living expenses to the principal debt.
The family is restricted from leaving the kiln premises. They cannot seek alternative employment, and their children are pulled into hard labor to meet quotas.
UCD breaks this cycle through direct legal and financial intervention. Our legal teams audit the alleged debts, fighting illegal interest accumulation in court. Where genuine debt exists, we utilize donor funds to execute a one-time Peshgi Liquidation, legally buying the family's freedom and securing their official release documents.
If you are aware of a family held against their will at a kiln, contact our legal advocacy team.
100% of your donation to the Peshgi Liquidation fund goes directly toward legally settling fraudulent debts and physically rescuing families from brick kilns.