After a landslide destroyed Laxmi Shrestha’s home, the 6-year-old went to work in a carpet factory in Nepal. Today, thanks to RugMark she is an eager and accomplished student who plans to become a social worker.

In 1997, RugMark inspectors found 6-year-old Laxmi Shrestha working in a Nepali carpet factory. 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, was ill. Her father – a laborer who squandered his small earnings on alcohol – was seldom home. When he was, he abused his wife and children.

Illiterate at the time of her rescue, Laxmi became an eager student. With aid from RugMark, she quickly progressed in her studies and by the time Robin Romano took her picture in 2000, she was in fourth grade. As a symbol of the many children who work illegally in Nepal, 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.

Today, at 16, Laxmi is enrolled in university at one of Nepal’s top institutions. This is a tremendous feat considering a decade ago she was a ‘carpet kid.’

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