Getting kids who would otherwise be toiling under unthinkable conditions into the classroom can break cycles of extreme poverty and illiteracy that result when generation after generation of children work rather than receive an education.

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

According to UNICEF, Afghanistan is one of the world's most dangerous places to be a child. A third of elementary school-aged children are put to work, including many who are sold into bonded labor, sexual exploitation and early marriage. Afghan carpets are on the U.S. Department of Labor's 2012 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

Carpet production is Afghanistan's largest legal industry, directly employing two million weavers and another two million in related activities such as spinning, dyeing and finishing. The vast majority of looms are found in homes which means that the work is done out of sight by women and often by children.

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

Many Afghan women are de-facto breadwinners for their families, having lost the male head of household. While weaving is a viable occupation for women, working in isolation often leads to exploitation and many end up beholden to traders who do not offer fair compensation. GoodWeave's programs generate demand for adult labor, increased wages and improved working conditions, which mean more and better jobs for women and studies prove a child's probability of survival is increased by 20 percent when a mother controls household income.

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

GoodWeave formed an all local team based in Kabul, which relies on female inspectors who are able to access home-based looms in a culturally-sensitive way to monitor for child labor. Initially, GoodWeave inspectors work very closely with subcontractors to map out where the looms are located, and then they assist with formal introductions to the weaving families.

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

As GoodWeave inspectors visit weavers in their homes, they build trust while assessing household circumstances. Inspectors talk with women about their workers' rights, compensation, health and the importance of educating their children.

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

In reflecting on her first visits to weaving families, GoodWeave's head of inspections Hajar noted, "Carpet-weaving communities are among the most deprived ones, many have never been visited by social or aid workers, and have never been helped in the past two decades. Visiting those families and listening to them was very helpful to build the relationship and the trust that both parties needed. Talking about a better future and a new tomorrow were things that they enjoyed hearing from us and wishing, with them, for a better future for their children was something that gave them hope and strength."

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

Through its loom and monitoring inspection activities, GoodWeave is able to gain market access to girls who are weaving and use market pressure as a basis to negotiate with the parents to educate their daughters. Many of these girls are so isolated that they scarcely leave their homes; forced to work long hours, they have no contact outside their families. No other program would be likely to reach them. The very first time GoodWeave arranged a ministry-approved teacher to home-school a single student, 13 of her female family members, shown here, were eagerly waiting to join the lessons.

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

"I always kept dreaming of drawing and writing on a paper and playing with a pen between my weaving fingers, and now I can." - 13-year-old Zuhra, a former child weaver who was recently enrolled in GoodWeave's homeschooling program.

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

Since the GoodWeave team is often the only contact women and girls may have with the outside world, they find ways to deliver necessary services during their visits. For example, GoodWeave launched a partnership with VisionSpring to offer vision testing and eyeglass fitting for weavers to alleviate the eye strain that comes from close, repetitive work often done in dim lighting. VisionSpring data shows that customers outfitted with glasses have been able to achieve a 35% increase in productivity and a 20% increase in income.

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

GoodWeave has also established a child development center, attended by 40 preschool-age children in Shahrak-e-Qalinbafan ("Burgh of the Carpet Weavers"), to prevent them from getting pulled prematurely into the workforce. GoodWeave's experience has shown that intervention at this stage puts children on the path to learning while giving mothers time to focus on their craft and earn more income.

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

Quotes from the parents of children who attend the GoodWeave-supported center speak to the small and big ways that this center is changing lives, families and futures: "We were not planning or thinking of sending Amir to school at all. Our plan for him was that he should either learn weaving and assist his mother at home or get him used to start working outside and make some money, but now we are determined to work harder ourselves and send him to school, and we are so hopeful that he would have a brighter future, Inshallah." - Enayatullah, father of Amir, age 4 "Honestly speaking, sometimes we learn new things from our six-year-old child. Even the rest of our kids have been positively influenced by Noria, and even our relatives have become interested in sending their children to schools or Centres like this in their own communities after seeing the changes in Noria." - Antardi and Zoleikha, parents of Noria, age 6

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

Indeed, until GoodWeave launched its first child development center in Shahrah-e-Qalinbafan, Afghanistan in 2012, Khal Khumar was faced with a choice no mother should have to make. She could work as a weaver and earn enough to sustain her family, or she could spend her days taking care of her daughter Ma Ma Khal, the six-year-old girl (center) in the photo - but she couldn't do both. But now, Khal Khumar doesn't have to make that terrible choice. She says: "Because of the GoodWeave daycare center, I can weave carpet without any concerns about my child's health, food and playing. Nothing is more important to a mother than being sure about the well-being, food and safety of her child."

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA

What's next? GoodWeave recently won a one-year grant from the U.S. Department of State for its Weaving Opportunities for Women Program. In partnership with Ariana Rugs, Inc. GoodWeave will create a women-run, centralized training and production center called Tapish (rhythm in Dari) to expand the market for carpets made by Afghan women while fulfilling industry demand for skilled weavers. The rugs are expected to hit the market in early 2014. GoodWeave also has funding-dependent plans for regional expansion to other key carpet-making communities, starting in Herat.

©Roberto Romano courtesy of Goodweave USA