I didn't do my work properly and got distracted, I had to suffer," he says.

Magadi, a district about 80 kilometres from Bangalore, where Shivakumar is now rehabilitated, was once a busy silk hub where silk thread was reeled, wound and twisted.

In 1998, about 8,000 to 10,000 children were bonded to the 1,000-odd silk factories in Karnataka's Magadi district. Now less than 1,000 children are estimated to be working at the less than 300 factories that remain.

This change is the result of the Magadi Makkala Dhwani project, which began in 1998 and covers 120 villages in the district. With the help of UNICEF and the support of the government of Karnataka, the group has turned Magadi into a model for anti-child labour activists throughout the state.

The Magadi Makkala Dhwaniworks towards rescuing and rehabilitating the children working in Magadi's silk factories. It also educates the local community (parents and factory owners) to create awareness about the violation of children's rights and hopes this will reduce and ultimately prevent the use of child labour in the sericulture industry.

The project is unique in that it involves a close partnership between government bureaucrats and non-governmental organisation workers.

After his accident, Shivakumar ran away from the factory and caught a train to Bangalore. He was found at the railway station by volunteers of Don Bosco, a charity organisation that helps street children and runaways.

Don Bosco is one of the four NGOs involved in the Magadi Makkala Dhwani project; the others are Chiguru, Vikasa and ICDSS, now known as Sankalp.

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