Kirana was eight years old when he first went to work in the fields.
Estate owners transported him and his parents from their home village,
Mulanje, along with 45 other families. The truck journey covered more
than 1,000 kilometers and ended in the tobacco fields in Rumphi in northern Malawi.
   
   
   

Kirana's
mother, Jane Kapito, 45, says the family left home seeking a better
life. “Four years later, my whole family is still struggling with
poverty. My son has to work as hard as everyone else if we have to
afford the basic necessities. The money that my husband and I receive
from the tobacco estate is not enough,” she says.
   
   
   

Now
12, Kirana has never been to school. For the past six months, his
health has been failing and he can no longer work as hard as he used
to. His mother says her little boy is malnourished and therefore
contracts different infections easily. The family often goes without a
proper meal for up to three days.

To read the full article and find out more about the tobacco industry's response, click here.

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