It’s 6 a.m. on a Monday. In one home, a child wakes up to find their school uniform ready and breakfast on the table. They catch the school bus with a smile, ready for another day of learning.
But in Beed, Maharashtra – one of India’s largest sugarcane producing regions, 6 a.m. looks very different.
Here, a child wakes up in a makeshift hut as the heat builds. There’s no school bus coming. Instead, they walk to the sugarcane fields, where they’ll work for the next 13 hours under the hot sun. This is life for thousands of children in India’s sugarcane fields. Their families come here looking for work, but get trapped in a cycle of debt. Contractors, take advantage of their desperation.
For six months straight, these children lose their childhood to the fields. They swap pencils for sharp blades, spending their days cutting cane, carrying heavy loads, and tying bundles until their hands hurt.
They live in temporary shelters without basic needs – no power, no toilets, no clean water. Food is hard to come by. Medical care doesn’t exist. The pay is barely enough to live on.
The trap is cruel. Contractors give families money upfront before harvest season. To repay these loans, entire families – including children – must work. School becomes impossible. Dreams fade away.

But hope remains, even in these harsh fields, thanks to organisations like Vidyoday. Since these migrant children can’t reach schools, Sevankur, one of the many initiatives under Vidyoday, makes classrooms reach these children, bringing education to the fields.

The organization also offers nutritious meals and basic healthcare to these children, along with awareness programs designed to arm their families with knowledge about their rights. Their impact speaks through numbers: over 500 migrant children return to education annually, 1,700 students develop critical thinking skills, and 300 children receive proper nutrition and medical support.

But numbers don’t tell the whole story. Real change starts with one person who decides to act. With one hero who refuses to let injustice go unnoticed.

It starts with you.
So, what are you waiting for?
Learn more about Vidyoday Foundation today and be a part of this change.