Miner Nicolas Martinez helps take local children away from child labour in the mines.
At just five years old, Nicolas started work in the mines. This was inevitable - he comes from a family whose livelihoods were connected to the mountain. His mother was a guard at one of the site entrances and tragically he lost his father and two brothers to mining accidents.
Nicolas is now as an outreach worker for Voix Libres, an organization that helps mining families who live on the Cerro Rico. Using his strong ties within the local community his job is to raise awareness making sure all the existing and new families to the area know there are alternatives to child labour in the mines. This is a particularly tough job in an area where outside agencies are not trusted by the community. Through his hard work and dedication, Voix Libres have managed to set up the Robertito School - no small feat when considering that two other attempts at building schools in this remote area have failed. Now 80 children are able to attend school and look to a brighter future and a different way of sustaining themselves.
Despite displaying early symptoms of silicosis - the lung disease that affects miners and can lead to premature death - Nicolas continues with his work. His motivation are his six children, who he hopes will not follow in his path and work the mines.
