Forced to drop out: Yemen’s children trade school for survival

Sanaa, Yemen – At 7am, Qasim, 14, rises and begins his daily struggle. He leaves his family’s rented apartment, carrying a white sack about one metre long and half a metre wide. He hopes to fill it by 11:30am.

Qasim collects plastic bottles. A sack full of these bottles can earn him up to 1,500 Yemeni riyal, about $3. Buyers gather these items to be recycled in factories.