Working. It's what most of us do for half our waking lives. It's how we feed and clothe ourselves and how we support our families. It shapes our sense of who we are, and of where we fit in the scheme of things.

Working is also what connects us. Almost everything around us is the product of human labor—much of it performed in faraway places, by people we will never meet.

Each month, WORKING brings us into the life of a single worker in the global economy. Intimate profiles of real people with real families, real struggles, real dreams, and real jobs.

Ismael 'Babu' Hussein

Job:

Shipbreaking Worker
Location:

Chittagong, Bangladesh
Income:

About $2.20 per day
Age:

13
Worry:
Being hit by falling steel
Dream:

To be a three-wheel taxi driver

Babu Hussein works as an assistant in one of Bangladesh's shipbreaking yards, where armies of laborers dismantle huge old vessels with little more than hammers and blowtorches. The work is perilous, the bosses abusive, the hours exhausting. Babu's reward? Just over two dollars a day, and nightmares about being crushed by giant sheets of steel. Pretty heavy stuff for a 13-year-old kid.

Past Stories

Upcoming Story

Salina Kosgei was the 10th and youngest child of poor farmers in the highlands of western Kenya. The family hut had no electricity or plumbing. As a kid, Salina used to run 10 kilometers to school, barefoot, just for the fun of it. Twenty years later, she's still running, not for kicks but for a living. It's been a long slog. Then this year she found herself elbow to elbow with the defending champ in the most prestigious marathon in the world, with the finish line in sight.

Do you know a remarkable worker we should profile? The job must be outside the United States, and teach us something about our globalizing world.

Work connects us all. Tell us about yours and we will connect you to other workers around the world.