On October 22, 2009 NGO “Sana Sezim”, with the Department on Protection of Children, held a raid in the Makhtaral area of the South Kazakhstan Region to prevent the Worst Forms of Child Labor. The raid was conducted in the cotton fields of the area.
   During the raid child labor was found being used to work on cotton during school hours. When this occurs, school attendance declines sharply; particularly, for children from 7 to 17 years.
   School № 36 of the village was also visited. It was revealed that some children had been forced to work in the fields to pick cotton. It was also revealed that there was a presence of families of migrant workers from Uzbekistan, who came to pick cotton with the children.
   At the end of the raid, there was a round table: "There is no child labor!" It was attended by school principals, district representatives, entrepreneurs, and employees of the migration police in the Makhtaral area. At the round table it was discussed that there had been a clear violation of the rights of children, and that for school principals to send children to do agricultural work and for children to work for pay three times less than adults without concern about their safety is illegal. The organizers of the roundtable were members of "Center of support to agriculture and entrepreneurship”.