By Joanna Bega | Chief Executive
We are overjoyed to let you know that we have recently rescued a boy and a girl in two separate operations. Both names have been changed.
Pratima's Story
Firstly, we rescued a 14-year-old girl after door-to-door visits by anti-child labour campaigners. She had been working in a household for two years, since she was 12.
Pratima told us that her father had died when she was young, and her elder sister and younger brother lived with her mother. She had been trafficked to Kathmandu by a villager and was hoping to earn some money to send home. Her duties included cleaning and washing clothes, but she wasn’t allowed to cook as she was from an ‘untouchable’ caste. She also worked at the family’s cosmetics shop.
She hadn’t been to school since she was 12 and hadn’t been paid for any of her work. Therefore, social workers and officials decided to rescue her, and she was referred to our safe house for girls, Marigold House.
Pratima says, “I want to become a strong and independent woman working in a good position in an office. And I know that I will have to study hard to reach my dream.”
Sunil's Story
14-year-old Sunil ran away from domestic violence in his family. He has been working as a bus conductor in Kathmandu for the past seven months. A social worker posted a video of him which went viral on social media and so, with the help of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, he was rescued and brought to our transit home.
Sunil’s family situation is very insecure, so he will stay with us – at least for the short term. Sunil is very bright, and his English is excellent. We hope that he will be able to return to school soon.
We have also been raising awareness of child labour in various municipalities, and our efforts include advertising boards and stickers.
Thank you for supporting us in our fight against child slavery, which involves both rescue and prevention work.
With best wishes
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