Building a Sustainable Future For Girls in Nepal

This story is about Jayanti (name changed), a 15-year-old girl studying in class 6 of Mahendra Secondary School. We met her through the Goal camp held on 20th March 2018 and she was very quiet and stayed alone most of the times. As the day progressed we were able to get closer to her and finally before the end of the program she came out strongly. She shared her story with us while wiping the tears flowing down her cheeks. She lives with her mother, stepfather and 3 years old stepsister. Her father passed away when she was young due to cancer and after a year or two, her mother remarried. Her stepfather is a mechanic and financially supports them. Her mother as well works as a maid but the income is quite less and she has to be dependent on her husband financially. Jayanti’s stepfather does seem to take advantage of this condition and harasses both Jayanti and her mother. She says   “My stepfather drinks a lot and abuses both me and my mother. He pretends to love me in front of the mother but while I am alone he scolds me, beats me and asks me to leave the house. I have not told about it to my mother for she might feel bad. I do want to talk to her but am scared as well “what if she does not listen to me?” because we are financially much dependent on him. But I am strong and I will talk with my mother to help me get the solution to this.”

We felt that the program has made a huge impact on her and given her the courage to speak up. She told she had not shared it with anyone else and now talking to us has given her a sense of relief. She told that before this she was depressed and did not feel like doing anything. Together with this, she shared that she was determined to make changes in the present scenario of her life.  Also the end sentence of her “But I am strong and I will talk to my mother to help me get the solution to this.” made us glad that she now had the courage to speak about the pain with us but most importantly with her mother. In addition to that, she shared that she is now motivated to study well and have good results in the coming days. Moreover, she wants to be a successful person and fine dancer.