By Bruce Moore | Regional Field Director
Meena lives in a village east of Kathmandu, and at just 14 years old, she is the de facto head of household. Her mother died two years ago, her father is an alcoholic, her two youngest siblings suffer from developmental disabilities, and her eldest sister married and left home.
Every day, she wakes at 4am to cook food for her family and get everyone ready for the day. After school, she gathers wood, water, and provisions for the next day and spends a few hours on homework. She then feeds her family dinner, washes the dishes, helps everyone to bed, studies a short while longer, and finally goes to bed herself around 10pm.
When we arrived at Meena’s home on a recent trip, she was seated on a crude wooden bunk, one of the two pieces of furniture they have. The instant I sat next to her she started sobbing, the type of cry that comes from deep within. Between gasps she told me she was upset because her father had not shown up for our visit—he was out drinking at the local moonshine ‘tea house.’
But I sensed the cause was more than just being once again disappointed by her father. I put away the note pad and camera, assured her that his absence would not jeopardize the support she receives from STOP Girl Trafficking. We talked about simple things, like her favorite subject in school and what games she likes to play, until she calmed down. Before we left, I reminded her she has us and her SGT ‘sisters’ to help her whenever she needs. On our way out, we passed her father, grinning and smelling of alcohol, as he stumbled home for his lunch of beans and rice.
Although we’ve seen desperate parents gamble with their daughters’ lives, we know the girls most at risk are in situations where the family unit itself is broken. Given her hard life, it is easy to imagine Meena falling for the false promises of a better life from a handsome stranger or “aunty” from a nearby village.
The only things that prevent girls like Meena from being tricked are the lessons they learn, about trafficking and other dangers, and the safety net woven around them by STOP Girl Trafficking. We know Meena’s school principal is devoted to keeping her and the other girls at her school safe. His status in the community, partnered with the advocacy of older SGT girls in her village, may be enough to dissuade any traffickers, from approaching her, or worse yet, her father.
It is thanks to your support that we have strong networks in villages throughout Nepal to keep girls like Meena safe in school – and give them a real future. From all 12,000 girls in STOP Girl Trafficking this year, thank you again.
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