By Erica Stone | President
STOP Girl Trafficking prevents girls from being trafficked into slavery or child marriage by keeping them in school. There they are safe to learn, protected from predators, and encouraged by a network of alums, extra teachers, and visibility in their villages. 12,500 at-risk girls go to 500 schools across Nepal every year as part of SGT.
Sarita was 8 years old, in grade two, when I first met her outside the rundown shack where she lived with her impoverished grandmother and younger brother. Her parents had abandoned her in a brick kiln. Sarita scarcely spoke in school, but she was a bright, spunky girl. She had begun to open up after becoming part of STOP Girl Trafficking. “She has potential, given some care and nurturing,” her teacher told me.
But she did not get care or nurturing. Her grandfather abused her and beat both children so badly that they finally fled 80 miles, somehow, to Kathmandu, hoping to find refuge with an aunt. This aunt was in bad health and couldn’t keep them. But she cared about them and, aware of Sarita’s schooling, called SGT for help.
The staff was looking for a good home for them last spring when I happened to be in their office. We called Childhaven, a children’s home run by wonderful, dedicated people I have known most of my life. They said, “Of course.”
On our last trip, we stopped by to see Sarita after school. She is 11 now, taller, and she smiled and looked less wary. Her brother, now eight, was still sometimes “naughty” but had made friends. These two children have finally found, with some help, safety and home. Sometimes it takes a village.
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