By Debbie Cohen | Communications Manager
Sindhupalchowk, Nepal, is a hard place to call home.
It is a poor agricultural district, notorious for human trafficking, especially of girls … girls like Esha, a middle child, who was sent away to Kuwait to work to help support her struggling family.
At first, she was able to send a small amount of money home to help her parents and two sisters. Soon, however, the money stopped coming and her phone calls became increasingly short and strained. She was being abused, trapped by a landlord who had thrown away her passport.
Back home, her distraught mother committed suicide, and her father turned to alcohol. Knowing the risks but desperate for money, he considered sending his youngest daughter, Gita, away to “work” in India.
So, Meera, his eldest daughter, took matters into her own hands and stopped him from selling another of her sisters into slavery.
Meera knew that out of all her siblings she was the lucky one; she was enrolled in STOP Girl Trafficking (SGT). So, she approached her SGT field officer, begging for help. She was very relieved when the officer met with her father and convinced him to enroll Gita in school instead of sending her away to a dark fate.
In the end, it was Meera’s father who left in search of work. But, although the girls were left to care for themselves, they were protected. With help from SGT, they were kept in school, safe from predators, and encouraged by the network of caring alums and teachers in their village.
After her father left, Meera approached her SGT field officer again with another desperate request — to help bring Esha home. Now, all three sisters are safely together again!
Their father has even started sending money to them. Without SGT, Meera fears she would have lost both of her younger sisters to trafficking. Today, all three girls have hope, for an education and a brighter future.
On behalf of the three sisters, and 10,000 similarly at-risk girls attending 480 schools across Nepal, thank you for making this life-changing work possible.
(All names have been changed for privacy and images are representative.)
To learn more about our work and the SGT Program please visit the links below:
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