Photo: Two recently rescued girls are now happy to be living at the home, where they’re receiving all they need to be healthy, safe, and prepared for a bright future.
We are happy to report that 16 girls who were recently rescued from the dangers of human trafficking are currently living at our ‘She Has Hope’ rehabilitation home in Nepal. All of these girls are now safe, healthy, and happy, receiving counseling and medical care, and room & board in a safe and peaceful environment. The girls are also enrolled in our skills development program where they become proficient in several craft-making, seamstress, and cooking and gardening skills, and receive support in basic literacy and the fundamentals of small business accounting. Through their craft-making and seamstress work, the girls learn to sew various popular styles of Nepalese and Indian dresses, make stuffed animals, and knit sweaters, gloves, and baby hats. They also learn to make beautiful jewelry items, such as necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Many of the girls’ crafts are sold online at SheHasHope.org, and all proceeds directly support their rehabilitation.
The girls also recently enjoyed a sightseeing trip where they were able to visit popular local attractions such as the Boudhanath Stupa, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, the Swayambhu Stupa, the Basantapur Tower, and the local zoo. As part of developing their gardening skills, the girls planted spinach and tomatoes, and they are looking forward to a bountiful harvest of these crops in July. Upon harvest they will be able to enjoy the satisfaction of their work as they use the delicious, organic ingredients in their cooking classes and bless and delight each other with their culinary creations. It gives them joy to pursue their own creativity as they serve each other. In addition, the garden project not only provides the girls with nutritious ingredients for their meals, but it also equips them with the understanding of advanced gardening techniques. Thus, they leave the home with knowledge of how to start their own gardens — this accomplishment along with the trades they learn in our skill development program enables them to become independent economically.
(Top-left): Learning to knit sweaters, gloves, and baby hats are some of the many skills the girls at our ‘She Has Hope’ rehabilitation home learn before graduation. (Top-right): Girls in the rehabilitation program learn advanced gardening skills; produce harvested is used in their cooking classes. (Bottom-left): The girls are tested on several popular Nepalese clothing patterns which they have to commit to memory before receiving their seamstress certification upon graduation. (Bottom-right): Kalyani, who graduated from our program last year, now owns her own tailoring business.
Today we’d like to share a success story of one of our recent graduates from our skills development program at our Nepal rehabilitation home. 25-year-old Kalyani was rescued from a dangerous human trafficking situation in India last year with the help of a sister NGO in the Nuwakot district. She graduated from our program last year and now she has her own tailoring business in her small hometown where she earns $102 monthly; three times above the Nepali poverty line. We’re happy to report that Kalyani got married earlier this year and she hopes to have children in the future. We are very thankful for your support which makes success stories such as Kalyani’s possible, giving her a future full of safety, love, and hope.
In May we organized trafficking awareness counseling classes in a public school in Bhaktapur where we trained 33 girls how to be aware of and avoid the deceptions and practices of human traffickers. Our team then conducted the same program at a high school in Kushadevi where we trained 107 girls. Our training classes, which are styled in a workshop and discussion format, allow the girls to talk about guilt, fear, shame, anger, and their safety — they are encouraged to open up and learn from each other’s experiences. They are also taught to identify different problems and dangerous situations, and they are given solutions.
In fulfillment of the prevention objectives in our response to the human trafficking crisis, we regularly pass out literature to girls at the Nepal-India border — for example, over the course of a typical day at the border, our two female staff hand out around 500-600 leaflets containing trafficking awareness information and talk to girls about the dangers of trafficking. They also look out for suspicious behavior such as an older man with teenage girls who look out of place, and in such cases tip off border police to investigate. This is a critical point of rescue because once they cross the border, there would be little chance of recourse for the victims.
As always, we are grateful for your generous donations and your faithful prayers, helping to improve the lives of our girls and give them a hopeful, happy future.
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