Your impact in action: A life changed!
Kayanna* is a 16-year-old Dalit girl from Bihar who lives with her parents and two younger sisters. Because her father was a daily wage earner and thus unable to earn enough money to support his family, Kayanna had to drop out of school. This was very hard on Kayanna. She began to work in a small local shop; however, it was still not sufficient for her family to survive.
While working at this local shop, a woman who claimed to be from another state approached her and her family promising to help Kayanna get a good job if she went with her. Without realizing she was a trafficker, Kayanna’s parents agreed to her offer. By the grace of God, Kayanna came in contact with one of our Ashray Children@Risk youth activists in the area.
After Kayanna shared that her family was planning to send her away with this woman for a ‘good job’, our Ashray youth activist immediately insisted on visiting Kayanna’s humble home. She told the family that this woman was a pimp and her story had lured many other young girls with promise of a good job, only to sell these unsuspecting girls to traffickers, and who would force them into brothels. When Kayanna’s family learned the truth, they were overcome with gratitude for our Ashray Children@Risk volunteer.
Our same Ashray Youth Volunteer informed the Ashray Children@Risk district coordinator who contacted the local media and a reporter who has been sympathetic to their work.
This reporter, Mr. Shamshad, raised awareness about this situation in the local community through the media in the hope that this will bring awareness to other parents and prevent other girls from being lured by traffickers.
This whole experience was very difficult for Kayanna, when she considers that she was almost trafficked. Gratefully, Kayanna has been welcomed to our Sewing Centre for training, which was made possible through the PAOC’s 12 Gifts of Christmas last December, and those who so generously gave.
* Name is a pseudonym to protect the identity of the youth.
