Sita is Not Alone

Life can be hard in Nepal. For agrarian families that depend on their crops for sustenance and income, a bad harvest can be devastating. Sometimes the more mouths in a family there are to feed, the heavier the burden is to survive. Lives hang in the balance.

Sita was only 14 years old when her family faced this difficult situation.

Because of her family's financial crisis, Sita was sold for marriage at just 14 to a man twice her age. He and his family were very abusive and caused Sita great physical, mental and emotional pain.

She developed friendships with two men in her village who could see she was feeling hopeless. They promised her freedom in India if she would go there with them. Sita decided to make a run for it with her new friends, but when she arrived at the border she was stopped and questioned by our staff. Suddenly Sita could no longer find her friends; they had fled and left her alone.

Our team took her into their care and welcomed her to the Safe Home. Here, Sita was safe and had access to psychiatric and medical support, trauma counseling, as well as group therapy with other daughters who had suffered the way she had. She has also begun learning new skills to pursue her own micro business someday.

Sita is no longer alone. She has a new identity - she is now one of our daughters.