Our Women’s Safe Haven and Vocational Center provides a safe space for women and girls recovering from various abuses and a real risk of human trafficking. Here, we make them feel heard through counseling and help them start new beginnings through our livelihood training programs.
Nirmala* (25) grew up in an impoverished community near the Nepal-India border. Growing up, she would hear stories of young women being deceived by traffickers with marriages or lucrative jobs, only to never be seen again. Stories like these feel distant, yet the myths of these missing women haunt their village as they remain a high-risk area to this day.
To get by, Nirmala’s family survives through daily wage labor and small-scale farming. Despite being hard workers, they still struggle to meet their basic needs. Nirmala needed to step up and look for opportunities wherever she might find them. By then, she connected with a woman who claimed to be from Nepal, working in India. She persuaded Nirmala to join her, promising a high-paying job and financial stability. Desperate, Nirmala thought this was a good opportunity despite the myths and stories of the disappearing women playing at the back of her mind. The desire to provide is way greater than the risk that could happen. To her, she did not have much choice. She spoke with her family regarding this, and they supported her travel to India.
Intuition is a very powerful thing. Nirmala’s body spoke to her before she even believed it, and it showed in her behavior. While crossing the border, our staff noticed nervousness in her demeanor. We approached her and asked her a couple of questions. She answered in fear, giving inconsistent responses. We also learned that it was her first time traveling to India, with her only contact being a woman she barely knew and only met online. When we asked about the woman, she could not confirm her identity. All she had was her Indian phone number.
Although her family confirmed that she had their consent to travel, the team continued to perceive a significant risk in this. When we attempted to contact the woman, she immediately blocked Nirmala on social media and her mobile number, confirming the likelihood of deception and potential trafficking. After receiving counseling, Nirmala recognized the danger and decided not to proceed with the journey.
Although she eliminated the risk of herself becoming one of those disappearing women in her village’s stories, she still felt sad because she felt like she also lost an opportunity. She wanted to help her family, but she also did not want to endanger herself. All she wanted was to have real work experience so she could have respectable jobs when she got back to Nepal. This complexity is overwhelming for her, and we reassured her that we can provide her with an alternative.
To reduce her risk and support her path toward independence, we referred her to the Women’s Safe Haven and Vocational Center for skill-based training. She is currently enrolled in a beauty parlor training program and is committed to building a safe, dignified, and self-reliant future.
*Name changed for privacy.
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