A Mother’s Love

In the quiet hills of Jaimini Municipality, Pranita (26, name changed for privacy) once dreamed of a life filled with love, safety, and opportunity. Unfortunately, life had other plans for her.

People often associate their childhood with playfulness, safety, and being free of worries. But Pranita’s childhood was different. She was born into a family struggling to make ends meet, making her face a kind of darkness that no child should ever experience. Fathers are known to be protective of their children, but hers wasn’t. He tormented her and subjected her to various kinds of abuse that, until now, she has trouble talking about. Who can blame her? Just when she gathered the courage to confide in her mother about these abuses, she did not believe her. Instead, she was further abused, leaving her feeling even more alone.

At 13, she was forced into marriage with a man ten years older than her. After the marriage, she was sent to live with him and his family. What should have been a new beginning quickly became a nightmare. Her husband had too much love for alcohol, and very little for her. Every time he would drink, the physical and mental abuse commenced.

Despite these dark moments in her life, she found a little bit of light in her own flesh. She gave birth to two children—a girl and a boy. They became her reason to keep going, despite all that she endured. Their love was unconditional, and so was hers. As the two children grew, so did their financial responsibilities.

Desperate to provide for her children, Pranita turned to the only resource she had: her smartphone. Through Facebook, she connected with people who promised her better opportunities, like a receptionist job in India that would allow her to support her family. She was afraid that the opportunity might pass, so she wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Instead of opportunity, she found herself trapped in a world of exploitation and violence. Lured to Delhi under the false pretense of a desk job, Pranita was forced into sex work instead. Her captors took every penny she earned and met her resistance with brutal abuse.

For months, Pranita endured this unimaginable suffering, her spirit battered, but never broken. She lived day by day, hoping to be back with her babies again. So one day, she found a chance to escape. She immediately sought refuge with a like-minded organization that we are connected with. But even then, her fight was far from over. Threats to her life loomed large, and she knew she needed to return home to Nepal to be truly safe.

With the help of the Nepalese Embassy, our team partners, like-minded organizations, and our donors, Pranita was finally safe back in her home country. Each year, we have been supporting more and more women and helping them get out of dire situations. Our joint efforts made it all worth it to see Pranita relieved of her suffering. She returned to Nepal, not as the broken girl who had left, but as a survivor determined to rebuild her life with the two loves of her life.

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