Desperate Girls

The Badi Girls

Between 7,000 and 12,000 young girls, aged 9-16, are trafficked each year from Nepal; mainly to India. According to Nepal Monitor/On line journal, 2007, there are more than 200,000 Nepali girls in Indian brothels.

The Dalits(untouchables) are the lowest level in Hindu society, and the Badi community, in Western Nepal, are the lowest of the low. As a displaced hungry people group the Badi community has made sexual subservience a way of life. Young girls from this group “serve” other groups. This has become a tradition and means of livelihood. Many girls, even when they are unwilling, are forced to serve as sex slaves. Family members knowingly sell their daughters to traffickers.

Though prostitution is illegal in Nepal, the industry reportedly has links with highly ranked officials and political leaders. Large groups of girls are taken across the border with many police and government officials being in collusion with traffickers and brothel owners.

Traffickers and related criminals are often protected by political parties, and if arrested, are freed using political power. As a result, there is an underlying distrust of police that has led people not to file cases against traffickers.

Domestic action involves activities of NGO’s and other volunteer groups. These groups are playing a major role to address girl-trafficking and sex slaves issues. Some NGO’s are playing a very important role to improve the situation. From creating social awareness to rescuing and rehabilitation, they are providing services (and relief) to those that need it the most – the likely victims as well as the rescued ones. The Lighthouse foundation is one of these.

*See Chandra Kala’s story on this blog site.

Sunday 20 January 2013

Moving Guesthouse

Robyn and i are on our own now for the next week.
I still have some things to do catching up with Leslie from  KICS and Bimala from Higher Ground as well as the registration for the Vocation Training Centre.
Today is the day we move. We are surrounded by boxes and the beds and curtains are all stripped.
We are expecting a bus load of people to help after 10am because in Nepal life begins at 10am.

We are expecting to be off line for a couple of days due to the change in location and the need to set up the Internet and Wifi in the new place.

Going from one floor to four floors is a bit of a leap of faith but there is every indication that we will need the extra space to accommodate the growing number of teams who have expressed interest in coming later this year. We pray that the extra use will defray the extra cost.

The Bottom floor of the new Guesthouse will be the Vocational Training facility and will also provide a cafe for guests.

A Young couple from the church will be married soon and will move into one room to be the caretakers.

There is enough ground to enable the Sychar ladies to cultivate vegetables. The Half-way house is only 5 minutes walk away.

The Vocation Training has already commenced at the half-way house and Tusal hostel and the equipment from both these venues will be moved during February.

It is an exciting new phase for the ministry and one which we believe will bear much fruit leading into sustainable Micro businesses.

The new facility will be called 'Transformation Guesthouse' and the likewise the Voc. Ed Centre will be "Transformation Vocation Training Centre" Raju has really caught onto the concept of Transformation.


No comments:

Post a Comment