Educate Nepal Mission Teams: Monday 21 April. Coffee shop

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.

Monday 21 April 2014

Monday 21 April. Coffee shop

Today, the girls in training cooked shortbread and brownies and cupcakes. Then after lunch, the coffee shop was set up and we all went down for afternoon tea, while they practiced their hospitality skills. We even had a young man singing in the background for a little mood music. We also have another ESL teacher, part- time, to continue on after Patsy and Shirley leave. We have two more team members arrive last night. That makes 22 to cook for. Kate flies out tonight and then on Wednesday, 3 more leave, and thenThursday night, the Mackay group leave. It has been a great group. Everyone has been helping each other. It gets very chaotic here, when everyone has their own responsibilities, often in various parts of the city, or in various rooms here at the hostel. The Mackay team went on a mountain flight past the glorious mountains, including Everest. They were all blown away.