A fund to rescue children from slavery in Nepal

We are very pleased to share with you that we have recently rescued a boy and a girl from India. They were both living in public shelters, having been trafficked across the Nepal border four years ago. Without paperwork, Nepalese children become stranded in India – which is why they need to be rescued and brought home.

Sunita* was 12 when her stepmother sent her away with £3, telling her to get married and never return home. She met a stranger who tried to take her to his home in Hajipur, India. Fortunately, they were stopped by a policeman, who grew suspicious when the man started changing his story. The man ran away and Sunita was placed in a state-funded home for girls in India. Sunita was unable to contact her family for the next four years. She lived with 250 other girls and women of all ages and backgrounds – some of whom were mentally ill. For many reasons it wasn’t a safe place. In fact, the home is currently under investigation following reports of staff members abusing women and girls. Sunita told us that there wasn’t enough food and that she had to share a bed with two others. Sometimes she was beaten for no reason.

Palin* dropped out of school when his father committed suicide. He was just 10 years old when he started working at a garage to be able to buy food. At the age of 12, he was trafficked to Bihar in India by a relative who promised him a job. He was forced to smuggle electrical goods across the border, but ran away after his relative started punching and kicking him. He took shelter in a temple, but people cursed him and called him a thief. He got scared and went to the local police for help, which is how he ended up in a boys’ home for four years.

This is the first rescue we have undertaken with our new partner, ChoraChori Nepal, who have a strong history of rescuing Nepali children from India. They first became aware of Sunita and Palin at the beginning of 2021, but tracing their families and getting all the paperwork in place has been a long process. The children are now at ChoraChori’s safe home, where they are spending time with an experienced counsellor. Family integration will only take place if all the appropriate safeguarding checks are in place. Thank you for your support which enables us to rescue children like these and restore their childhoods to them.

*names changed