Photo: Rescued from human trafficking, she’s now safe at our rehabilitation home where she’s learning how to make clothes and crafts to gain financial independence.
Thanks to recent donations along with profits from our native-led farmland enterprise in Nepal, we were able to double the amount of sewing machines in our seamstress classroom up to 12. We were also able to finally outfit the crafts and knitting classroom with desks and benches. These major improvements will greatly aid in the learning process as the girls work through the courses.
The home is currently rehabilitating almost 20 girls who are teenaged and into their early twenties, recovering from human trafficking situations. At the home they receive counseling, room & board, literacy classes, and become proficient in several craft-making, seamstress and gardening skills through daily coursework offered by our full time teachers. They also receive medical care–some are HIV positive. Their crafts are sold on the She Has Hope Crafts Shop to supplement the program’s funding and for their own fair trade earnings.
An estimated 12,000 Nepalese women, mostly teenagers or younger, are being trafficked across the Nepal-India border each year, where the majority end up in brothels as prostitutes against their will. Others end up in different kinds of slavery where they’re trafficked to other countries and end up usually abused and neglected as domestic slaves.
We are currently in the process of seeking funding for a larger project that will afford us permanent facilities for this home and our orphanage home. The new property will allow us to break free from rental properties and move a little ways outside the city where we can also benefit from additional farmland and gardening.
In order to multiply funding for our Nepal programs, we’ve equipped our native team with a farmland enterprise. Our farmland is not only providing profits for funding but also nutritious ingredients for our program participant’s meals.
Take a Closer Look: view the full size of the story photo, and browse many more
