Aashi* was rescued before she could be trafficked.

Aashi’s mother died when she was young, and her father quickly remarried. They were extremely impoverished and forced Aashi to work long hours in brutal heat to bring in money.

When she was 10, her stepmother decided to marry Aashi off to a 28-year-old man. She was beaten and threatened into submission by her stepmother. But finally, it was too much—in fear and with nowhere else to go, Aashi ran away from home.

Because of your giving last year, we were able to expand our work into the area where Aashi is from (where many girls are vulnerable to trafficking). Our social workers found Aashi after she had run away and recognized her vulnerable situation. Before she was trafficked into a brothel or sold into marriage, our social workers rescued Aashi and placed her in our Child Sponsorship program.

Aashi is now protected and thriving in every aspect of her life: she is receiving an education, living in a safe home, preparing for her future, and growing in self-confidence. Aashi hears that she is special and important. And, we celebrated Aashi’s birthday for the first time in her life. She tasted her first birthday cake and opened the first birthday gift she has ever received—the dress she’s wearing in the picture above.

Thank you for making it possible for us to rescue girls like Aashi and teach them that their lives are valuable.

*Name changed to protect identity.