Banner image: Ayesha [centre], coordinator of CEDAR’s Nepalese partner, Asha Nepal
(Updated on 9 October 2020)
Our Nepalese partner recently told us that they rescued two girls from a red light area of India. The situation of the girls was very vulnerable so our partner carried out rescue even under the threat of COVID-19 and closing of borders.
These two girls, who were physically and mentally weak, had undergone different circumstances. One of the girls named Nagina (pseudonym, 11 years old) had been sold by her own mother to a relative as a servant, due to poverty. The other girl named Lola (pseudonym, 16 years old) had been harassed sexually by her own father, after the death of her mother last year. She was going to be taken to work in brothel right before our partner’s intervention.
Soon after our partner found out what these girls have gone through, they did everything to rescue them. Even though India had seen record daily rise in the number of COVID-19 infections and Nepal–India border was also closed, they communicated with the local government and the border police. And finally they brought the girls to the shelter home. We feel at ease that our partner staff and the girls were tested negative for COVID-19. This rescue has been very challenging, because both the relative whom Nagina had been sold to and the father of Lola were dangerous or criminal men. But with the grace of God, our partner managed to bring them to Nepal at their shelter. We thank God for every step He helped in the rescue.
Our partner said, “It’s such a relief to have the two girls (out of their dangerous environments).”
Please pray for the survivors and our partner’s ministry of protecting human trafficking victims and sexually exploited women and children. You can read more our partner’s story in battling against human trafficking: eng.cedarfund.org/aht/.
(This article was edited from the writings of our partner Asha Nepal.)
Content of this issue
Written by: Clara Chiu (Head of Partnership Development) From July 20th to 23rd this year, several CEDAR staff participated in the “Asia Region Anti-Trafficking Conference” (hereinafter referred to as the conference). The conference was held for the first time three years ago, and this year is the third. It was changed to conduct online due to the pandemic. The purpose of the conference is to gather people from all parts of Asia who are concerned about human trafficking, and learn about it with other forms of modern slavery through various workshops, and know more about the latest anti-trafficking measures. During the meeting, representatives from different organisations mentioned that the situation of human trafficking has become worse under the…
Written by Tony Chan (Senior Partnership Development Officer) “During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.” (Exodus 2:23) The old Pharaoh promised to the prime minister Joseph that Joseph would take his father’s family to live in Egypt and live in the “best part of the land” (Genesis 47:6), the region of Goshen. Jacob, the ancestor of the Israelites, was able to reunite with his son Joseph and escape the famine with his family, so he seized the opportunity and moved to Egypt with his family of 70 members. Over the years, Jacob’s family and…
Written by Edward Lai (Senior Communication Officer) As the pandemic is raging around the world, criminals do not only “hunt” civilians in a hidden way in poor villages, they also target their prey via the internet. By using their poor and fragile situation, they can easily force or lure the victims to work in sex industry, or engage in forced labour or any work that is obviously not commensurate with pay. Facing the “new normal” under the pandemic, Aashima Samuel, EFIC@R’s National Director, who has been engaged in anti-child trafficking for many years, shared her team’s coping strategies. Q: How does your team equip churches and local communities to fight child trafficking? A: In terms of preventive education,…
Banner image: Ayesha [centre], coordinator of CEDAR’s Nepalese partner, Asha Nepal (Updated on 9 October 2020) Our Nepalese partner recently told us that they rescued two girls from a red light area of India. The situation of the girls was very vulnerable so our partner carried out rescue even under the threat of COVID-19 and closing of borders. These two girls, who were physically and mentally weak, had undergone different circumstances. One of the girls named Nagina (pseudonym, 11 years old) had been sold by her own mother to a relative as a servant, due to poverty. The other girl named Lola (pseudonym, 16 years old) had been harassed sexually by her own father, after the death of…