“I want to grow up to be a Civil Servant and serve my community at a level that I can’t do now,” asserts Sudha, a sponsored child of World Vision in Delhi, India. This bubbling 14-year-old is already leading change…
A Young Woman from a Red-Light Area Finds Her Way
Priya left home when she was 13 years old to escape the fate that often befell children living in the red-light areas. Her mother, Priyanka, sent her away to live with an old friend of hers. Eight years later, Priya…
Getting Back to Herself: Healing from abuse with courage
“I’m not afraid now, I can give it back to anyone” says Pranitha*, smiling, seated upright on a chair at home, her hands folded. She points to a portrait of an elderly man hanging on the wall across from her…
Timely Intervention Thwarts Child Trafficking
Savi,14, her sister Sonali, 17 and their friend Rashmi, 17 were in a bus bound for Motihari, 450 km from Siliguri, West Bengal. It was Savi’s first trip outside the state and the girls were excited about it. Savi’s parents…
How period poverty ends in Tania’s village
With her palm tightly holding onto the handlebar, one feet on the brake and the other on the clutch, 18-year-old Tania takes off on her brother’s motor-bike to buy some stuff for home. She may be on her monthly period,…
Saying no to child marriage and yes to an education
Reshmi is a 15-year-old, timid and calm girl studying in the 9th grade from a community in Dumka, Jharkhand. When she turned 15, her parents wanted to get her married at the earliest. Even though Reshmi was eager to continue her studies, she was under constant pressure from her parents and relatives who kept looking for prospective grooms. Then one day her parents found a suitable…
Sandhiya goes against the tide to complete her 12th standard
“Every day I would wake up at three in the morning and study until six. I then finished all the household chores and got ready for school. I walked to my school, which was three kilometers away. After school, I…
Didi is here
Thumpa didi grabs my arm and herds me down an alley and through a crowd of men. I am wary, but certainly curious. The air is heavy with the smell of alcohol fused with incense, sweat and sewage. The lanes…
Shattered Dreams
Mumbai- the city of dreams, becomes Samira’s worst nightmare Samira (name changed to protect identity) loved going to school. However, at the age of fourteen, after having studied only up to class four, her family could no longer afford that…
Staying connected during the coronavirus pandemic
Working from home brings its own challenges, especially for field staff in World Vision offices across the country. However, trying times call for creative solutions, and the one thing that has helped bridge the gap is Video Conferencing apps. Since…