“If World Vision didn’t organise those meetings for my parents, I may have been married off as a child,” says Khushbu, a 19-year-old girl from urban slum pockets of Gurgaon in India. This region in India still has one of…
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…
A Triumph against All Odds
27-year-old Karuna’s office is on a hillslope overlooking a few houses by the roadside, and further away are miles and miles of forest-covered hills, with villages scattered in between. Karuna is a Community Health Officer (CHO) and looks after 19…
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…
A toilet brings security to life
Eleven-year-old Janvi lives with her parents and older sister in a small village in Nagpur, Maharashtra. She studies in Std 6. After school, Janvi and her best friend Vanshika come running through the courtyard of her house and happily use the washroom. Janvi’s mother Sangeeta smiles as the girls discuss what they…
A story of loss and coping during the COVID pandemic
“If this corona was not there, then our father would be here with us right now”, says 14-year-old Sufian* with a soft and broken voice. Sufian lives in a small rented house in the community of Dharavi in Mumbai with…
Celebrating Families: A workshop that becomes a way of life
Rajeshree and Nitin live in small rented house in Mumbai along with their two children Pranay and Anushka. As an REC volunteer, Rajeshree has previously been a part of several workshops and trainings through World Vision India’s Dharavi Area Program.…
The Power of an Altered Mind
12-year-old Drishti and 13-year-old Ruhi are two girls from the same community in Uttar Pradesh. They come from similar backgrounds where both families suffer from financial instability. However, despite the struggle Ruhi’s mother sends her daughter to school. But Drishti’s…
A Fresh Start: Livelihood Restoration Story
During the countrywide lockdown that extended for more than three months, Guddiya, 36, lost her only source of livelihood. As a widow and a mother of two school-going children, she is the only breadwinner for the family. Guddiya’s husband used…