Freedom Firm has rescued many girls in Nagpur over the course of 14 years. In this story, we have the benefit of time and a bird's-eye view of what is possible when a girl is placed on a new path.
Priya was enslaved at only 5 years old, and our team rescued her from Nagpur in June 2011, when she was 16 years old. She shares her story below:
“I was sold when I was 5 years old because my parents could not afford to feed my sister and me. The woman who bought me… I don’t know how much she paid my mother. A few months later, the woman said, “We are going into the city…why don’t you get yourself dressed up nicely. When we arrived she took me into a nearby home, closed the door behind me, and walked away. Two men came inside and locked the door...
The men warned me that if I told anyone, they would find my family and murder them. I felt helpless. There were days they would tie me to a ceiling fan and beat me with a rubber pipe. Once they began to introduce me to their customers. I would be with around 10 customers by the time the afternoon came. One night there was a police raid."
Priya was rescued, and she began her journey toward restoration and healing as a result of the work of Freedom Firm. In these early days in Nagpur when Priya was rescued, perpetrators continued to intimidate and threaten girls recently rescued from both within and outside the local shelter home. For her safety, our team advocated for Priya to be moved to a shelter home in Mumbai. In the security of that home, Priya began to recover.
“I love it here… I have found joy like I never had before. I feel like I have everything I need in this place. Here, I am being given a formal high school education, and I began to read.”
“I see so many beautiful girls that are stuck in a place of helplessness. My prayer is that other girls will be rescued just like me."
"As I become whole again,
I want to help other girls become whole. This is my purpose. My name is Priya… Beloved.”
Today, Priya is free, and happily settled with a family of her own.
As we celebrate this victory, there is still much work left to do.
We need you on our team as we continue to pursue change.
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