Refuge for trafficked girls

In Nepal, thousands of young women and girls fall victim to mostly well-organized human trafficking rings every year. Many end up in red-light districts in India or China; others are forced into prostitution or work as bar hostesses in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, or Malawi; still others are exploited as cheap domestic workers in Malaysia or the Gulf States; they are also frequently forced into providing services in Nepal itself—in the entertainment industry, massage parlors, dance bars, and similar establishments; still others eke out a living as cheap laborers in brick, carpet, or textile factories.

Thanks to more and more efforts in Nepal, in cooperation of NGOs and the authorities in particular, 2,000 to 3,000 victims can now be rescued each year.

One of these NGOs is our partner organization Maiti Nepal, headquartered in Kathmandu. The Nepali word “Maiti” translates to “the mother’s home into which a girl was born.” Founded in 1993 by Anuradha Koirala, Maiti Nepal has been fighting tirelessly and successfully for over three decades to rescue and rehabilitate victims and operates shelters throughout the country: prevention centers, a women’s and protection center, a clinic, and a hospice, as well as its own school, the Teresa Academy.

Prevention is an increasingly important part of the organization’s work: along the unguarded borders with India, for example, Maiti Nepal has established its own monitoring network to intercept traffickers and their victims; rescue operations are carried out in collaboration with the police and the judiciary; and the girls find safe shelter in the 14 “Transit Homes” (protection centers near the border), where they receive medical, psychological, and legal assistance.

However, the return of these women and girls to a socially accepted, mentally stable, and economically independent life is difficult. This is primarily due to two interrelated main problems: the abrupt interruption of the girls’ schooling and the lack of certified qualifications in a recognized profession.

In cooperation with our German partner, BONO Direkthilfe e.V., our project addresses precisely these two problems: over the course of three years, a total of 30 girls will have the opportunity to complete their interrupted education or earn a certified vocational qualification in the hotel and restaurant industry—as a barista, baker, waitress, or cook.
To this end, Maiti Nepal collaborates, for example, with GATE College in Kathmandu, one of Nepal’s leading hospitality schools.