Today, I found a cause that surrounds indentured servitude in Nepal. Girls in Western Nepal are being forced into lives filled only with service. In the Dang District in western Nepal, many indigenous families from the Tharu ethnic group subsist as farm laborers. Unable to make ends meet, they have been forced into a desperate trade -- selling their daughters to work far from home as bonded servants in private homes or as dishwashers in tea houses. Some of these children are as young as six. As you can imagine life is very difficult for these girls, and many are forced into prostitution. However, there is still hope. Working closely with local communities, Nepal Youth Foundation (NYF) and its founder, Olga Murray, provides a creative, humane alternative for these families, by compensating the families for their daughters' lost wages and by supporting the girls as they attend school. Since the start of the program, around 3,000 girls have been saved, and there has been vigorous campaigning to end child bonding. Previously, hundreds of girls have been sent off to lives of service per year; last year, none were sent.
To tell you the truth, I didn't even think there was indentured servitude in the world any more. I knew there was still slavery, but I had no idea that our world still had indentured servants. More and more of my findings have shown me just how sheltered I am to be living in a safe place like Pennsylvania. Nothing can really harm me here that I would be safe from anywhere else. I had never actually thought about the life of a slave, being that slavery hasn't been in the United States for around 150 years. I just don't see how you can own a person. Thinking about this seems elementary in a way, but with this problem still existing, it is apparent that not everyone thinks the way I do.
It takes only $50 to rescue a girl from virtual slavery, bring her home to live with her family, pay her school expenses for six months, and compensate her parents for her lost wages. $100 pays these expenses for a year, while $350 rescues a girl and supports her education for six years, so that she can graduate from the 10th grade and have the necessary tools to support herself. Your donation covers her school uniforms, books, school fees, and a kerosene lamp and kerosene -- highly valuable items in a region lacking electricity.
Please consider donating to this worthy cause; think about the people that you love, and how you would feel if they were taken away from you. To visit the donation site, please click here.
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