Families, not institutions: Care for survivors of ​trafficking & abuse.

​What does your family do to celebrate special occasions?
​
​For Mother’s Day last year, Binsa’s family surprised her. Her daughters hid little notes all over the house with what they loved about her - in the laundry, near the front door and even in the rice cooker.

The Project Didi family also has reason to celebrate - next year will mark three years of providing family based care to women and girls, who have experienced trafficking and abuse, in Nepal.

Through our local partner, we support Binsa, a survivor herself, to provide a safe home for her biological daughter and five other girls. Three years on and the girls are rebuilding their lives. 

​Urmila, the oldest at 17, has taken the role of big sister in her stride. She helps Binsa with the household chores and leads by example, raising her worries openly with her mother, something she wouldn’t have done when she first joined the home. Sofi, since her beginnings in the home as shy and anxious, has gained enormous confidence. She’s making friends and working hard at school. She just passed her mid-term test with flying colours!

Ditya was recently reintegrated into the community and is living in a small flat close by the home. She’s been busy – completing her schooling and interning at a local police station as part of a paralegal training program. She said hearing the experiences of violence other women have faced through her internship has made her feel less alone in her own experiences. She stays in touch with our local partner and drops by their centre for career coaching sessions. She’s thinking about what’s next – a law degree or maybe a job as a police woman helping other girls. She’s one to watch!

We’re really proud to have supported our local partner to make this transition to family based care from residential care. ​So, what’s the difference?

Our local partner works with women and girls who have complex trauma backgrounds. Some have been exposed to commercial sexual exploitation, domestic violence or trafficking. Others have taken risky jobs to provide for their families, where they have been abused or forced to do something they don’t want. Residential care facilities - these can be large group homes, orphanages or institutions – cannot address diverse and complex needs. They are big and impersonal and in the very worst cases abusive, neglectful and places for further exploitation or re-trafficking. The damaging impact of growing up in an institution has been well documented for decades.

Family based care, when well supported and delivered, provides the individualised, consistent care children need. It values the whole individual, helping girls thrive with counselling, life skills development, schooling, sport and social activities, vocational training and career coaching - all part of our local partner’s program. 

​Family based care allows girls to be girls - ones who love Bollywood movies, dancing and hair braids.

It also provides a role model in Binsa. She models healthy relationships, open communication and resilience. She builds trust and self-confidence.

While family based care is often the best alternative, it can’t replace a child’s biological family. Our priority is always to keep families together. Where this is not possible, our local partner works closely with a girl’s family, while she is in care, towards reintegration. We’re proud to say that one of Binsa’s girls was reintegrated with her mother this year.

Three years of family based care has only been possible with generosity of the Project Didi community.
​
Help us to continue supporting Binsa’s home on our crowdfunding campaign.  We’ve got lots of amazing perks (for the whole family!) to make your donation a little sweeter!

Please donate now

All names have been changed to protect identities.  
Artwork by the very talented Emma Van Veen.

Author: Clare Bartram