Nepal: How Mina Escaped from Being Sold
Mina was only 14 years old when her aunt visited one day. The
aunt spoke with Mina's mother and talked about opportunities
for Mina to join the circus in India. Both of Mina's parents
were illiterate. Mina, however, had learned to read and gained
some life skills as a GATE participant in Makawanpur District.
Though Mina wanted to continue with the GATE classes, she had
to go with her aunt because her mother needed the money and
she trusted her sister. She was not the only one compelled
to go to India—another girl, Beli Maya, also went with her.
On the way, Mina talked about her GATE class and all that
she had learned. Beli Maya listened to Mina with great interest.
On their way to India when they reached the border, they were
stopped at a checkpoint in Adhawar. As police started asking
questions, Mina remembered what her literacy teacher had taught
her—in this kind of situation one should tell the truth, not
what someone else has told you to say. Mina remembered what
she learned in one of the GATE trafficking series, titled
"Bishwas" ("Truth") The course teaches that relatives can sometimes
deceive you for money. They can lure your parents and you,
take you to another city or country and sell you to a brothel.
Mina told the police that her aunt was taking them to India
to work in the circus. When she started telling the truth
to the police, Mina's aunt ran away.
The police informed Mina that her aunt was taking her and Beli
Maya to sell them to a brothel. The girls were put on a bus
and sent back to their homes. When they reached home, Mina
described what had happened. After hearing the story, her
mother began to cry; not tears of sadness but of happiness.
Her mother praised Mina's ability to make a good decision
at the right moment. Then Mina's mother promised that she
would not make the same mistake again.
Mina is now studying in primary school in class five—a school
she probably would not have attended without participating
in a GATE class first. GATE facilitators encourage girls to
go on to formal schooling to complete their education. Mina
is now a great advocate for the GATE Program. She tells people
that she was saved from being sold because of the GATE class.
The Girls' Access to Education Program
Two-thirds of adolescent girls in rural Nepal are not enrolled
in formal schools. These illiterate, out-of-school girls are
destined to lives of low status and limited opportunities.
In 1998 World Education began the Girls' Access to Education
(GATE) Program by developing a nine-month literacy curriculum
that integrates adolescent health and girls' empowerment information
and literacy training. While girls learn how to read, write
and do basic mathematics, they learn about basic nutrition,
reproductive health, the consequences of early marriage, early
pregnancy, unsafe sex, STIs, and HIV and AIDS.
Girls who participate in GATE achieve a basic primary education.
This is an extraordinary and life-changing accomplishment
for a low-status, illiterate girl, but it is only half the
story. Many GATE graduates, like Laxmi Katel, then enroll
into the formal school system to continue their education.
World Education builds local capacity and works through a
network of NGOs to implement the program.
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