My Story

Keerthana was born to parents that wanted a little boy. For her entire childhood, Keerthana was told she was a burden and that any financial misfortune her family experienced was her fault. She became afraid to make even the slightest mistake, knowing that her father would beat her or berate her for it. 

Eventually, Keerthana’s parents stopped caring for her entirely and she was forced to beg her neighbors for food and water. She was also forced to do day labor on a nearby farm to earn income for her family because her father saw this as the only useful thing Keerthana was capable of.  As she walked to the farm to work every day, she saw other girls her age in uniforms going to school. She longed to have the same opportunities and expressed this desire to her mother but when her father heard her request, he answered with extreme physical abuse and told her that it was useless for her to get an education. Dejected and miserable, Keerthana thought she would never escape the seemingly endless sadness of her life.

Thankfully, some of Keerthana’s neighbors who frequently fed her were able to contact one of our social workers and ask them to visit Keerthana’s home. When our staff learned about Keerthana’s circumstances, they intervened with her family and explained not only that Keerthana was valuable and not deserving of abuse, but also threatened legal intervention if the abuse continued. They were able to convince Keerthana’s father to stop sending her to work on farms and extended the opportunity for Keerthana to be cared for in a safe home so that she can be supported and sent to school.

With your sponsorship, Keerthana will be loved and cared for and allowed to pursue an education. She will also regularly be shown that she is valuable, that she has a future, and that she has the ability to accomplish her dreams.