My Story

Due to the trauma she has faced, Soniya has few memories of her childhood. What she does remember, she tries to disassociate from to escape the panic that the memories cause. Soniya’s parents were desperate for a boy, and after having two girls, they finally had a son when Soniya was a year old.

At some point, Soniya’s father abandoned the family, but she doesn’t remember when this happened. Her older sister was married off when Soniya was four, but Soniya doesn’t remember her name or age. When Soniya was five, her sister became fearful of losing the family property to her four-year-old brother and murdered their own mother. After her mother’s funeral was over, Soniya’s sister left her two younger siblings on the side of a road and disappeared.  Soniya remembers begging for food to give her little brother.

Government social workers found Soniya and her brother begging and sent them to separate safe homes. Soniya was sent to our partner’s safe home, and she doesn’t want to know where her brother is because retracing memories of him sends her into panic attacks. Thankfully, Soniya is now safe, because there was a chance that her older sister would try to kill her younger siblings as well. Without rescue, Soniya would have continued without food and safety, at high risk of trafficking and child prostitution. 

In our partner’s safe home, Soniya is living in a stable environment where she can heal and pursue an education. She is receiving consistent counseling from our social worker so that she will be able to begin processing and healing from her trauma. Your sponsorship helps cover the cost of this trauma counseling, tuition fees, school uniforms, and nutritious meals. Your support ensures that Soniya not only continues to grow in a healthy and safe environment, but also assures her that she is valued, loved, and safe.