“Girl Rising” Tells Story of Suma and NYF
Millions of people around the world have watched the film Girl Rising — which features a segment about Suma, a courageous girl that Nepal Youth Foundation rescued from Kamlari child slavery and is currently supporting in vocational school.
Girl Rising tells the stories of nine remarkable young women and their fight for an education — including Suma, whose tale is very much like thousands of other young girls NYF has freed from indentured servitude.
When Suma was only nine years old, extreme poverty forced her family to “sell” her labor to their landlord as part of a sharecropping arrangement. For years, Suma slept in a goat shed and ate scraps from her master’s plate, spending long days and nights doing housework and chores.
In 2007, after six years of servitude, Suma was rescued by Sita Tharu, an NYF staff member. Since then, NYF has provided Suma with variety of services to help her build a new life. She attended school and is now enrolled in a Medical Assistant training course as part of NYF’s Vocational Education and Career Counseling Program. We also provided Suma with leadership training, which she uses in her work with the Freed Kamlari Development Forum. Suma has also been trained as a peer counselor to help girls like herself overcome the trauma and grief in their lives.
Suma has grown to be a strong and confident young woman. She was selected to represent the women of Nepal at the prestigious Women in the World Summit in New York, organized in 2012 by Newsweek and the Daily Beast. Through her song, Suma has let the world know the plight of thousands of girls trapped in slavery and their struggle for freedom and a life of dignity.
Help spread Suma’s message. Be sure to tell your friends and family about Girl Rising — and about our Empowering Freed Kamlaris program which is supporting Suma and thousands of other girls and young women in building a new life after slavery.
Learn more:
Watch the ABC7 News video about NYF’s work to free girls from slavery.
Read about the Freed Kamlari Development Forum that NYF supports.
