Story of Pooja Badi

Namaskar, my name is Pooja Badi. I am  14 years old I live in  Kohalpur Banke in a maternal aunt & relative’s house. My mother Laxmi Badi is 35 years old and my younger sister’s Aarati Nepali is 11 years old. I don’t know about my legal father. According to sharing my  mother, my father was Indian person as illegal father, he was an alcoholic and he used to quarrel and beat my mother habitually. He left us 7 years ago in India. Then, we  started carrying sacks of mud & stones for livelihood as labor worker. By this low level income we manage the day-to-day food for survival, I left school and started working with my mother for the daily wages, we earn NRS. 250 to 300 daily, that amount was insufficient for food but somehow we earned some money and we came back to Nepal. We live like a refugee in Kohalpur. We don’t have land, shelter, no work, and no food for a living. Similarly, existing, pandemic situation, my maternal aunt named Gopi Badi and my relative Surma Badi were so kind for us. They have shared a room for living for some time. then we used to living in this room and my mother started working in village area to earn money for survive.

Unfortunately, the temptation of a broker has blamed to my mother in the fake case of child marriage & trafficking. My mother Laxmi Badi was staying in women’s cell like transit jail for 6 months and the case’s investigation is going on. We are living in high-risk & vulnerable conditions without parents because In such a period, Brokers and relatives are active and focusing on us to sell and earning money. One day, Education officer & social mobilizer of COMMIT Nepal were attended in KARUNA monthly group meeting.  During the Meeting, my aunt Surma Badi (one of the beneficiary mother) shared my story in the meeting. After a month, the staff visited me and suggested to admit and join in nearby school. The education officer of COMMIT Nepal suraj sir came to my house then we went to school together. He requested to school principal to readmit my name in school as dropped out girl. According to our request, school principal did readmission in our village school by the support of COMMIT Nepal,. We felt that, by the support of COMMIT Nepal, we got admission and opportunity to rejoin the school again. Now, I am studying in grade 3 and my younger sister named Aarti Badi is studying in grade 1 in a government school named Shree Nepal Rastriya Secondary school. our aunt requested to COMMIT Nepal to continue support as regular support through KARUNA project and she also shared that if they will not be protected and supported then they might be leaving school and will start work as a labor like her mother again, one day they will surely involve in prostitution or maybe trafficked by brokers.  Thus, please protect, save & support us in our education. According to our observation. These girls are very vulnerable and COMMIT Nepal is thinking to support them as regular support girls through Karuna project. Finally, I would like to thank to COMMIT Nepal and its staff for supporting in school admission fees, tuition fee uniforms, shoes, bags, stationery, and tiffin costs and requested to continue support me and my sister for our education. Thank you

…………….

Pooja Badi,

Banke