Nepali Children Quarterly Report Oct-Dec 2023
Hello fellow Guiding Lights.
In November we heard about the tragic story of Pinky, a young teenager who sought refuge at the Nepali Antardristi safe house. Pinky’s strength and resilience is so admirable. On hearing of her ordeals, the YesTax Guiding Light Foundation covered the expenses for Pinky’s surgery where a large tumour was removed. We were delighted to hear that the tumour wasn’t cancerous but it doesn’t take away what Pinky has endured.
Pinky’s story is so tragic and indicative of some of the cases that the safe house and maybe distressing for some readers.
A little over a year earlier Pinky’s mother had been murdered, thrusting Pinky into the parental role of caregiver for her younger sister and brother, whilst her father sought work over the border in India. Her father’s absence placed Pinky in a position of vulnerability resulting in a string of sexual abuse which ultimately led to Pinky becoming pregnant.
Upon hearing of her pregnancy, the male coerced Pinky into ingesting an unidentified substance, falsely claiming it to be “medicine” that would safely terminate the pregnancy. He promised to marry Pink following the abortion, but as soon as the arduous procedure was complete, her abuser fled. News of Pinky’s ordeals spread throughout the village, and this soon led to her abuser’s family and relatives becoming embroiled in the situation, with it quickly becoming apparent that it was far from safe for Pinky to remain in the village.
In yet another agonising turn of events, on the very day Pinky arrived at the Antardristi safe house, she received word that her younger sister had been poisoned back in the village where they grew up. Sadly, her sister did not recover. She was just 13 at the time of her passing.
The numerous harrowing experiences Pinky has endured during her young life has unsurprisingly led to various mental health complications, including attempts at taking her own life. Alongside the psychological challenges being faced, Pinky’s physical health was also deteriorating to alarming levels.
Deeply concerned for her well-being, Antardristi staff arranged for Pinky to undergo a comprehensive medical examination at a health facility with ties to the charity. It is then through this examination that a tumour was discovered on her breast, which necessitated swift removal to mitigate the risk of the onset of cancer.
The work that Antardristi are doing is invaluable, helping the lives of many vulnerable young children.
I am pleased to share the latest quarterly report which summarises the latest quarterly impacts.
One of our missions in the safe house is to secure a bright future for the children. The daily timetable includes tuition class, dance, crafts, TV and movies. Extra activities include Karate and Music classes.
The team organised a walk to Chandragiri hillside for the girls who could not go home during Dashain and Tihar.
Thank you once again to all those that support the YesTax Guiding Light Foundation by being a client, referral partner or friend of the firm.
Warmest regards
The YesTax team
YesTax. Positively Better.