Devi

Devi’s mother was one of seven daughters and had an arranged marriage at a young age. When she became pregnant, Devi's father and his family prayed every day for the baby to be a boy.

When Devi was born, her father and his family were enraged. They began abusing Devi and her mother. Devi’s mom did all she could to protect her daughter. One day, her father eventually left and disappeared to a foreign country for many years.

Devi’s mother sacrificed everything she had in pursuit of raising her daughter. She worked as a laborer on other people’s farms and would bring home a handful of rice and lentils as their food for the day. One day, Devi’s father decided to return home from abroad. They hoped he would take up his role as a loving husband and father.

Instead, Devi’s father returned as an alcoholic. He would sexually abused Devi at night. The abuse went on for months. If she refused him, he would threaten to hurt her mom or baby brother. Devi felt helpless and trapped. She finally told her mother but was asked to keep silent because of fear about how her father and the community would respond.

Devi couldn’t bear living with her family and enduring this abuse, so she ran away from home. When she reached the India border, she was counseled and rescued by members of our partner’s border team. With their help, Devi chose to come to our Safe Home and after that, the Training Center.

While at the Training Center, she was able to continue her education, graduate from Social Leadership School and participate in cosmetology training. Devi is currently finishing her bachelor’s in business studies. Her passion is helping daughters like her get the justice they deserve so she became a Border Counselor where she received a promotion as the Assistant Director.

"I am on a journey to grow as a leader so I can encourage more daughters like me to be a voice of change in this nation."