On June 1, 2011 the New York Times published the article “She’s 10 and Now May Be Sold to a Brothel” by Nicholas Kristof. Kristof tells the story of a smart, determined Indian girl called M. who wants to grow up to be a doctor, but whose hope may have been lost as she faced the possibility of being sold to brothel. Kristof’s story also paints a picture beyond that of M.’s, one of the slavery that still exists across India.
New Light, a secular nonprofit charitable trust and partner of Village Volunteers, provides hope for M., and young Indian girls like her, by offering a creche-cum-night-shelter with educational opportunities, recreational facilities, health care and legal aid for at-risk children, girls and women. M. was at New Light, her education paid for, when her family removed her from the shelter.
Today, a terrific update about M. came when Kristof posted this to Google+:
I just got great news! Six weeks ago I wrote about a 10-year-old Indian girl, M., who was in great danger of being sold to a brothel: http://nyti.ms/qg5nyk There was a huge outpouring of reader support for M., and there have been ongoing negotiations with the family since. Today I just got word that the family has returned M. to the New Light Shelter in Kolkata, and she’ll be returning to school. She wants to be a doctor and again has hope of reaching that dream! Thanks to all readers for your concern.
We thank Nicholas Kristof for calling attention to M., his readers for supporting her, Urmi Basu for providing the shelter of New Light, and you for supporting this program.
To financially support the New Light shelter and help more children like M, please contact shana@villagevolunteers.org.