from Shared Hope International
Gina was a young child -- only nine years old -- living with her family in a small village in Nepal. Gina wasn't sold. She was stolen.
Drugged with a "sweet drink" by a friend, Gina awoke on a train – never to see her family again. When Gina arrived in Bombay after a three-day journey, she remembers being grabbed by the hand, rushed down a crowded street through "a sea of legs" to a dingy brothel. They put makeup on her face and then the "seasoning" process began.
She was repeatedly raped, beaten and starved until she was too afraid to leave her new "home." (Businesses have sprouted up all over Bombay whose sole purpose it is to perform seasonings for brothel owners.)
Because of Gina's young age, she was held out by her owners as a virgin -- again and again. Sexual encounters counted as many as 40 per day. Younger girls like Gina -- especially virgins -- command a higher price in the brothels.
Recently, Shared Hope International helped pay Gina's debt and brought her into one of our newly-opened Homes of Hope. There she is getting the physical and emotional care she needs to start a new life. She is learning skills that will help her become self-sufficient.
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