Aruna: Oasis India
The task of every apprentice is, in times of struggle, to keep struggling, to keep knocking, to keep seeking. But you don't have to be an adult to be a role model of perseverance, as staff at Oasis India recently reported...
Tarun, a 15-year-old girl comes to the Aruna Drop-in Centre with a lot of self-determination. She is the granddaughter of a neighborhood brothel owner, and originally came because she wanted to learn English. Tarun has not seen her mother or siblings for 14 years - they left to find work in Delhi when she was very young.
With dreams to become a teacher or a lawyer, Tarun was determined to move to Delhi to join her mother and younger brothers.
But Tarun was still in the fourth grade. She didn't have the skills to move up and faced a lot of discouragement as the oldest child in the class. She was so upset by the treatment she received at school that she wanted to drop out altogether. At the Aruna Centre, Tarun told the staff about her problems. With the care and support of the Aruna team, Tarun displayed real determination and managed to hang on, returning back to school."
Staff at our Aruna project visit brothels in Mumbai, making contact with girls who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation. We help them access healthcare and teach literacy and other skills at the Drop-in Centre so they can break the cycle of poverty that keeps them trapped in the industry.
Young people like Tarun are determined to overcome, despite the difficulties that are all around them. You can help them to overcome those challenges by giving a gift to our work today.