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Ganga was sold into sexual slavery by a family
member when she was no more than12
years old. In the brothel in Mumbai,
she was locked in a room, tortured,
abused and threatened with death
if she didn't service the long
line of customers 24 hours
a day. Many days she was forced
to service between 10 to 20
men, facing physical danger
and the threat of deadly diseases such as
the common infection of HIV/AIDS.
After a couple years, the owners
became comfortable with her.
They thought Ganga was too broken
and hopeless to resist them,
so they stopped keeping a close
eye on her.
But obviously, they did not know Ganga. One night she escaped, fleeing home to her village. Her family, however, rejected her-they wanted nothing to do with a prostitute. Hopeless, Ganga wandered the streets of Mumbai alone until Shared Hope International found her. We took her to our Home of Hope, a 72 acre village, where Ganga received love and care in a community.
Ganga now works at the Homes of Hope with children who have just come out of the brothels. She is like a mother to them-now a rescuer, just like those who rescued her. She recently made a beautiful bride as she married a man she met in the village. Through the WIN program, Ganga manages daily training sessions and directs the jewelry manufacturing shop at the Home of Hope, giving opportunity and purpose to hundreds of restored women and children. Ganga has truly come full circle.
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