Raji’s Wedding, Oct 24th 2014
I first met Raji during regular lunch break in the office in January. She hardly spoke and seemed to think a lot. I was acting as intern Ruhamah workshop manager until they could find a replacement and I could go back to my job as a communications manager. What I heard from my colleagues was different – Raji was a giggle bag, mischievous and also trustworthy. In the days that followed our initial meeting I got to know her better. Neither of us had a common language we could communicate in; she was comfortable in Kannada, which I was slowly picking up. Our initial conversations were punctuated with large gaps of silence which ended in laughter. She had large round expressive eyes that conveyed joy, mischief and fear.
Raji seldom shared her life story easily, but opened up one morning tearfully with an ordeal she dealt with when she was in the brothel. She remembered a time when she was locked up in the attic by her brothel keeper to prevent her from being rescued by the police. In the brothel she faced abuse and also contracted HIV. It was only after her rescue and admission into a shelter home that she learnt details about this life-threatening disease. She was transferred from Mumbai, where she was rescued and placed in a shelter home in her home state. She was linked to the HIV positive network in that area where the staff provided counselling, and practical advice on self-care. As far as I remembered, she never failed to take her medicine on time and was always careful about maintaining a good diet.
Every Saturday rescued girls in the aftercare program joined other volunteers to assist physically challenged children to ride on horses. Raji looked forward to Saturdays so that she could meet the children and show her love and affection for them. Like many rescued girls, Raji’s dream was to be married some day. It didn’t come as a surprise when we learned that she wanted to have three children after she was married. However the likelihood of girls finding husbands willing to marry them after their experiences in the brothel and after contracting HIV is next to impossible. Good men are hard to find. The HIV positive network assisted her to find a partner within the network and in a few weeks her marriage was fixed. Raji was brimming with joy. She made several trips between her hometown and Ooty in May to make arrangements for her wedding.She brought her fiance to the office to receive the blessing of the staff. Her fiance had a good job at a garment factory, his eyes met ours, his glances at Raji showed amusement and warm affection. Surprising to all of us, Raji had found a good guy. As her wedding day soon approached she alternated between times of extreme happiness and extreme anxiety. We constantly assured her that we would support her through that time of preparation. Freedom Firm staff and two other rescued girls attended her wedding, which was simple yet beautiful. She is now settled with her husband in his hometown, three hours away from her parent’s home. She contacts us from time to time to let us know how she is doing and dreams of coming to work at Ruhamah Designs once again.
Raji seldom shared her life story easily, but opened up one morning tearfully with an ordeal she dealt with when she was in the brothel. She remembered a time when she was locked up in the attic by her brothel keeper to prevent her from being rescued by the police. In the brothel she faced abuse and also contracted HIV. It was only after her rescue and admission into a shelter home that she learnt details about this life-threatening disease. She was transferred from Mumbai, where she was rescued and placed in a shelter home in her home state. She was linked to the HIV positive network in that area where the staff provided counselling, and practical advice on self-care. As far as I remembered, she never failed to take her medicine on time and was always careful about maintaining a good diet.
Every Saturday rescued girls in the aftercare program joined other volunteers to assist physically challenged children to ride on horses. Raji looked forward to Saturdays so that she could meet the children and show her love and affection for them. Like many rescued girls, Raji’s dream was to be married some day. It didn’t come as a surprise when we learned that she wanted to have three children after she was married. However the likelihood of girls finding husbands willing to marry them after their experiences in the brothel and after contracting HIV is next to impossible. Good men are hard to find. The HIV positive network assisted her to find a partner within the network and in a few weeks her marriage was fixed. Raji was brimming with joy. She made several trips between her hometown and Ooty in May to make arrangements for her wedding.She brought her fiance to the office to receive the blessing of the staff. Her fiance had a good job at a garment factory, his eyes met ours, his glances at Raji showed amusement and warm affection. Surprising to all of us, Raji had found a good guy. As her wedding day soon approached she alternated between times of extreme happiness and extreme anxiety. We constantly assured her that we would support her through that time of preparation. Freedom Firm staff and two other rescued girls attended her wedding, which was simple yet beautiful. She is now settled with her husband in his hometown, three hours away from her parent’s home. She contacts us from time to time to let us know how she is doing and dreams of coming to work at Ruhamah Designs once again.