It was precisely the sense of urgency in saving twelve abused girls that led us to found Skychildren thirteen years ago. We met them in a makeshift room, picked up from the streets, abandoned by families who could not afford a dowry, intercepted by the police during yet another transfer between traffickers, found in red-light districts. In our eyes, they were, and still are, proof of what it means to be born a woman in India: a curse from which it is difficult to free oneself. Often sold by their parents when they are still very young as “domestic workers,” they find themselves enslaved, victims of constant sexual and psychological abuse. In other cases, they are the daughters of girls forced into arranged marriages around the age of 10, who are often abandoned by their husbands after having had numerous children. Other times, they are the ones who escape from a daily hell of abuse and violence perpetrated within their own families, by the ‘uncle’ who is supposed to look after them while their parents are away from ‘home’ looking for work.

Thanks to our support, these girls find refuge, loving care, psychological assistance for the trauma they have suffered, and the support they need to start or resume school. We remain close to them throughout their lives, even when they reach adulthood, strengthening their self-esteem at every important stage of their growth, encouraging them to continue their studies and acquire professional skills so that they can become financially independent. Only in this way will these future women be able to guarantee a fair society, free from violence and discrimination, for themselves and for future generations.