A Remarkable Story of Courage: Jina's Journey Home
At Joyya, we are not shy about our audacious hope for change. This belief drives us, and stories like Jina's remind us why we do what we do.
Meet Jina, who, after 40 years, is finally reunited with her family thanks to our Kolkata to Kathmandu (K2K) team's relentless efforts. Please note, Jina's name has been changed to protect her identity.
In her 60s, Jina, from one of our communities, travelled by train for the first time to return to her village in Nepal. As the train sped along, memories of her life flooded her mind. She was overwhelmed with emotion, recalling how, 40 years ago, the man who promised her a new life had instead sold her in Kolkata. Jina's journey home was long, but it was filled with hope.
When Jina first began working for Joyya, she mentioned her wish to finally return home. It took some time to express this wish to others—it felt like an impossible ask since Jina didn't know the name of her town or where it was located. She was in her early 20s when she had been sold into another world. But the moment Jina told our K2K team, they sprang into action.
When Jina and the team arrived in a remote village in Nepal, after hours of travel and a fragile, pure hope of reunion, her entire family and the whole village came out to welcome her. Her family had never stopped looking for her. Now, Jina is happily back in her hometown, surrounded by loved ones and old friends. We're so thrilled for her and thankful for our K2K team and partners in Nepal who went to extraordinary lengths to help her get there.
The K2K program aims to help Nepali women wanting to return home and start a new life free from exploitation. We walk alongside these women, providing support, access to legal services, training, planning, and even accompanying them as they make the journey back to Nepal, where we connect them with partner organizations. Building trust and learning to hope for a different life can take a long time at the best of times, which is why we are proud of the compassionate and experienced team members of K2K. To date, we have helped 14 Nepali women to return to Nepal.
"K2K has given them a hope and a belief that they can live a life free from exploitation and it is possible for them to have a new life,"
Why do we seek change for our people? Because we believe every human life is precious, but poverty has stripped many of our friends and neighbors of their rights and opportunities to make good choices. Our hope for full and total radical change may well be ambitious, but we refuse to aim lower. Nothing less is good enough for our communities and the generations to come.
Join us in making a difference. For more stories of hope and to learn how you can get involved and #sparkgood.
