“A Village’s First High School Graduate” is part 3 of a 3-part series on the transforming impact of equipping girls through Education, Economic Empowerment, and Anti-trafficking. This story originally appears in the 2013 Life Change Report. Check out “Girls Raise Pigs” to learn how a gift of a few pigs changed a village in Nepal and “New Life for Nina” to see how one girl was rescued from a life of being raised in the brothels of India and given new life.
Ah Guen was destined for a life of suffering. Her father died when she was a little girl. Her widowed mother did not have the means to support her through school, which meant she would be at higher risk of trafficking or child marriage. Because no one in her village had ever graduated high school, Ah Guen’s future looked bleak.
But through She Is Safe-sponsored Education, Ah Guen was able to complete high school and is heading toward a university.
The whole village is proud of her. Now younger ones have a role model to follow. The village leader tells everyone he meets, “She is from our village, the first high school graduate.”
For the six weeks leading up to Easter, many are joining us to cut back on consumption and use the savings to provide opportunity and new life to thousands of at-risk girls like Ah Guen.
If you haven’t already, please join us as we Give Life for Lent!
*She Is Safe uses representative names and photos to respect each girl’s dignity