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Soma (name changed) is a runaway teen. Her story gives her more than one reason to run away from home. As a Bangladeshi refugee who lost both parents and was abandoned by siblings, she moved in with a caring grandmother in West Bengal, only to fall prey to a supposed boyfriend who swindled money from her.
All these traumatic childhood experiences have caused Seema to suffer from a mental illness. She wishes to someday go back to her home country and begin afresh, but that seems lofty while battling a world stacked against her.
To keep Soma from running from her past and to gain confidence before being repatriated, our rehab staff are providing individual counselling and life skills based group therapy. She has currently been enrolled in tailoring classes held at Turnstone’s siliguri office which she enjoys and has shown great aptitude towards. These are the first steps towards her complete rehabilitation.
The most common reason for rescuing girls between the ages of 14 – 18 is because they run away from home. Once they are rescued they are brought to a centre in Siliguri,Purulia and Kolkata where Turnstone staff provides counselling and conducts rehabilitation programs.
The reason for running away might vary but revolves around the age old rationale of escaping the clutches of something unpleasant. However, when they run, these teen girls put themselves in more danger.
Turnstone would also like to start programs to equip girls like Soma with the right resources and tools that would empower them after repatriation. If you want to support our work with girls like Soma, please write to info@turnstoneglobal.org, turnstoneglobal@gmail.com
