One of the original Little Princes is now an NGN scholar who’s committed to building a better future for her rural homeland.
Yangani was 7 when her father brought her to Kathmandu to protect her from a raging civil war and provide a promised quality education away from danger. He reluctantly handed her to an acquaintance who assured him that his daughter (one of five children) would be looked after. He did not know that he was being comforted by well-known child trafficker Gollka.
Yangani was taken to west Kathmandu where many children had been left by the trafficker. There, Yangani had little food, no schooling and nothing to entertain her, just like the many other children who found themselves in the same place after their own parents had been duped.
On one occasion she was asked by a man involved in her traffic whether she had parents. The sweet 7-year-old with a fondness for her family said, “Yes, they live in Humla.” The response was greeted with a smack and she was told she was always to state that her parents were dead, should anyone ask. It is hard to imagine the impact that this short conversation must have had on a young mind.
After six months she and 23 others were taken to Little Princes Children’s Home in the village of Godawari to the South of Kathmandu. There, volunteers made Yangani’s life more enjoyable, offering her play, time to study and interaction with other children and adults who cared. She was also enrolled into a school but found it a considerable struggle—she had never learned Nepali, only her local dialect. As a result, she failed her exams but that did not stop her from persevering and become an excellent student.
NGN founders Conor Grennan and Farid Ait Mansour volunteered at Little Princes while Yangani lived there. During this time the truth about the orphan status of Yangani and the other children was revealed, and, in fall 2008, after a search mission to Humla, Yangani was reunited with her family. The relationship is a good one and she visits regularly to stay connected to her family and their rural lifestyle. She feeds the animals and cuts the grass with her sisters whenever she visits. It is everyday tasks like this that aid the full reunification of trafficked children and Yangani has embraced them.
In 2012, Yangani was enrolled onto NGN’s Empowerment Project, providing her with a scholarship to study into her senior year and beyond. This 18-year-old who failed her first exams so badly when she started school has had exceptional results in her exams and is studying ICT at a local Kathmandu college.
Yangani does not intend to stay in Kathmandu. She is committed to improving her very rural homeland and building a better future there, a future where the crime of trafficking a child for profit is no more.
NGN funds Yangani’s education. We simply could not offer this opportunity without your assistance. If you found her story inspiring, please contribute to NGN and help the trafficked children of Nepal.
