Sold at $145, Today I am free to fulfill all my dreams

I lost both my parents to HIV/AIDS when I was very young. My sister and I had to take care of ourselves. When my sister got married, I had to move to her home and I helped take care of my nieces and nephews. However, my brother in-law was not happy with my presence and this led to heated arguments between him and my sister. Realizing I was the cause of conflict, I decided to leave the house at the age of 18. I met a stranger, who offered me a job in Mumbai. I trusted him and left the next day on a train to Mumbai, he took me to a home and introduced me to a lady and said he would come back and take me to another place but soon I came to know that I was sold for Rs.10000($145). I had to satisfy 10 to 12 customers a day, I cried because nothing had prepared me for the horrors that I was going through. After a few months I was able to escape with the help of a person who brought me from Mumbai to Hyderabad. In an awareness campaign conducted by John Foundation, I came to know of John Foundation Restoration Home and the Employable skills training program. I was able to join the Computer and Spoken English classes. I still struggle with fear, especially at the thought of being married and not being accepted by my husband. The encouragement & support what I am receiving here at John Foundation in the form of counselling and acceptance, I hope to get over these fears and live my life to the fullest. I now make it a goal of my life to encourage girls who are considering going back into the sex trade, because I firmly believe that living with less is better than living with no dignity at all.