Sonali won’t be a child bride

Sonalikaur (also known as Sonali) is the youngest of her parents’ seven children. At 10 years old, she is halfway through the 5th standard.  Because she is so bright, she was transferred to a semi-private school, where all education and related expenses are covered by the Ashraya Initiative for Children (AIC).

As a part of this sponsorship, Sonali is provided daily meals at the AIC Education Centre, as well as a packed lunch to take to school with her.  These nutritious meals are vital to Sonali’s ability to succeed in school, as her family struggles to make ends meet on her father’s meager 3,000 rupee ($60) per month salary as a caddy at a nearby golf course. All, but one, of her siblings still live at home, and the family’s income is not enough to feed so many mouths, particularly as a portion goes to feed her father’s debilitating alcohol addiction.

Sonali is lucky to still be in school – her parents married when her mother was not even a teenager, and her older sister had been pulled out of school in preparation for marriage at age 13 when AIC intervened and convinced Sonali’s parents that education was in the best interests of the entire family.  Consequently, Sonali and her siblings are attending school regularly, but this would certainly not be the case if they were not receiving daily meals.

Unfortunately, in Sonali’s community, child marriage is the norm, and families living in dire poverty are likely to choose to arrange a marriage for a daughter like Sonali rather than have to continue to feed an extra mouth.  Ensuring that Sonali continues to receive healthy, consistent meals at no cost to her family is truly making the difference for her to be able to continue to study and learn.

Your gift of a year of meals, Megan, will ensure that Sonali continues to receive three balanced meals a day for an entire year.

Thank you, Megan, for providing a year of nutritious meals to Sonali.