"Everyday felt like a prison”
Kanchon is 16 and has already survived more than most people twice her age.
She grew up a bright girl with a clear picture of who she wanted to become. A police officer to protect the people, someone who wore a uniform and who stood strong.
"I used to think if I studied hard, I could change my life," she says.
She made it to class nine, carrying that ambition quietly. Then when she was just fourteen, she was married off to a man twice her age, and her dream was taken from her.
Her in-laws promised she could keep studying but she soon realised this was a lie and way worse than anything she could’ve imagined. For roughly four months she endured physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her husband. Thankfully, the marriage ended. The divorce proceedings were painful, but it gave her room to breathe again. "It hurt," she admits.
"But I felt free too. I thought, maybe now I can start again."
So she went back to school and tried to pick up where she left off. But the class had moved on without her and her friends were in higher grades now. The shame was unbearable with whispers following her down every corridor, as well as darting looks of pity and blame.
"People talk about me," she says, her eyes lowering. "They don't know what I went through. But they still blame me. It hurts."
She left school again because the stigma was too much for her to handle after what she’d been through. A second chance at an education interrupted by the judgment of others around her, through no fault of her own.
Now Kanchon spends her days doing chores in her stepfather's home, where she lives with her mother and young stepbrother. He is a kind man, but his wages are small, and she feels the weight of being one more person to feed.
"I don't want to depend on him," she says, her voice cracking. "I want to earn for myself."
That is what your support helps change. Thanks to generous sponsors like you - in Paikgachha, faith leaders and volunteers are being trained to step in before a child is married off, and to help young girls understand their rights.
This can't give Kanchon back the time she lost. But it can mean the next girl in Paikgachha never has to go through this, can finish school and can realize her dreams.
Kanchon is one of many children in Paikgachha growing up against the odds... in a community where girls are pulled out of school, where families face violence and hardship, and where clean water and safe spaces are still out of reach for too many. Together, that is starting to change.
Read more about Paikgachha
She grew up a bright girl with a clear picture of who she wanted to become. A police officer to protect the people, someone who wore a uniform and who stood strong.
"I used to think if I studied hard, I could change my life," she says.
She made it to class nine, carrying that ambition quietly. Then when she was just fourteen, she was married off to a man twice her age, and her dream was taken from her.
Her in-laws promised she could keep studying but she soon realised this was a lie and way worse than anything she could’ve imagined. For roughly four months she endured physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her husband. Thankfully, the marriage ended. The divorce proceedings were painful, but it gave her room to breathe again. "It hurt," she admits.
"But I felt free too. I thought, maybe now I can start again."
So she went back to school and tried to pick up where she left off. But the class had moved on without her and her friends were in higher grades now. The shame was unbearable with whispers following her down every corridor, as well as darting looks of pity and blame.
"People talk about me," she says, her eyes lowering. "They don't know what I went through. But they still blame me. It hurts."
She left school again because the stigma was too much for her to handle after what she’d been through. A second chance at an education interrupted by the judgment of others around her, through no fault of her own.
Now Kanchon spends her days doing chores in her stepfather's home, where she lives with her mother and young stepbrother. He is a kind man, but his wages are small, and she feels the weight of being one more person to feed.
"I don't want to depend on him," she says, her voice cracking. "I want to earn for myself."
That is what your support helps change. Thanks to generous sponsors like you - in Paikgachha, faith leaders and volunteers are being trained to step in before a child is married off, and to help young girls understand their rights.
This can't give Kanchon back the time she lost. But it can mean the next girl in Paikgachha never has to go through this, can finish school and can realize her dreams.
Kanchon is one of many children in Paikgachha growing up against the odds... in a community where girls are pulled out of school, where families face violence and hardship, and where clean water and safe spaces are still out of reach for too many. Together, that is starting to change.
Read more about Paikgachha