Not a victim, but a leader: Khawa Lama’s journey from at-risk girl to finance graduate

Khawa’s father has lived for years with a long-term mental illness that left him unable to work. Her mother crossed into India to support the family, but eventually returned home to care for her husband. The family’s income vanished. Two younger brothers looked to Khawa for proof that a different life was possible.

In 2022, Save the Child Foundation Nepal, with sponsorship from Save the Child Foundation USA, found Khawa. She joined our program that year—and she has never looked back.

Today, Khawa is in her second year of a Bachelor’s degree, studying finance with dreams of banking and marketing. She walks miles to class, studies late under a dim light, and never complains.

“I want to stand on my own feet,” she says softly. “And then I want my brothers to stand on mine until they are ready.”

Khawa is not a victim. She is a leader in the making. And because she is in school, she is far less vulnerable to the traffickers who prey on desperate families. Education protects her.

Khawa dreams of a stable job in banking—to pay for her brothers’ school fees, to let her mother rest, to give her father proper medical care. None of that is possible without sponsorship.

Her journey is one of 40+ stories we are proud to support. But there are more girls waiting.

When you sponsor a child through Save the Child Foundation, you say to a girl like Khawa: “You matter. Keep going.”

And she will.Her father is ill. Her mother is tired. Her brothers are watching. Khawa needs you. DONATE NOW!