Rekha is a 22 year old girl whose mother worked in a brothel for many years, was infected with various diseases, and became HIV positive at a very young age. When Rekha turned 12, her aunt told her about her mother’s work. She was very upset when she found out, and it was hard for her to receive her mom once she learned the truth.
As the brothel environment wasn’t safe for Rekha, her mother referred her when she was quite little to an NGO. She was able to study and worked her way up through high school. When she was in her later teens her mother approached her to come back and live with her.
Later on her mother started questioning her and her friends and they always had arguments based on the smallest things. One day during an argument Rekha made up her mind to go and stay with her friends instead. So she worked in various places and changed jobs 3 to 4 times; she wasn’t in a stable place.
At one point her step father contacted Rekha and called her to come home as her mother was on the verge of dying. Her friends tried to stop her from going, but she still went to her native place to see her ailing mother. Over the course of three years Rekha took care of her sick mother, this was a very difficult time for Rekha as she had given up and thought that she would never be able to complete her studies due to running around and taking care of her mother for so long. One day Rekha’s step-father approached another NGO staff member about his daughter and asked for help. Through this, Rekha was referred to a rehabilitation home. When she came to the home she was quite focused and had a desire to continue her education. Presently, Rekha is volunteering with some of the NGO teachers and is planning to do a computer course. At some point she hopes to do a BSW (Bachelor of Social Work) course, as she has seen how being a social worker has changed her life. She is always very observant and ready to learn.
