Nine-Year-Old Child Bride
Tuni became a wife when she was just 9 years old.
It seems impossible, but it’s true. In South Asia, child marriage may be illegal, but it continues to thrive in poor tribal regions. (You can read more about child marriage in South Asia from this National Geographic article.) Tuni didn’t want to get married, but she had no other choice - her family needed one less mouth to feed. Tuni’s new husband, an 11 year old boy, was kind, but since they were both only children, they struggled to provide for themselves. When he died just one year later, Tuni’s family refused to take her back, calling her “bad luck” and “cursed.”
Her father took her to a rock quarry and sold her as a slave.
Every day for years, Tuni was forced to do heavy lifting in the hot sun and endured horrible sexual abuse at the hands of her captors every night. Tuni was alone and terrified. She felt like she couldn’t trust anyone anymore, but then pastors arrived in the quarry. They told Tuni that God had sent them to free her and bring her to safety. She was scared, but chose to believe them, and was rescued and brought to The Sylom Children’s Home along with 18 other children from the quarry.
John 9 tells us of a blind man whom Jesus freed from blindness. Jesus’ disciples saw him, and asked Jesus who had sinned to cause this blindness.
Jesus replied, “it was not this man that sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Jesus made a paste of spit and dirt and covered the man’s eyes with it, and then Jesus instructed him to go to the Pool of Sylom to wash his eyes and be healed. As far as we know, at the beginning of the encounter, the blind man wasn’t hoping for healing, he was begging for some loose change, but Jesus was intent on something bigger.
The Pool of Sylom became a place of healing and wholeness, a place where God’s work was done.
The Sylom Children’s Home is a place where Tuni and the other rescued children meet Jesus and receive healing. Just like the blind man, the children come with pain, trauma, and a deep desire to know God.
When these kids choose to place their trust in God, it changes their lives completely. He works in them, healing them spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. As Tuni and the other rescued children like her develop a relationship with God, they find renewal through the realization that Jesus will never abandon them.
Since her rescue, Tuni has sprung back to life.
She is full of joy and hopeful for her future where she hopes that she can become a doctor to help other people heal. You can be part of the healing when you support Tuni or another child like her on a monthly basis.