At the age of four, Pushpa* witnessed her father’s death and then watched throughout her childhood as her mother, dying of AIDS, grew sicker and weaker.

With my arm lightly draped across Jarita’s* shoulders, I sat next to the sobbing three-year-old (who had positioned herself in the corner of the room) as tears pooled in my own eyes as well.

The girls were about to go on the much-awaited trip. During the summer holidays, many of the resident girls return to their families. However, for some girls, Mukti is their only home.

Succumbing to family pressure and her dreams, she had backed out of a vow made to the Lord and things went downhill from there. When her hopes for studying further fell flat and she was driven almost to suicide, she was reminded that the way out was by clinging to God’s Word.

Many men in India ask similar questions of their wives when they give birth to only girls and they have faulty information regarding faith and fertility issues.