Teen Girl Runs Away from Home in Anger, Eventually Returns After Years Abroad

Four years ago, just before the Holi festival, a 14-year-old girl left her home in a fit of anger and impulsiveness. At that time, she had no idea that her decision would take her hundreds of kilometers away from her country. She lost contact with her family and had no certainty about her future.

In an unfamiliar city among strangers, she spent the precious years of her adolescence.

Now 18, she has returned to her home country. Her eyes filled with regret, her heart full of hope, and with a single promise on her lips— ‘I will never run away from home like this again. I will apologize to my parents and live in my own home.’

A few days before Holi, after being scolded by her parents, she left her home in Nuwakot out of anger without any definite plan. She walked until she reached Kathmandu.

In Kathmandu, she met a man aged between 25 and 30 who assured her he would arrange work for her. Following him, she traveled by railway to Kolkata, India. There, she was placed as a domestic worker in a family’s home.

The household consisted of a husband and wife and their two sons. Upon arrival, her mobile phone was confiscated, leaving her with no means to contact her family. She stayed in that house for about one and a half years.

Later, she was sent to work in another woman’s home, where she remained employed for around six months. After that, she moved to the Changrabandha area in West Bengal and lived there for approximately two months.

During this period, she experienced health issues and required hospital treatment. After her health improved, she was preparing to return to Kolkata when the police apprehended her at a bus station. Following necessary questioning and legal procedures, she was placed under protection at the Shaishali Matigadha Children’s Home for Girls.

Her life took a new turn during the approximately one month and sixteen days she stayed at the shelter. There, she had the opportunity to resume school, lived in a safe environment, and began to nurture hope for a new life. Yet, her mind always longed for her village. She had six sisters who were already married and two brothers.

The days spent away from her family made her understand the true importance of home.

Subsequently, with coordination between the governments of Nepal and West Bengal, the Nepalese Embassy in Kolkata, and Nav Abhiyan Nepal, all necessary legal and administrative procedures for her repatriation were completed. Finally, she successfully returned safely to Nepal.

Currently, as her parents have yet to come and receive her, she remains in the protection home run by Nav Abhiyan Nepal. However, this wait no longer feels painful because this time she is assuredly on a journey back to her own home.

Emotional, she says again, ‘I will never run away from home like this again. I will study well and earn my parents’ trust.’

This story is not just about a single teenage girl. It is a warning about how the impulse to run away from home can put children at great risk.

It is a story of timely rescue, protection, and the successful coordination between Nepal and India that returned a lost childhood safely back to family.