Zeenat with Balo from age 7.
Zeenat was the first member of the Casa Balo home. She comes from a family of five living in a one room home. Her mother is mentally slow, and she has three brothers, one of whom is currently a student at Balo English Medium School. Zeenat was never a book-smart student, but her friendly and positive personality carried her far. At 14 Betta and Rehana noticed a dramatic shift in Zeenat’s behavior. They questioned her but she remained quiet and withdrawn. After multiple conversations and persistence, Zeenat confided that she had been assulted twice by her neighbor, and that her mother forbid her to say anything to the school.
Betta and Rehana went to the neighbor’s home and spoke with him, threatening him with severe consequences if he touched Zeenat again. The neighbor became fearful, left the city, and returned to his village. Zeenat slowly improved, and her sparking personality began to reappear. This lasted a few months at which point she started to come to school with large bruises. Betta again questioned her, and after multiple stories about falling or tripping, it came out that her older brother was beating her. He wanted her to get married and move out of the tiny one room home, so he could get married and move-in his new wife. He was preparing to send her to a village to marry an older man.
At this point, Betta knew that she could not wait any longer to open a home for girls. A wonderful house mother appeared, and the legal work was in place. Betta conferred with Zeenat’s mother and received the appropriate permissions and signatures. Zeenat now calls Casa Balo her home. When she finished her studies at the Balo school, she needed help finding an appropriate trade. She failed at all work with the hands including, cooking, sewing, and hair dressing. At one point, Rehana started noticing that she was wonderful with the small children in the school, so they decided to try her as a classroom assistant in the kindergarten and nursery classes. Zeenat shined! The children love and respect her, and she has the patience to serve them with love and care. She has earned her certificate to be a preK teacher and is now working at the Balo school and studying to earn her college degree.