Young woman who fled child slavery will run the London marathon this weekend
Asma is running the London Marathon to raise funds for Child Rescue Nepal.
A young woman, who was rescued from a life of child labour in Nepal, will run the London Marathon this weekend.
On Sunday, Asma Bishwa Karma, 22, will take part in the 26.2-mile race as an elite runner. Like many of this year’s marathon runners, Asma is running on behalf of a charity close to her heart.
At the age of 16, she was saved from hardship by Child Rescue Nepal. She was given the chance to go to school, where she discovered a talent for running.
She comes to London for the first time this week, where she plans to run a sub-3 marathon on behalf of the charity.
Asma lost her mum at the age of 10, and at 11, she ran away and started doing hard labour in a brick kiln.
She then started working in a guesthouse where she was paid just £33 per month to sweep floors, clean bedrooms, wash utensils, and prepare tea. Asma taught herself to read and write using the books belonging to the guesthouse owner’s children.
To date, Asma has competed in local races, including trail running in the Nepalese mountains. She aspires to be a professional runner and is hoping to be selected by the National Athletics Association for the International competition to represent Nepal.
Asma says her role model is Ms Mira Rai, an ultra-marathon runner from Nepal.