Childhood trauma can cast a long shadow. In this special series devoted to widening our circle of empathy for people who often feel marginalized or misunderstood, watch this powerful episode featuring Nimali “Nimmu” Kumari, author of The Caged Girl: A Journey to Justice. After surviving years of physical and sexual abuse in her home starting at age seven and escaping family violence at eleven, Nimmu spent more than 15 years in foster care in Sri Lanka. 

Determined not to let her past define her future, she pursued journalism, and went on to co-found Asia’s first care leaver network, Generation Never Give Up, which now supports hundreds of young people transitioning out of institutional care.

Together, we discuss:

• Nimmu’s personal journey as a survivor of childhood abuse 

• What it means to grow up in institutional care and the challenges of “care leaving”

• Stronger child protection and care leaver rights

• Turning personal courage into a global movement for care leavers

If you’ve ever wondered how someone can rise from profound trauma to become a beacon of hope for others—Nimmu’s story will inspire you.

00:00 Preview

01:44 Introduction 

02:54 About Nimali (Nimmu) Kumari

05:10 Nimmu’s book, The Caged Girl: A Journey to Justice

13:10 How Nimmu found true love at the biggest protest in Sri Lankan history

17:56 How Nimmu found the courage to open up about the abuse she faced at home

22:16 Nimmu’s first night in a Child Care Institution

28:32 How Nimmu transformed her life through poetry

31:22 What is World Children’s Day?

34:11 A care leaver’s advice: Never give up on yourself

37:29 What the world gets wrong about children in care

40:32 How being raised in care shapes childhood

47:15 A message of hope for care leavers around the world

51:48 Nimali Kumari’s Purposeful Empathy story

CONNECT WITH ANITA

✩ Email purposefulempathy@gmail.com 

✩ Website https://www.anitanowak.com

✩ Buy a copy of Purposeful Empathy http://tiny.cc/PurposefulEmpathyCA

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitanowak/

✩ Instagram https://tinyurl.com/anitanowakinstagram

✩ Podcast Audio https://tinyurl.com/PurposefulEmpathyPodcast

✩ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/anitanowak.bsky.social

CONNECT WITH NIMALI

✩ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimali-kumari-b69b9b86/

✩ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nimmu_kumari/ 

✩ FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/nimmu.nimali.kumari 

SHOW NOTES

✩ The Caged Girl https://www.amazon.in/Caged-Girl-Journey-Justice-ebook/dp/B0FSDV5ZFH 

Video edited by Jad Misri, Green Horizon Studio