Tento článek je dostupný i v češtině 🇨🇿
Usually on our blog we share numbers, statistics, and recommendations for companies on how to set up fair processes. This time, instead of data and graphs, we bring you a story.
The story of Aarati, whose name in Nepali means “light.” Light that drives away darkness and gives people hope. And that’s exactly who she is. She could have become just another number in Nepal’s child marriage statistics – but she chose differently. She chose to create her own light.
Why Czechia?
I met Aarati in a restaurant where she was working. Every time she came by, she smiled shyly. There was something so kind in that smile that I decided to start a conversation. She told me she was only 18 and had come here from Nepal. I asked her why she chose the Czech Republic. Her answer caught me off guard – she had come across Franz Kafka’s books in a Nepali library, fallen in love with his writing, and through it with the country where he had lived and written.
When I asked how she liked it here so far, she said she loved it – but admitted she didn’t have many friends yet, because making new connections was hard. I replied: “Well, now you have a friend here.” We exchanged contacts and agreed to do something together. I also told her I’d be happy to help with the basics you need to figure out when moving to a new country (like doctors, etc.).
Back then I had no idea how complicated her story was – or how strong a young woman I had just met.
First dramas
A few weeks later, late at night, I got a message from her. Aarati had been sick for several days, suffering from severe stomach pain, shivering with fever, unable to breathe properly. The next day she was already in surgery.
We messaged back and forth between admission and being wheeled to the ward – she sent me her room number, we solved whether she had a phone charger, and whether she’d get food she could actually eat as a vegetarian. That was the moment I fully realized how hard it is to start a new life without family, without support, in a foreign language – and still overcome challenges that would knock down even those of us who do have networks and safety nets.
Life in the mountains
Aarati grew up in Nepal, surrounded by mountains and nature. Her childhood was spent outside – playing with her younger brother, going to school, helping her parents on the farm from an early age, and looking forward to colorful Nepali festivals. But from childhood her future was already scripted – an arranged marriage. Her life had been decided when she was only seven. There was no question, no choice.
For perspective: according to UNFPA data around 35% of girls in Nepal are married before the age of 18 – and about 7% even before their 15th birthday.
But Aarati said no. She saved money, packed a suitcase, and left. Alone. To a country she had never been to. To a culture she didn’t know, one completely different from what she had grown up in. On the way to the airport, she sat in a car for the very first time in her life.
A New Life in Czechia
Today she studies Business Administration at CZU. When she’s not in class, she works in a restaurant – to pay her own tuition and living costs. Whenever possible, she calls her family. But with ongoing protests in Nepal, even that connection has become much harder. Often she can only hope everyone back home is safe.
Aarati is not someone who pushes herself into the spotlight. She is quiet, reserved. Not because she doesn’t care – but because she comes from a culture where being polite means not asking, not “bothering,” and staying in the background. Every day she learns a new language, tackles classes in Czech, and tries to find her place in a world so different from the one she left behind.
Culture Clashes
We also share favorite stories that show how even simple things can turn into culture shocks.
🎥🍿Aarati had never been to a cinema. When I found out, I wanted to give her the “full experience” – soda, popcorn, way too many trailers before the movie. We were standing at the IMAX at Flora, I was telling her about the film, she nodded along. I bought the tickets, queued for popcorn… and right before entering the hall she turned to me with a serious face “And what is a vampire?”
So there we were, standing in the hallway for ten minutes while I pulled up Dracula and Blade on my phone, explaining the whole vampire concept. And in my head I thought: “Good job, Lenka. She might never speak again, or start stuttering.” Plot twist: Aarati loved the movie The Sinners and now regularly listens to the soundtrack. We both recommend it.
🌭 Story #2: the hotdog.
At Prague Pride, Aarati arrived hungry. Wanting to treat a vegetarian, I thought I had a brilliant idea: a vegan hotdog. Five minutes later, Aarati was covered head to toe in mustard – because (surprise, surprise) she had never encountered the concept of a hotdog before.
I had mustard on my hands. She had it in her hair, on her shirt, all over her jeans. We ended up at my place, where I lent her clothes and threw hers in the wash and dryer. While waiting, we watched Grease (yes, Aarati had never seen Grease before). To this day, she calls it: “The day I almost drowned in mustard.”
First Victories
Watching Aarati fight her uneven battle to survive was tough. With her permission, I wrote a post about her on LinkedIn, both in Czech and English.
There are moments when I actually like social media. And this was one of them. Janka Pacinová from the company Accace reached out. The firm decided to support Aarati’s story and contribute to her tuition. It was a gesture that meant far more than money – it gave her hope.
Aarati, when she found out about the contribution for her studies…
But Aarati’s fight doesn’t end with getting out of a developing country. She is now looking for work – something administrative, in back office, or an internship where she can apply what she studies and keep learning.
And here she hits the all-too-familiar wall: bias in hiring. Many companies don’t even open a résumé with an “exotic” name. They immediately picture visa paperwork, relocation headaches. And so they never find out that Aarati has already been living here. She doesn’t need sponsorship. She doesn’t need relocation. She just needs the chance to start – like anyone else.
I get it – HR is under huge pressure. Most of my colleagues are drowning in tasks and processes, so they often go for the easier path. But our profession should be the one that looks beyond the name and the passport – and sees the potential of the person. And builds environments where anyone who can use that potential gets the chance.
That’s why I’m sharing this story. Not just for Aarati, but for all of us. To remind ourselves that first and foremost, we are people. And sometimes, we can be the light that changes someone else’s life… and maybe inspires girls like Aarati to want more than the destiny that was chosen for them at the age of seven.
📣 And if you don’t know where to start – reach out to us at HR Brainstorming. We help leadership teams make sense, and we help companies build workplaces where people work with joy – not out of fear, but out of trust.
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