Field report: Vocational Support for Survivors (India)

Goal:

To support a new survivor shelter in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, that would house 125 young survivors of trafficking who will learn new skills.

Summary:

Until recently, there was no safe place in Northern India for sex trafficking survivors to go once they escaped their traffickers. Made By Survivors (MBS), an organization that fights slavery with employment and education, is working to change that. MBS creates shelters that also serve as employment centers, designed to be self-sustaining and survivor-owned within three years. With help from professional jewelers, MGS is training their artisans to express their own creativity and life experiences through jewelry.  

Outcome:

Thanks to donations from our supporters and one generous matching sponsor, Kimbra Studios, MBS is now able to move forward, furnishing and equipping the jewelry studio at their new shelter. Now these women can begin training, expressing themselves, earning money, and transforming their identities from victims to survivors to entrepreneurs.

Note:

These women also learn skills of leadership and entrepreneurship, enabling them to receive jobs that will pull them out of poverty. 

Our partner in this campaign:

Her Future Coalition Logo

Her Future Coalition

Her Future Coalition (formerly Made by Survivors) mission is to provide shelter, education, and high wage employment to survivors of human trafficking and extreme abuse. They engage in long term, intensive interventions with the goal of financial independence. Their programs give survivors the tools to overcome tremendous stigma and to advance far above the poverty line, transforming their identity and social status.

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