Girls for Sale

Yes, you read that correctly…Girls for sale, some as young as the age of 2. For what reason you might ask ? The commercial sexual exploitation for financial profit. There are more enslaved people in the world today than were taken from Africa over the 4 centuries of the Trans- Atlantic slave trade combined, Over 30 million people. The forcible exploitation of humans for profit is not only alive and well, it is thriving. This 21st century incarnation of slavery that I speak of, is that of human sex trafficking. Sex Trafficking is a horrendous and insidious crime against humanity. It is a 40 billion dollar illegal industry, the third largest after drugs and arms trafficking. An estimated 8 to 10 million of our planets most vulnerable young women and children (girls and boys) are enslaved for sex at any given time, with nearly a million of whom are trafficked across international borders each year. The average age of these children is 12 to 14, but there have been many reports of children as young as 2 years old. The life expectancy of a victim after they have been trafficked is 7 YEARS…The going rate to buy a girl is $90. These victims are lured into sex trafficking by traffickers due to natural disaster, promise of a job or better life, false marriage proposals, being sold by parents due to extreme poverty and debt, or simply kidnapped. These sex traffickers condition their victims through rape, gang rape, torture, physical abuse, starvation, confinement, and forced drug use, among many other unspeakable means, in the most deplorable of conditions..

Freedom is something that we all take for granted . Simply walking out into the sunshine to take in the suns rays and breathe in the fresh air. To speak your mind, to have the right to voice your opinnion, observe your own beliefs and to practice them. Most certainly the right to give your body to whom you choose and when.

We have 30 basic undeniable human rights according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, created by the United Nations in 1948 to provide a global understanding of how to treat humans:

We are all free and equal. We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in the same way.
Don’t discriminate. These rights belong to everybody, whatever our differences.
The right to life.We all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety.
No slavery – past and present. Nobody has any right to make us a slave. We cannot make anyone our slave.
No Torture. Nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us.
We all have the same right to use the law. I am a person just like you!
We are all protected by the law. The law is the same for everyone. It must treat us all fairly.
Fair treatment by fair courts.We can all ask for the law to help us when we are not treated fairly.
No unfair detainment. Nobody has the right to put us in prison without a good reason and keep us there, or to send us away from our country.
The right to trial. If we are put on trial this should be in public. The people who try us should not let anyone tell them what to do.
Innocent until proven guilty. Nobody should be blamed for doing something until it is proven. When people say we did a bad thing we have the right to show it is not true.
The right to privacy. Nobody should try to harm our good name. Nobody has the right to come into our home, open our letters or bother us or our family without a good reason.
Freedom to move. We all have the right to go where we want in our own country and to travel as we wish.
The right to asylum. If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own country, we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe.
The right to a nationality. We all have the right to belong to a country.
Marriage and family. Every grown-up has the right to marry and have a family if they want to. Men and women have the same rights when they are married, and when they are separated.
Your own things. Everyone has the right to own things or share them. Nobody should take our things from us without a good reason.
Freedom of thought. We all have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want.
Free to say what you want. We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people.
Meet where you like. We all have the right to meet our friends and to work together in peace to defend our rights. Nobody can make us join a group if we don’t want to.
The right to democracy. We all have the right to take part in the government of our country. Every grown-up should be allowed to choose their own leaders.
The right to social security. We all have the right to affordable housing, medicine, education, and child care, enough money to live on and medical help if we are ill or old.
Workers’ rights. Every grown-up has the right to do a job, to a fair wage for their work, and to join a trade union.
The right to play. We all have the right to rest from work and to relax.
A bed and some food. We all have the right to a good life. Mothers and children, people who are old, unemployed or disabled, and all people have the right to be cared for.
The right to education. Education is a right. Primary school should be free. We should learn about the United Nations and how to get on with others. Our parents can choose what we learn.
Culture and copyright. Copyright is a special law that protects one’s own artistic creations and writings; others cannot make copies without permission. We all have the right to our own way of life and to enjoy the good things that “art,” science and learning bring.
A free and fair world. There must be proper order so we can all enjoy rights and freedoms in our own country and all over the world.
Our responsibilities. We have a duty to other people, and we should protect their rights and freedoms.
Nobody can take away these rights and freedoms from us.

When you are trafficked, you are a slave, each and every one of these 30 basic human rights are categorically non existant and denied to them.

I sit here now writing and reflecting on my involvement in Anti Trafficking on my flight back from India. This is my 6^th trip in as many years. I am very humbled and honored to say that thru my passion and dedication, I now sit on the board of a 501c3 charity Puresa Humanitarian, an organization founded by Giselle Meza who herself is a trafficking survivor. The work that she does is nothing short of miraculous. She has given me the opportunity to serve in a meaningful and authentic way.

Feb 7th-Day 1-Giselle and the Puresa team arrive to Kolkata on day one to meet with an amazing organization called Kolkata Sanved-(see prior blogs) Kolkata Sanved has had great success using Dance Movement Therapy DMT as a modality to heal, empower and rehabilitate survivors of sex trafficking and violence. Several of our little girls who are now coming into young adulthood, and have been in our home for some time are becoming re-traumatized, having vivid memories reliving the violence that was perpetrated on them as children. We sit with the director Sohini and her team to collaborate and bring the program to our home as we know it would be of great benefit to the girls, seeing the success they have had with their program. We hope that this can come to fruition. More about their Dance for Revolution in a later post.

From there we head out to a remote slum village along the railroad tracks where several weeks prior, Puresa Humanitarian rescued a beautiful young handicapped girl living with her mom, we will call her Sita. Sita lost her leg due to a wound that was never properly treated. Her mom although caring and loving, cannot give supervision as she must clean homes to provide meager amounts of food and a roof over their heads. This left Sita vulnerable to any man or trafficker passing through the railroad. Her mom asked if we would take Sita. She is safe and thriving at our home. We are looking into getting her a prosthetic leg.

Sita

Sita’s mother’s homeThe inside, though small, so clean. Sita’s mom is so hospitable and kind. She offers us sweets, the only place to sit is the bed or the floor.Sita’s mom and our team member Sima preparing snacks for usThe bridge that Sita had to traverse in order to go to the bathroom in the field.Sita’s momSita’s mom greets us on the streetThe view from Sita’s bed to the outside world.

Sita’s mom informs us that her other daughter has been missing (assumed dead and no one cares because she is a women) and that her two grandchildren (Sita’s cousins) had been locked up in a makeshift shack, while the father disappeared for days on end. On the grandmothers request our team broke thru the shackles on the doors and the sisters are now safe with us, and their cousin Sita.The outside of the makeshift shack Sita’s cousins were held inInsideThe girls were kept behind these shackled doors It is unimaginable that children were locked behind these doors. Tears flow every time.

As the villagers become familiar with our community outreach and prevention, they begin to realize how vulnerable their children and at risk they are to being trafficked, another request comes from a mom in that village to take her two daughters.

The parents sign papers and The sisters left with us that day, and are now in our safe home. I will tell you in no uncertain terms, that had Puresa Humanitarian not brought these little girls out of that railway slum, they would have fallen prey to the hands of traffickers.

Now, at Puresa Humanitarian, they will have access to health care, spiritual and psychological counseling, education, jobs skills training and so much more. They now have the potential to become the future scholors, doctors, educators,and womens rights advocates. Day 1 was incredible. My heart is overflowing.

The pediatrician examining the sisters at the home. Little fever and cough, but all is well.

Ancient Indian culture, the philosophy and tradition of Yoga has enriched my life in unimaginable ways, as it has millions of others in the yoga community. The tradition by in large does exist there, To me… it is inconceivable that this evil lurks in our world today… We, as a collective, have the ability to enact substantial and sustainable change in India, leaving a legacy there, helping to rehabilitate an estimated one million women and children who have been sold into sex slavery, to lead a healthy and normal life. Please join me in my visit to India in 2019. It is indeed an honor to stand side by side with these special women and children and bear witness to our common humanity.

I will write about the remaing days of my trip in the coming days.

Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu

May All Beings Be Happy and Free

Girls Are Not For Sale

ABOLISH 21ST CENTURY SLAVERY
if you would like to donate to Puresa Humanitarian- http://www.puresa.org

If you would like to purchase product made by survivors to be self sustainable www.gisellemezaproducts.com
if you would like to purchase a hand made mala with all proceeds going toward rescue and rehabilitation of human trafficking-https://www.karmicjewelsbynadine.com
if you would like to donate/sponsor or participate in our annual yoga fundraising initiative please visit
http://www.onelovelongisland.org

Seva India 2016 Day 1-Harsh Reality

Today is my first day home. It is generally a time for me to process, sleep, and be with my loved ones. I had not been able to blog on the trip and I am finding it overwhelming to do so about the trip in it’s entirety here, but i do feel compelled to write something, so I will write every other day or so in chronological order……

My first day in India, was surreal in so many ways. This year, instead of being a passenger on the trip, It is my first year leading the trip, and I feel the immense responsibility that it will bring. I have the help of my co-leader Dahn and Kelly form The Village Experience, who organizes all of the logistics on the ground and who this trip could not be possible if not for her calm demeanor and endless patience, but this still does not lessen the accountability that I feel for the 8 passengers that are soon to arrive.

I reflect on my first year in India, truly a land of contrasts in so many ways. I see the smiling faces, and the pain ridden ones, the vibrant colors, and the filth. So chaotic yet orderly in strange way. The beautiful children walking in uniform to school, so innocent, and then the children we cannot see…the reason I return year after year, those who’s innocence and childhood has been ruthlessly stolen from them…the victims of sex trafficking.

This reality is incomprehensible, and in no way can I protect the individuals in my group from feeling the inevitable pain and sadness that comes with baring witness to this, In fact, I would be doing them an disservice, as this is why they have come..The impending sadness, horror and shock that awaits them bears down so heavily on my heart. I reassure myself that I am capable of holding space for each of these ladies when the shit hits the fan.

I arrive at my hotel in Kolkata on Monday 2/15 at about 6 a.m. check into my room and have breakfast. As the group arrives throughout the day (the trip officially starts at dinner) I head off with Giselle of Puresa Humanitarian and Ron, her Indian right hand man to do field work, meet the beautiful ladies and children, as well as see the new building that is being renovated where girls will have a permanent safe home. The building has 3 floors, but only the first is being worked on as that is all they have currently funds for, thanks in large part to One Love Long Island , the founders of United We OM, Matt and Jenny, Flor Villizan’s fundraising efforts with the TT graduates of Come Together Yoga and Karmic Jewels.

This is where I will be bringing the group on Wednesday, which is basically a construction site, my sense of dread deepens. There are no functioning toilets for the group, the ground is simply earthen soil, and there is a meager blue tarp overhead to protect us from he sun, by which primitive poles keep it erect. I have no idea that Giselle and Ron have a master plan to transform this construction site into the most magical space for the group when we visit on Wednesday.

We now set off to a Slum at Riverside. Giselle and Ron brief me on the story. A young mother of 2 , who I shall call Sita, who’s “keeper” has just sold off her 12 year old daughter to traffickers, unlikely to ever be seen again. She has begged Giselle and Ron to try to take her young 3 year old daughter, who will likely meet the same fate if we cannot talk the “keeper” out of selling her.

pimp — in the slum at Riverside, talking to a “keeper” ( far left) he has just sold his 12 year old daughter and we are trying to convince him to release his 3 year old to us before she meets the same fate.

The slums are so difficult to describe, the walkways are maze like with tiny huts that have tarp walls, and primitive poles that hold up roofs that are made of corrugated tin. The little children there are all so vulnerable and there is literally no chance of them escaping the reality of being trafficked. They are all most likely raped by the men and boys in the villages before they are sold.

Ron talks with the keeper trying to reason with him, he is so intoxicated he can barely stand upright. After some time, we have to head out, it is dusk and not safe for us to be here any longer. We all pray that God will intervene and somehow he will release the girl to us soon.

We head back to the hotel with 10 minutes to spare to meet with my group for dinner.They will be hearing this story and too many others in the days to come.

No Human should ever be for sale.

lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu

0ne Year later and introducing Puresa Humanitarian

nadinesevaindia

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0ne Year later and introducing Puresa Humanitarian

First off, I would like to give my utmost gratitude for all of your generosity and support in helping me to raise much needed funds for victims of sex trafficking. With your support, I am so very proud to say that in 2012, I raised $20,000 and raise another $7,000 in 2013 through the creation of my yoga inspired jewelry line “Karmic Jewels by Nadine, good deeds wearing beads “, as well as some of your repeat donations, you know who you are <3..
Attached, you will find photos of the completed work center for the girls at Sanlaap, as well as the new dorms and the re-done drop in center in Bowbazar. 25 girls have moved into this newly constructed building.
The artisan workshop and vocational training skills center is up and running and producing artisan block printing fabric for The Opportunity Collection in Kolkata India. All of this could not have been done without your support. I know you will enjoy seeing these photos and how your donations were put to use.
My dedication to this cause only gains momentum, as it is unbearable remembering all of the sweet faces from my trip to India and knowing countless numbers of children continue to be preyed upon and robbed of their innocence and childhood.
This weekend, I attended a fundraiser for Puresa Humanitarian, a 501 c 3 charity that provides rescue, medical treatment and rehabilitation for child victims of sex trafficking in the outskirts of Delhi India. I had the pleasure of meeting the founder of Puresa Humanitarian, Giselle Meza, who herself was a victim of this horrendous crime against humanity. I am very
honored to be collaborating with Giselle in this herculean endeavor.
Puresa Humanitarian is in immediate dire need of funds to pay for medical expenses for the girls, which were incurred by the neglect and brutal mistreatment of their captors: those expenses have exceeded $7,000.
Please open your hearts and wallets and visit http://www.puresa.org to donate and learn more about Giselle and how you can help. No amount is too small, and if you feel compelled to go big, she would be forever grateful, an $85,000 donation will finance the construction of a new safe house and will be dedicated and honored by naming the home after your family, foundation or individual name. All contributions are tax deductible.
Girls should never be for sale. Please help and give what you can.
With Deep Gratitude,
~Nadine

REFLECTIONS 3 MONTHS LATER AND OTM INDIA VIDEO CLIP

Three months after returning home from my trip to India. I still find myself in a space of deep reflection and contemplation of all I experienced there. One thing is for sure, I struggle mightily to get back to my “normal” self and routines. The question that I ponder continually is “can i ever be the same after this experience ?” I am not sure what “normal” is, but I have reached the conclusion that I have a new and different “normal” than I did before I boarded that airplane to India.

I have also concluded that for me to return to “normal” or life as usual would be incredibly “abnormal”

Spending entire days with innocent children, who at a very young age have been raped, beaten tortured and other unimaginable acts should NEVER be forgotten. I for one can not.

It has become abundantly clear to me that this is what a “calling” is. This is MY CALLING, and I have no choice but to answer it.

As I sit here and write this, my eyes well up with tears. All experiences and memories indelibly seared into my consciousness.

Sanlaap Shelter runs a Drop In Center or “DIC” in the red light district of Bowbazar. The DIC provides safe haven for the young children of the sex workers, whilst their mothers are servicing clients. These sex workers have been trafficked themselves as young girls and have no other means to earn the money needed to feed and cloth their children. Without the support of the DIC these children are either under the bed or bedside, or even worse, wandering the streets of the district ripe for prey. Please reference my earlier blog “Sanlaap and the Red Light District”

Currently, the DIC can only afford to be open in the daytime hours, which leaves the busiest and most dangerous times in the evening for these children with no supervision.

I continue my commitment to support this cause. If you are interested in helping to fund Sanlaap’s evening drop in center,I am working with OTM to raise funds to cover the cost. The cost of running the evening drop in center is $ 600 per month , which covers rent, teacher salaries, night watchman and some food. We will be making a commitment to cover the next 3 years. The total cost will be $21, 600. I will be re-visiting Sanlaap Shelter again in February 2014. It would be a dream come true to raise the money for this vital cause.

Will you stand with me, to give these children a chance??? I hope the answer is yes.

all donations are tax deductible, please make it out to:

OTM

in the memo put: nadine wolff/ sanlaap shelter

my mailing address is

3 the crows nest

port washington ny 11050

Abolish 21st century slavery.

With love and gratitude
Nadine

Kolkata sanved Saving Lives Through Dance

Another day, another long bus ride to our Partner Kolkata Sanved. First let me say that every time our bus embarks on a road trip in these parts, we are a complete spectacle. The word TOURIST, in caps about 1 foot high, is plastered across the windshield of our bus. We are driving on the same road as men pushing carts, bicycles, scooters, cows, goats, dogs and pedestrians. We are indeed a rare sight in the rural communities we are driving through. Mix that with the fact that about 1/2 of the group are blondes, and it is a total WOW factor. We are tantamount to a UFO, complete with aliens, driving down anywhere, Main Street USA !!!!
We arrive and meet the beautiful and inspirational women of Kolkata Sanved. We were all guided through a Dance Movement Therapy session, (DMT ) that a girl who had been recently rescued would go through. We experienced first hand the transformational power of DMT. DMT can heal and empower the victims of sex violence to be bold, confident, advocates for themselves.
Kolkata Sanved has implemented a “Training of Trainers” or TOT program, which empowers victims to acquire the skills to have a career as a DMT teacher, enabling them to integrate back into mainstream society.
The TOT girls escorted us to the red light district to show us how they work with the at risk children at the Apne Aap drop in center. This is a different red light district than the one at Bowbazar, but no less dark and scary. The poverty here is ineffable for me to express, but this is the only reality the children here know. We walk up to the open roof area of the building. Both the TOT’s and the children were so eager to to show us their routines, and once again, the polite and proud ritual of the children introducing themselves is so heartwarming and endearing.
Not 5 minutes into the routine came loud aggressive Hindi screaming from the neighbors, telling the group to be quite. It was frightening. The children were un phased by the abrupt ending to their show, which to me , was the saddest thing, as it was clear that disappointment and disempowerment is the rule and not the exception in their experience.

Kolkata Sanved believes that all individuals, from marginalized and mainstream populations, should live with dignity and self-respect. This basic sense of empowerment and integrity is achieved through their DMT program.

Kolkata Sanved has had great success using DMT as a modality to heal, empower and rehabilitate survivors of trafficking and violence. Transforming Steps in London, 2012. Kolkata Sanved launched an international campaign in both Kolkata and London called “Stand with Survivors of Sex Trafficking, Stand Against Exploitation”. They collaborated with Sadler’s Wells, a world renowned theater, and Living Lens, an organization utilizing video as therapy for the survivors of human trafficking. Together they raised awareness around sex trafficking through the creation of a film starring the Sanved dancers as they performed at the famous venue of Sadler’s Wells in London. The film was screened across London prior to the Olympics in 2012.

http://www.journeysforchange.org/node/209

Kolkata Sanved also received the prestigious “DVF Award” The Diane von Furstenberg Award for Transforming the Lives of Women in March of 2011. The Award ceremony took place at United Nations, at the Women in the World Summit. This award gives recognition to those who are using their resources, commitment and visibility to transform the lives of other women. These are women who have had the courage to fight, the power to survive and the leadership to inspire.

Kolkata Sanved has also won the Beyond Sport Award 2009 in the “Best Project For Health” category. Kolkata Sanved’s flagship programme “Saving Lives Through Dance” has emerged among 265 projects from 40 countries.
If you would like more information on Kolata Sanved please see the Partners and Projects section of my blog.
Abolish 21st century slavery.
With love and gratitude
Nadine

SANLAAP SHELTER AND THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT

SANLAP SHELTER AND THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT
We arrived at Sanlaap Shelter which is approximately a 1 hour ride into the country.
We had a conversation with one of the directors there , a wonderful and dedicated women named Priyanka, who explained what it is like for the girls after they get rescued from the red light district and put into their care. The young girls have a 3 month integration time whereby they live in a house separate from the group that have been there longer. They have very loose schedules as they have been severely abused and traumatized, so this time is meant to be therapeutic. It is difficult to fathom that it is so complicated to get a minor child out of a brothel… There has to be viable and credible information in order for the police to preform a raid, as prostitution is legal for women over the age of 18. Even though there is a high demand for young female children among men in India, there are some johns that take pity on the children and they sometimes will allow the girls to call their parents to tell them that they have been kidnapped and held against there will.
There are currently 137 girls at this shelter. The resiliency of these children is awe inspiring. Sanlaap teaches them to sew and to do block printing. I was guided through the process of Batik’ing a linen scarf with one of the girls.These girls are like any other kids you may know. They love to play games, sing and dance. When you see the physical scars on their bodies, it is a painful reminder that their childhoods have been tragically eclipsed by their abusers. Many of the seva participants who are on the tour, have girls at home. they say their girls are just like these girls on the surface, except they are not…They have been kidnapped, brutalized, tortured, raped, and forced to use drugs in order to be compliant with the horrendous and unimaginable things they were being forced to do.
The active sex workers here are victims of sexual violence themselves and were trafficked as children. They want to protect their children from the same fate. These sex workers are shunned by he Indian society, therefore, it is virtually impossible for them to get out and work in another trade.
Sanlaap center provides a ” drop in center” for the children of these active sex workers in the red light district of Bowbazar, Kolkata. If not for this center, these children would be either under or next to the bed that their mother is servicing clients on.

THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT
After our visit to Sanlaap, we were given unprecedented access to the red light area. Priyanka escorted us, as our convoy of vehicles descended on the red light district of Bowbazar. There are no adequate words to convey the palpable feeling of poverty, desperation, and evil. This is the Hades or underworld that I have read about in Greek mythology. The only thing missing were the flames in the background.
This place has left an indelible wound on my heart and soul. Walking down that 3block stretch seemed like an eternity. The putrid smell of the combination of body fluids that you can only imagine was overwhelming, was the indicator that We had passed a brothel. There were at least 25 or more brothels in that small area, and many young children being abused within the walls.
As Priyanka navigated us through the maze, we reached the ” drop in center”
This was a place where heaven and hell coexisted simultaneously. There were about 25 children cramped into this tiny place where they are supervised, given supplemental education and a meager amount to eat while their mothers are working. They all one by one sweetly and with great pride announced their names and where they were from.The female children ( only 4 were girls ) did a Indian dance for us. The boys did many Bollywood routines that where absolutely hysterical. They could have preformed for us all day, but we had to be out before sunset.
It was and still is so difficult to comprehend that this is the norm for these children.
Organizations like Sanlaap continue to work selflessly to prevent this from happening to current and future generations.
Sanlaap can currently only run the drop in center until 8 p.m. This leaves the children with no place to be between the hours of 8 pm and 7 am.
I continue my commitment to support this cause. If you are interested in helping to fund Sanlaap’s evening drop in center, OTM is working on raising funds to cover the cost. The cost of running the drop in center is $ 600 per month , which covers rent, teacher salaries, night watchman and some food. We will be making a commitment to cover the next 3 years. The total cost will be $21, 600.
If you would like to learn more about Sanlaap, please see my Partners and Projects blog.
With gratitude and love
Nadine
Abolish 21st Century Slavery

TIME FOR REFLECTION

TIME FOR REFECTION
The visit here to India has been an intense one. Extreme’s and dichotomies exist on virtually every level. Extreme sadness juxtaposing with the joy and happiness. It is so chaotic here. When we first got her, we were asked to set an intention. Mine was to be fully present to the experience. So, staying true to that, I have decided to hold off on my blog for a few days. My days are packed from sunrise till midnight and the blog is putting a great deal stress on me as I am getting 4 to 5 hours sleep as it is.. On Friday, I head out to Rishikesh for the “vacation” part of this tour. I have been processing all that I have seen and experienced and will have a lot to share. More importantly…It will be COHERANT !!!!
In the meantime, rest assured that all of your generous donations are being put to incredible use. The organizations that we have chosen are doing Gods work.
I have so much gratitude for their work all of your generosity and support in the last year. I I hope that you all will continue to stay connected with me in this fight to end sex trafficking and sexual violence and exploitation against women.
Stay tuned…..Abundant blogging coming at you shortly. Meantime, Enjoy the photos…
With Gratitude and love
~Nadine
Abolish 21st Century Slavery

DELHI TO KOLKATA

Day 2and 3 Delhi to Kolkata
Day 2 begins with a 5 a.m. Wake up. The night before, we pooled and condensed our donation bags. There were 5 suitcases that were filled to the brim with much needed medical supplies, toiletries, sundry items, and school supplies. In our arsenal were, arts and crafts, nail polish, hair bows, ribbons, clips, old time games from home like jump ropes, Twister, kazoos, harmonicas, bubbles, lollipops, and the big deal was 2 photo printers .
These supplies were to be distributed over the next several days as we visited each of the organizations over the next week and 1/2.
If you hate being delayed at an airport in the U.S. all I can do is 🙂
The flight was delayed several hours, and the flight itself a complete odyssey.
In India, it is essential to ” go with the flow”
From the insanity of the bustling city of Delhi, to the tropical environment of Kolkata, the same overcrowded and impoverished conditions exist.
Here, the locals live in the same muck and mire, just in a rural environment, with perhaps a little more space. Instead of the tiny shanties and shacks being right on the city streets, they are on rural roads and farms, but still right off the road. What is amazing, is the absolute lack of privacy. They are living out in the open. There are no doors,windows or even rooftops. The people bathe, shave, cut their hair, and toilet out in the open along with the cows, goats and dogs. This does not seem to phase the people , you can’t miss what you do not nor , ever even dreamed of having.
Our bus pulls into Made by Survivors, which has collaborated with Women’s Interlink Foundation and Child Care Home.
A huge steel metal wall surrounds the facility to protect the girls from the pimps and traffickers going back to kidnap them again.Some of these girls are extremely young ranging in age from about 6 to 18.
I do not need to know their individual stories. They have all been through unimaginable torture, the scars physically visible on some, psychically and spiritually on all.
The children are a little leery of us at first, we are a spectacle any place we gobin this country.
After breaking the ice with some playful yoga, we split off into groups to play with girls with the stuff we brought with us.
They were so excited, cries of delight as they called us : “Auntie,!!!!’Auntie!!!! One more photo please, Auntie ” ( 100 photos later !) It quickly turned into a lovefest.
The huge hit was the photo printers. Most of these kids have never seen a picture of themselves. To see the joy on their little faces when they held and marveled at that simple piece of paper was heartwarming.
The older girls in the home did beautiful henna designs on all of our hands.
The girls in the Made By Survivors jewelry program, sat with each of us individually and made us our own one of a kind pieces.
The girl who made my piece is named Sumaiya
At lunchtime we were treated to a feast of home cooked yummy Indian food.
The day passed by so quickly. All of our group was teary eyed and sad when it was time to say our goodbyes.
The girls are in self protection mode and arevguarded with their emotions, and theybknew we were only there for the day and could afford the sadness of becoming too attached.
All and all the day was joyfull.
After boarding the bus to go back to the hotel, we were notified that one of the girls who sat beside the entire time I was printing pictures had been taken out. She had been trafficked from Nepal and turned 18, and the Indian government was being repatrioted back to Nepal. Heartbreaking… I pray she gets returned to her family.
With all of the great work these NGO’s are doing, there is so much that is out of their control when children are trafficked from other countries. The borders are porous and police and governments are complicit.
On the grass roots level, so much good work is being done. I pray one day it will be global.
No child should be sexually exploited and tortured.
Abolish 21st Century Slavery

NEW DELHI

New Delhi day 1
I arrived in New Delhi by cover of darkness, around midnight by the time I cleared customs. I was amazed at the hustle and bustle still going on at that time of night.
The first thing assault on my senses was the stench of raw sewage.
We boarded the bus the following morning to go to one of OTM’ s NGO partners Apne Ap Women Worldwide. More on that later.
New Delhi is like nothing like I have ever seen or experienced in my life, and it’s not as if i have led a sheltered life. I am a native New Yorker after all and consider myself to be somewhat, well, wordly… Not so much…If you can imagine a literal garbage dump with chunks of cement, trash, countless stray dogs, cows, pedestrians, carts, cars, buses, bicycles and people all sharing the same space at one time. Indian people are seemingly un phased by this. They go about their lives out in the open, on the sidewalk, people are bathing, shaving, brushing teeth, having their hair cut and every where you turn men urinating, and most painful. . Witnessing all of this from my western point of view, I interpret this as human suffering, and I am not so sure I am correct..
In spite of this lack of privacy and personal space, the Indian people are warm, welcoming and quick with a smile. They are seemingly a content people.
I am truly a stranger in a strange land. It is my nature to trust basic human nature as good, but I have been all too educated about this systemic dark and horrendous crime of sex trafficking, which is pervasive worldwide, but the worst here in India. I find that I am constantly at odds with my true nature vs what I have come to know. It is mentally and physically exhausting.
I do not know the female to male ratio in India, but from a visual, I would guess about 50/1
here in Delhi.
Many of these men are involved in some way with sex trafficking, be it the traffickers themselves, the pimps or the johns.
There are hoards of children begging on the streets here. They have been trafficked as well. They are not necessarily sexually exploited, but they are in debt bondage. Their captors will beat and abuse them if they do not return with their quota for the day.
I will depart this city, with pieces of my heart scattered all about.
Abolish 21st Century Slavery