It's always a privilege to meet people who work as the eyes, ears and hearts of the invisible. They provide a voice for the misplaced and marginalized and put names to faces who otherwise would have been just another statistic in situations sometimes so dire, it seems impossible to even make a difference.
Today, we were connected with the team at Oasis India. They work tirelessly, often invisible themselves, to restore dignity and grace to women who have suffered soul destroying traumas so unfathomable, no human should ever have to endure. I was humbled by the teams compassion, love and dedication to changing the lives of others and having the courage to stand up for what is not only right but give those rights back to those who have been so aggressively victimized.
We first meet Vasu. He works as the director of programs at Oasis India and it was particularly significant when he came to greet us at our hotel in the morning as we had been in conversation with him for several months as our point of contact and coordinator of our journey here. Vasu is just as pleasant in person as he has been over many prior emails and Skype conversations and is such a wise man with a heart of gold. We are in great hands.
After a short debate on where we should go to start our debrief we decide on the only logical answer...McDonalds. No journey is ever complete without experiencing the local McDee!
A couple of hotcakes later (for your reference, hotcakes in India taste the same as Australia) we get down to business. Vasu outlines the programs for the next couple of weeks in detail, 7 states in 10 days.
We will be working with the oasis team and various other organizations who share the same heart for the prevention of human trafficking.
We meet Abu and Seena, programs managers who both have kindly come to greet us. In Mumbai, Oasis run 9 projects, 6 of which focus on individual care on the trafficked and abused and 3 focus on wider community development. You can find out more about the various projects Oasis run on their website but they include the following:
6 which focus on individual care
1. Drop in centre for women who provide outreach, education and rehabilitation programs
2. Day care centre for children which is a safe place for them to be looked after while parents work
3. Night shelter for children of women who work in brothels
4. Government home where young girls and women who have been rescued initially stay
5. they are then moved to rehabilitation centre called Nirmalbhaban, which means "house of purity" where they can spend 9months to 2yrs focusing on recovering and education to enable means of independence back in society
6. Learning and livelihood centre, a 9-5 training facility to equip the women and girls with further education and employment opportunities
The hope here is then the women and girls are able to sustain an independent living with the ongoing support of Oasis.
3 community development projects, 2 in Bandra and 1 in Borivli (both Bandra and Borivli are slums in Mumbai)
1. Blue Edge in Bandra is a program which focuses on education and Learning programs for youth, boys and girls, who have dropped out of school so that they can be equipped with skills in computer, English and general well being so that they don't fall into the trap of trafficking
2. Also in Bandra, federation strengthening and self help groups focus on empowering women and providing education of managing finances
3. In Borivli, Oasis provides assistance in child care and comprehensive health inputs for 15 families affected by HIV.
These are only some of the projects Oasis run in India and abroad. I tell Vasu that I'm excited to get on the road and officially start our journey. I came to India expecting the unexpected, in anticipation of sharing stories, be educated and be further equipped of the realities of trafficking. Looking back on our first day, l had underestimated the power of being present, of hearing the stories first hand, and understand the deep responsibility that was to be bestowed upon us.
We hop on a rickshaw (or rick as they are known here) which is essentially a motorcycle with a metal shell around it. There are no doors, seatbelts or etiquette in riding a rick. In fact, in general, the only road rule in India is that there are none. We weave through cars, buses, entire families on motorcycles, men hanging off trucks, cows, people, more men hanging off trucks. I say weave because that's what vehicles in India do, weave in and out of any space they can fit. Cars, ricks, buses it doesn't matter, if it's quicker to drive on the other side of the road that's ok too (WoS who will be here in August, you may resort to a few gasps, teeth clenching and double takes on the road when you experience transport for the first time in India, but you quickly get used to it).
20 minutes later, We arrive in a slum district in Borivli.
For your reference...
http://www.oasisindia.org/
Today, we were connected with the team at Oasis India. They work tirelessly, often invisible themselves, to restore dignity and grace to women who have suffered soul destroying traumas so unfathomable, no human should ever have to endure. I was humbled by the teams compassion, love and dedication to changing the lives of others and having the courage to stand up for what is not only right but give those rights back to those who have been so aggressively victimized.
We first meet Vasu. He works as the director of programs at Oasis India and it was particularly significant when he came to greet us at our hotel in the morning as we had been in conversation with him for several months as our point of contact and coordinator of our journey here. Vasu is just as pleasant in person as he has been over many prior emails and Skype conversations and is such a wise man with a heart of gold. We are in great hands.
After a short debate on where we should go to start our debrief we decide on the only logical answer...McDonalds. No journey is ever complete without experiencing the local McDee!
A couple of hotcakes later (for your reference, hotcakes in India taste the same as Australia) we get down to business. Vasu outlines the programs for the next couple of weeks in detail, 7 states in 10 days.
We will be working with the oasis team and various other organizations who share the same heart for the prevention of human trafficking.
We meet Abu and Seena, programs managers who both have kindly come to greet us. In Mumbai, Oasis run 9 projects, 6 of which focus on individual care on the trafficked and abused and 3 focus on wider community development. You can find out more about the various projects Oasis run on their website but they include the following:
6 which focus on individual care
1. Drop in centre for women who provide outreach, education and rehabilitation programs
2. Day care centre for children which is a safe place for them to be looked after while parents work
3. Night shelter for children of women who work in brothels
4. Government home where young girls and women who have been rescued initially stay
5. they are then moved to rehabilitation centre called Nirmalbhaban, which means "house of purity" where they can spend 9months to 2yrs focusing on recovering and education to enable means of independence back in society
6. Learning and livelihood centre, a 9-5 training facility to equip the women and girls with further education and employment opportunities
The hope here is then the women and girls are able to sustain an independent living with the ongoing support of Oasis.
3 community development projects, 2 in Bandra and 1 in Borivli (both Bandra and Borivli are slums in Mumbai)
1. Blue Edge in Bandra is a program which focuses on education and Learning programs for youth, boys and girls, who have dropped out of school so that they can be equipped with skills in computer, English and general well being so that they don't fall into the trap of trafficking
2. Also in Bandra, federation strengthening and self help groups focus on empowering women and providing education of managing finances
3. In Borivli, Oasis provides assistance in child care and comprehensive health inputs for 15 families affected by HIV.
These are only some of the projects Oasis run in India and abroad. I tell Vasu that I'm excited to get on the road and officially start our journey. I came to India expecting the unexpected, in anticipation of sharing stories, be educated and be further equipped of the realities of trafficking. Looking back on our first day, l had underestimated the power of being present, of hearing the stories first hand, and understand the deep responsibility that was to be bestowed upon us.
We hop on a rickshaw (or rick as they are known here) which is essentially a motorcycle with a metal shell around it. There are no doors, seatbelts or etiquette in riding a rick. In fact, in general, the only road rule in India is that there are none. We weave through cars, buses, entire families on motorcycles, men hanging off trucks, cows, people, more men hanging off trucks. I say weave because that's what vehicles in India do, weave in and out of any space they can fit. Cars, ricks, buses it doesn't matter, if it's quicker to drive on the other side of the road that's ok too (WoS who will be here in August, you may resort to a few gasps, teeth clenching and double takes on the road when you experience transport for the first time in India, but you quickly get used to it).
20 minutes later, We arrive in a slum district in Borivli.
For your reference...
http://www.oasisindia.org/
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