Thanks to your support on Giving Tuesday last week, we can help more women like *Charvi from West Bengal, India.
West Bengal has some of the world’s highest rates of early marriage and sex trafficking because of its porous borders with Nepal and Bangladesh and its extreme poverty and unemployment rates. 42% of sex trafficking victims in West Bengal are minors, and most girls are trafficked by people they know in their local communities with the promise of a better life or more freedom. Since most girls in Charvi’s rural hometown are discouraged from completing their education or attaining financial independence, these false promises are easy deceptions.
Despite the prevalence of exploitation around her, Charvi is now on a path to freedom.
Charvi is a wife and mother of two who, like any great mother, desires to set her children up for a promising future where they can reach their full potential. During the Workforce Development Program’s life skills training phase, Charvi opened her own savings account and learned about money management. She has since continued on the path to financial independence, joining a local women’s Self-Help Group (SHG). SHGs are supported by the Indian government and allow economically marginalized rural women to pool their savings and extend microloans to members of their community. Our field staff encourages program participants to join SHGs or form other mutual support networks as they start to launch their own small enterprises.
After completing our Workforce Development Program, Charvi took seed money from the women in her local Self-Help Group and multiplied it! She invested the fund into expanding her vegetable garden and farm. She also purchased a few chickens, hens, and ducks. Her poultry and vegetable business has been generating so much income that she can enroll both children in private tutoring to supplement their education and pay for their books and uniforms!
Charvi has a highly futuristic mindset, constantly thinking about what she wants to do next with her business. She has opened a small storefront for the community, which is also growing her investments. Charvi is currently learning how to grow beans and trying to invest in a poultry and fishing business!
The global day of giving has passed, but you can still help build a world free from human trafficking this holiday season. If you want to help more women and girls from challenged economic backgrounds reach freedom and THRIVE like Charvi, donate today at the button below.
*name changed for privacy
