Earlier this week, on World Day Against Human Trafficking, we celebrated Pavi for re-enrolling in the tenth grade!
As you know, we are an organization committed to ending human trafficking by creating pathways to safe employment and empowering women and girls to break cycles of exploitation. When all women have the tools to achieve economic mobility, more women leaders will arise in families, communities, and the global workforce. As more women become economically free, human trafficking vulnerability will decrease, creating a more equitable world.
Reaching teen girls like Pavi who live in regions with high dropout rates is crucial in worldwide human trafficking prevention.
Pavi’s father is a daily wage earner and the sole breadwinner in the family household. In Pavi’s region of Bhubaneswar, Odisha––single-earning homes like hers struggle to put their children through school, especially the girls––who are often forced to marry early or become targets for traffickers in nearby redlight districts. When our program staff met Pavi, both she and her brother had dropped out of her school since her father could no longer afford it. As soon as Pavi started our Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program, she shared her desire to re-enroll in school and contribute to society in her own unique way. Our field staff met with her former teachers and formed relationships with her parents to encourage them to support her re-entry.
Within days, Pavi was re-enrolled in school and resuming the tenth grade! Pavi is also sharpening her computer skills since enrolling in our digital vocational training course offered through the empowerment program. Pavi is radiant, and her confidence has skyrocketed since continuing her education.
If you want to learn more about how we create employment pathways to prevent human trafficking, click the link below!
