You may ask, how can this be happening? Well, Sari Bari has been running beautifully in India for the last few years with a great but small team. And with such a small team, when one critical member leaves, it is challenging to continue. A significant contributing leader has decided to step down to pursue other options to support his family. Plus, more significantly, order sales volume has decreased, and we are struggling to rebuild after the pandemic. Sari Bari USA has been sustained through the pandemic by some amazing volunteers who have given their everything to fulfill orders. Like many businesses, we have not been able to keep someone in the customer service position that we can afford to pay and who will stay! We have been pushing and pressing to keep Sari Bari afloat for the last several years, and it feels like the time has come to bring things to a close. And to close at a time when we still have the capacity to ensure that the women in India are well taken care of and can be launched into other businesses or retirement.
The plan is that each of the women will receive gratuity which is 8% of their annual pay x the number of years employed (for most this will be 6-12 months of equivalent salary) plus an additional two months wages. The women who are shareholders will receive a payout of their share value. And all employees of Sari Bari will be the beneficiaries of the sale of Sari Bari buildings in India.
Sari Bari in India will continue to function through March of 2023 filling final orders. Sari Bari USA will wind up operations by the end of January 2023.
All of us at Sari Bari appreciate your faithful support through the years and share with you in the great joy that work that has begun is not ended, rather it continues in the lives of the more than 200 women who were touched by Sari Bari and the untold numbers of friends, partners and customers who made FREEDOM possible with each purchase! Freedom continues and will be reborn in the hearts of the generations to come!
With hope and always for Freedom,
Sarah
Sari Bari Co-founder
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Sari Bari USA, Inc. is seeking a General Manager to increase Sari Bari product sales through customer sales, wholesale, industry events, and pop-up shops. Additionally, the General Manager will be responsible for the daily operations of the Sari Bari USA and management of volunteers. Sari Bari USA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Fort Wayne, IN created to support a social enterprise based in Kolkata, INDIA that designs, manufactures, and sells its own brand of high-quality upcycled consumer products.
Sari Bari USA provides support through advocacy, fundraising, marketing, and sales to the social enterprise based in India where women who have been exploited in the sex trade or who are vulnerable to trafficking can experience a new life in the making.
Our mission is to offer freedom to women trapped in the sex trade and to provide opportunity to women vulnerable to trafficking. We hope to accomplish this though employment in a safe, loving environment where women are trained and employed as Artisans. The women create beautiful, sustainable, handmade products while making their lives new. We invite the consumer to partner with
us by their purchase or donation as they choose with us in the freedom journey of one woman.
ROLE:
The General Manager will serve as the primary team member to grow Sari Bari USA sales and donation revenues through all channels and manage all operations. Duties include:
EXPERIENCE:
MANAGER:
● This position reports to the Executive Director of Sari Bari USA, Inc.
COMPENSATION:
● This is a part-time salary position based on experience beginning with 20-hours a week, expanding as demand increases
● Standard operational hours are M-F from 9-5 with occasional evenings and
weekends depending on sales opportunities. Hours are flexible
● Please send resume and cover letter to info@saribari.com
Dear Friend,
In April, we sent out an update and a request. With uncertainty surrounding us like the heavy morning fog, we were trying to see our way through the coming lockdown. None of us knew what the world was going to look like in the coming months, but we knew it wasn't going to be "normal" any longer.
What we knew was that the women of Sari Bari were facing extreme difficulty. With lockdown restrictions that were much more severe than ours in the United States, it was concerning to think about how the women, along with their families, would access necessities. Additionally, if they are unable to come to Sari Bari, how would they have the money needed to survive? It was a difficult time, but we had HOPE.
We had hope because of you. We had hope because we knew we have the support of all of the amazing people who love Sari Bari and enjoy the beautiful work of the creations made by the women of Sari Bari. We new the ask was big, but we sent out a request to help to sustain Sari Bari. We needed $25,000 to continue paying salaries and support our operations through the summer months. YOU CAME THROUGH! We had enough to take our next steps. We paid wages, and we're so happy to say the women are well without a single case of COVID to date. Best of all, after the three months of Lockdown, the women have been working for a couple of months, and we have more beautiful products coming from India.
A portion of your gift was used to place a future order for masks. You facilitated the opportunity to invite women to come back to work. As a result, we now have those masks in hand and are excited to make them available for purchase.
These products, along with the other recent shipments, are the result of your investment for freedom. You gave because you believe, with us, in our opportunity to create sustainable business for the transformation of communities, and this is a victory in that great battle.
We are so grateful and excited to present our new masks, made from beautiful prints and lined with our Sari Bari custom lining. The design is comfortable and contoured. The fabric is light and breathable. Like every Sari Bari product, they are stylish and fun. Best of all, even in the difficult time and our continuing new reality, these masks are a reminder of the promise of HOPE.
Please, shop and enjoy our new Sari Bari Mask.
For Freedom,
All of us at Sari Bari
"Don′t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don′t walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend."
Albert Camus…
As the Executive Director for Sari Bari USA, David serves the Sari Bari USA team and engages with the supporters of Sari Bari. He shares from his experience and the powerful stories of the women of Sari Bari who work to make their lives new.
David is a graduate of Grace College located in Winona Lake, Indiana. He also sits on the board of a nonprofit organization that focuses on collaboration with law enforcement and service organizations to combat human trafficking in the Dominican Republic. His passion is evident when he shares about his work and desires to communicate the value of each individual and the beautiful opportunity we each have to creatively discover how we can recognize and support the equity, dignity, and freedom of others in our world.
In order to see the liberation of oppressed people anywhere, we must inspire the actuation of free people everywhere. Compassion is a critical start — but it is not the stopping point.
Today is World Day Against Trafficking In Persons. This day was created in 2010 to bring AWARENESS to the atrocity of human trafficking as well as to ignite ACTION in communities, agencies, and governments all over the world.
While you are currently reading this, over 24.9 million women, men, and children are trapped in sexual trafficking, forced labor trafficking, or another form of modern day slavery. It is estimated that roughly 4.4 million women alone are currently being trafficked around the world.
A microscopic, incomprehensibly small percentage of these women will see freedom. Almost none will see justice.
A harsh reality remains underneath the surface of many sex trafficking cases–women are still facing severe penalties and punishment for attacking or killing their traffickers in order to escape or survive.
We have a lot of work to do.
Please join us. Sari Bari directly impacts women who are exploited by or vulnerable to exploitation through human trafficking. Learn how YOU can get involved.
Sure, we have the opportunity to give every day, and we have the cadence of the calendar with holidays and other regular times for giving, but today is special because it is a day that we choose to respond to this specific need created by COVID-19 and felt by every person in every country. Today is #GivingTuesdayNow.
I am hopeful because this day exists. It is a statement we make together that says, “I see, I care, and I now take action to help another person who is impacted by this crisis, as I am.” To make this special statement TODAY demonstrates our resilience and commitment to thrive together. In the face of an intense, unexpected blow, we collectively get up, brush ourselves off, and declare, “We are not done yet.” This is HOPE.
We’ve been sharing our need to raise $25,000 as a starting point to sustain Sari Bari through June and into July. We continue to be encouraged by how HOPE is embraced by the donations we have received. We’re now at $7,000 toward our goal with time to still reach that goal.
Today, we are joining with #GivingTuesdayNow in a call to a powerful and special movement of generosity to help those communities most impacted, and who are still most at risk. We are asking that you think of the women of Sari Bari and give to help us to sustain for the sake of freedom now, as Sari Bari in India distributes wages during the lockdown, and as we see communities open once again and employment continues.
Thank you for standing with us.
For Freedom,
All of us at Sari Bari
Dear Friend,
In the past week, we’ve been posting updates from some of the women of Sari Bari. Here’s what Tinki, one of our artisans, said when asked how she is dealing with the repercussions of COVID-19,
"I am in trouble because the office is closed, my husband could not go to work, so we are running out of money, I am worried about my father & mother as they are sick and elderly. I have been working at home (hand stitching for Sari Bari), doing household things, sewing, taking care of family, nursing my paralyzed mom. Basically I have lots of things to do. But. I am still getting scared and depressed.”
*Read more from our artisans on Facebook or Instagram.
I am so glad for Tinki’s bravery to share her real experience. How about you? How are you dealing with repercussions of COVID-10? I know I share some of Tinki’s feelings. I worry about my family. I have a lot to do, but I still feel the emotional toll of our situation. While it is difficult to hear about difficult situations like these, I have found this series to be profound because it highlights our global solidarity. We are all in this together. It’s not a choice, but it is our reality. Similarly, our choice is to hang on to hope as we look to our better days ahead.
And we know that you are with us too. We’ve been encouraged by your commitment and generosity through your purchases and giving. We are now nearly a quarter of the way to our goal that we shared last week to raise $25,000 to sustain Sari Bari through June and into July. I’m asking you today to continue hoping with us.
Today, I ask you to join us by giving to help provide wages to the women of Sari Bari in the coming days while the lockdown extends, and as we begin to see things open once again. Your partnership will allow us to support the continued operations of Sari Bari, and all the ways it provides freedom and opportunity through employment.
This is a critical time for Sari Bari, and we know you share our passion and commitment to stand and join hands with each woman who makes a choice for freedom. That is why we are asking for your help right now. Only through our commitment to each other can we all continue to stand. Only by our decisions will we continue to hope. Today, we ask for a commitment from you for the hope of freedom and a future with Sari Bari.
For Sari Bari to continue, we need you now.
Please hope with us and give for freedom.
For Freedom,
All of us at Sari Bari
Dear Friend,
I am convinced that hope is only HOPE when accompanied by action. Without a decision to do something, it’s only positive thinking. The hope of equality and freedom from exploitation and slavery includes the brave abolitionists who have gone before us. We join them as we choose to act and step into freedom in our own hopeful journey.
I’m asking you to take another hopeful step with us today.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted us all, but it has not shaken our hope. We remain resolved to support a platform on which the Sari Bari artisans can stand. However, our resources are now stretched thin and we need your help. I’m writing to you today because I know you have already committed to journey with us even through this difficult time. We are all so encouraged by the many who have purchased from saribari.com during our current warehouse sale. When you purchase your favorite items, crafted by a Sari Bari artisan, you participate in hope in a critical way, but I’d like to ask you to press on farther as the journey continues to become more difficult.
We need $25,000 as a starting point to sustain Sari Bari through June and into July. Every dollar will help to provide wages immediately to artisans during a mandatory lockdown in India, now extended through the first week of May. Your partnership will allow us to support the continued operations of Sari Bari, and all the ways it provides freedom and opportunity through employment.
This is a critical time for Sari Bari, and we know you share our passion and commitment to stand and join hands with each woman who makes a choice for freedom. That is why we are asking for your help right now. Only through our commitment to each other can we all continue to stand. Only by our decisions will we continue to hope. Today, we ask for a commitment from you for the hope of freedom and a future with Sari Bari.
For Sari Bari to continue, we need you now.
Please hope with us and give for freedom.
For Freedom,
All of us at Sari Bari
Dear Friends,
This year, Sari Bari celebrated fourteen years of New Life in the Making. Throughout those years we have experienced many leadership transitions. New leaders entered into our family, while others have grown from within the company. Sarah Lance, Sari Bari’s Co-Founder and Managing Director, has guided the community through each of those transitions.
Today, we stand at another leadership juncture. As of the end of March, Sarah has stepped away from her day to day involvement with Sari Bari. While this may come as a surprise to you, we began preparing for this announcement fourteen years ago, when Sari Bari opened.
From the beginning, Sarah dreamed that local leaders would eventually manage Sari Bari in Kolkata. She intentionally built leadership development into the ethos of the company. This is who she is. Sarah sees the best in people and discerns their potential. She invests time, energy, and relationship to foster their talents and strengths. Sometimes it even seems that Sarah believes in a co-worker’s capacity more than they do themselves.
Each of us who has worked with Sarah has experienced this gift. In a society where leaders often work to consolidate power, Sarah intentionally works to disperse power and raise up leaders around her. She invites us to trust ourselves and to grow into our own style of leadership. Her constant messages of “I believe in you,” and, “Now, let’s take this next step together,” built confidence and shaped our experience. Consequently, this current transition merely extends Sarah’s natural leadership and original vision for Sari Bari.
We will all continue to celebrate Sarah Lance's legacy. Sari Bari exists because her heart was broken for women with no viable alternative to working in the sex trade in Kolkata. Out of that broken heart emerged impossible dreams. Sarah invited countless others like you to join her in making those dreams a reality. Sarah believes in freedom. She believes in the power of community. And she believes that with both freedom and community in our grasp, we hold immeasurable potential that far exceeds our expectations. Sari Bari exists as evidence of this truth.
Sarah will remain a board member of both Sari Bari USA and Sari Bari Private Limited in India. For the past year and a half, we have keenly prepared for this transition, positioning new leadership over a year ago to learn from Sarah firsthand. As a result, an experienced David Grant will continue as the Executive Director of Sari Bari USA, and a seasoned John Joel Das will continue as the General Manager of Sari Bari in Kolkata. Although we will miss Sarah’s presence deeply, we are excited to see what future freedom will be experienced through Sari Bari. Despite current challenges related to the COVID-19 global pandemic, we hold on to hope because of Sarah’s passion and your support. We believe the reality of global freedom is no longer an impossible dream and we look forward to New Lives In the Making in the days to come.
For Freedom
All of us at Sari Bari
Photo credit: Alice Laing Follow her on instagram @light.365
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Times are challenging, and the uncertainty can be scary and even painful. We hold on to hope for all of us as we experience, possibly in a more real way than ever, just how connected we all are — recognizing our need to press on together.
Sari Bari has always committed to providing a safe place for employment for our artisans, and our commitments have not changed. We also want you to continue enjoying the products made by the women of Sari Bari, safely. Our USA team is committed to safety as we fulfill your orders. We are sanitizing our space and our hands, and we will safely pack your items and send them on their way so you can enjoy them.
As the world adjusts to the reality of a global pandemic, Sari Bari in India is also adjusting and taking steps to protect our artisans in India. Our COVID-19 plan went into action this week as the first Coronavirus case arrived in Kolkata. As of Friday, any artisans over 55, and those with underlying health conditions, will be working from home.
We are preparing for all of our artisans to be able to work from home as we expect the inevitable reality of closure in the coming weeks as new directives come from the central government. At most, we can prepare a week to two weeks of work for our artisans, after which, with offices closed down and with new orders on pause, we will not be able to provide additional work. We are prepared to cover two weeks of wages to our artisans and are searching for ways to be able to provide income to our artisans for basics like food and rent in the weeks, and possibly months, that follow.
The impact of the virus will be felt profoundly by the most vulnerable in India who live in densely populated areas. The main red-light area in Kolkata, one of the largest in Asia, has been closed, and many of the women are being sent back to their villages if they can go. The women from the area (much like the women of Sari Bari) are primary breadwinners for their families and will be deeply impacted by the inability to earn an income to support and feed their families.
We will provide additional information on the situation in India as it develops, but we would like to be honest to say the impact is real, as is the threat. Many of the women of Sari Bari are vulnerable, and the virus will make it difficult for us to continue manufacturing products as we prepare to close down our India offices to protect our Artisans. Because of this, we need your help to support our work for freedom throughout this challenging season.
We will continue to monitor any developments and adjust to continue journeying with you every step of the way.
Thank you for joining us in our commitment to freedom.
Wishing health and freedom to all.
As a runner passes a baton, they do not pick up and carry the next runner on the team. They do not dictate the stride or direct each breath. They pass, they rest, and they cheer on the runners who follow. For the next runner, they do not step where the last stepped. They do not make up for distance already traveled. They do not, and cannot re-run. They cannot replace or redo. They only receive and press on toward the same goal the team has shared since the beginning.
Sarah Lance began this race. She joined with the women of Sari Bari as co-collaborators . They recruited you, and me, with their hope and brave choices for freedom. Sarah has led the charge, running hard since Sari Bari began. Now she has finished her lap, but she is still a critical member of our team — she just has a different job to do. She now cheers, supports, encourages, and coaches us on together in our freedom journey.
Instead, it is now our turn. We begin with the ground she has claimed, and we run on with our friend and team member cheering us on.
2019 was a challenging year, and looking back, I consider it a year of self-evaluation and preparation. In order to know a clear path for the future, we needed to understand our current position and make appropriate adjustments — all this while leadership in the USA and in India step fully into their roles. For Sari Bari USA, we have one longstanding opportunity, and one that will be a focus for growth in the coming years. To continue with the relay analogy, one leg is much stronger than the other, and it is time to balance the strength so we can run more effectively.
The stronger leg of Sari Bari has always been the Artisans themselves and the product they create. We have beautiful designs, stunning colors and patterns, and skilled artisan producing high quality goods. Looking at the coming line-up for 2020, I guarantee fans of Sari Bari are going to be coming back to check out and purchase to expand their collections. We do need to grow our products sales, but the platform is functioning well. The other leg is our funding partners. We have had committed donors who have been with us throughout the journey. YOU are invaluable. We wouldn’t be here today without you. AND you already know the beauty of the journey. We need more of YOU. Strengthening this leg will alleviate the pressures of overhead to bring the products to the market and cashflow as we flex with the seasons of retail. It will free us to dream and enable more freedom in the future.
This journey that centers around the women of Sari Bari that we run with, and in order to better invite others into that journey, we are releasing a new and exciting opportunity to join with us in 2020. We’d like to invite you to partner with an Artisan. A gift of $35 a month will support the platform on which she can choose to stand and work. It is an all-in partnership that says, “I will give for what she needs to make her choice for freedom.” We will begin with a small number of artisans, providing monthly updates to all of her partners.
We’d like to invite you to this important relationship with Sari Bari as we strengthen and prepare for the years of freedom to come. Please join us and Partner with an Artisan.
Thank you so much for your continued commitment to freedom. We are honored to be a part of this shared journey with you.
For Freedom,
David Grant
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For the last few years, we have transitioned through many challenges and times of struggle and find ourselves on the other side of losing friends and co-labors in the struggle for freedom. The Business of freedom has changed over these last years as new markets have opened and fresh start ups have made their way in the ethical fashion space. When we began, we were one of the few, and now we are one of the many. We are grateful to see the movement grow and the market grow to welcome some pretty amazing new brands.
The challenge for us has been in continuing to employ 120-130 women while orders have slowed and placed a heavy burden on our ability to employ as many as we do. Somewhere along the path, we hired more women than we could fully employ and so there are many days and hours of the week that we cannot fill with work for our artisans. So, after several years of “making it work” we are making a tough decision towards sustainability and tightening our belt. Sustaining and caring for the freedom journey of Sari Bari artisans continues to be at the forefront of our hearts and minds. Even still, we began a process of discernment several months ago as a community considering how we sustain the most artisans with full-time work as we move into the next phase of our business of creating freedom and opportunity.
In January, we began to take concrete steps toward health as a business and a community. And these steps toward health are challenging because they affect lives and families. This month, we will be closing down two of the four of our smaller manufacturing units and consolidating down to just two units. Approximately 5 women have chosen to take early retirement, a package which includes a 6-month salary, plus a bonus equivalent of up to 1-year salary for any employee who has worked for us for more than 5 years and have full access to retirement funds. Additionally, we have invited around 25 women to work as commuter/satellite staff, working at home and commuting into the office once a week. Should these artisans choose not to work at home, they also have access to the same package as those who are taking early retirement.
This is a significant structural change, to say the least, and one that we will believe bring back balance and profitability, and therefore long-term sustainability. We believe these steps will again facilitate a strong foundation to sustain and empower new futures for women in the years to come.
Fourteen years in the business of freedom is no small miracle, and our hearts are grateful even as we say goodbye to some of friends and beloved sisters as they step into something new. The mission of Sari Bari was always to provide a space where women could heal and grow and become; a place that they could go out from with a foundation of freedom, and we are confident that our mission has been realized in the lives of the artisans and will continue to be realized in the lives of women who find themselves at our doors in the future.
For Freedom and For All of us at Sari Bari.
Sarah Lance
Co-Founder, Managing Director
Sari Bari Private Limited
]]>In July of 2011, I sat in a room listening to a presentation from a Human Trafficking organization. I live in a small town in Indiana, so I’m sure we were a little behind, but at that time, most people around were still pretty unaware of the reality of Human Trafficking, let alone the specifics of groups doing something about it. I remember feeling horrified by a story of a woman offering a young girl for sex to the gentleman now making the presentation in the room where I was sitting. He said, “Then she pointed to another young girl and said, ‘and you can take her for your son.’” This woman offered up two young girls for the unthinkable in a market among the shoes she was selling to some man who was just walking by. I decided that day I was going to do whatever I could to help to stop that from ever happening.
Thinking back to that experience, I am trying to put my finger on what changed for me. What flipped the switch? I think it was a story that helped me connect to the humanness on the other side of all the statistics and awareness. It makes sense. I’ve heard about the importance of dehumanizing an enemy during wartime. Why wouldn’t the opposite be true when it comes to the things that inspire us to participate in what is good for others?
It makes me wonder how much more we could do to end human trafficking if given the opportunity to connect to the human exploited, abused, and trafficked on the other side of that report or social media post.
To do that, I want to offer the same opportunity to you. I want to share a short story of a time I looked into the eyes of another human and really saw them. I hope it helps you, as you read, to see the individual on the other side of all the information we learn during Human Trafficking Awareness month.
Since 2011, I’ve had opportunities to participate in work I never expected for my life. It has been rewarding to participate in work for freedom, but some of the experiences are difficult. While working with an organization, I was with a team in Bangkok and walked by a KTV lounge when a young woman walked up to me and invited me to come with her into the establishment for sex. She had quickly laid her hands around my neck bringing me face-to-face with only a few inches between us. I understand she intended to encourage something specific, but for me, it brought me close enough to look past the bright lights and the glitter or the area. I looked deep into her eyes and saw the person standing in front of me. Behind the smile, there was much more. I smiled at her, politely refused, and began walking away. I had to move her arm to step out of her reach, and as I was stepping away, I felt her move. She swung back around in front of me, and this time held her hands on my shoulders. Her face had changed. She was no longer smiling. Instead, she looked tired and sad and said in a different tone, “Please. Just come and sit with me for a while… No funny business.”
At that moment, my heart broke and as I, once again, politely refused and walked on, I wanted so much to take her from that place. Although I don’t fully understand everything she felt or understood at that moment, I had just looked into life — stolen. I saw value — rejected. I saw hope — lost. But what remained, even in this dark environment, was a person deserving dignity, respect, and freedom. I felt a flash of anger as I thought about the men I resembled who would have responded so differently, and everything that night would hold for this young woman.
While the best thing I could've done that night was to keep on walking, the best thing I can do for her, and the many in similar situations today is to keep sharing, keep working, and keep inviting others to join the many of us in creating a free world.
For you, the woman that night, and for every other valuable person, I will work for freedom during Human Trafficking Month, and throughout the year.
Will you join us?
As the Executive Director for Sari Bari USA, David serves the Sari Bari USA team and engages with the supporters of Sari Bari. He shares from his experience and the powerful stories of the women of Sari Bari who work to make their lives new.
David is a graduate of Grace College located in Winona Lake, Indiana. He also sits on the board of a nonprofit organization that focuses on collaboration with law enforcement and service organizations to combat human trafficking in the Dominican Republic. His passion is evident when he shares about his work and desires to communicate the value of each individual and the beautiful opportunity we each have to creatively discover how we can recognize and support the equity, dignity, and freedom of others in our world.
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Freedom comes in many forms. Freedom can be the ability to choose what type of work you do. Freedom can be the right to say what you really think. Freedom can be the right to choose where you live. Freedom can also mean the ability to act contrary to your norms.
We are creatures of habit and while many of those habits lead to our survival, sometimes they also harm us. Due to the environment in which we were raised, who our parents were, and the opportunities available to us, we developed those habits. We can be free, not only from elements in our external world but also from negative habits and established norms within ourselves. We assert our freedom when we act contrary to our habits and choose another path.
This was a point I made as I led a workshop on anger management and conflict resolution with the women of Sari Bari. We watched clips of animals behaving in accordance with the five styles of conflict management. The turtle avoids, the chameleon accommodates, the kangaroo competes, the bird compromises, and the rabbit collaborates. We talked about the environments in which it is best to be a turtle, and when it is a good idea to be a kangaroo. Someone who is naturally a kangaroo should sometimes be a chameleon while someone else who is naturally a turtle may need to act like a bird. We should all work towards acting more like a rabbit. Always competing can hurt us just as much as always accommodating. One act of freedom is choosing which style we want to use in a given situation and not being trapped by our habits.
When Purnima said to me, “I had a conflict this weekend, I started out like a kangaroo but then I decided to be a chameleon”, I didn’t just smile because we now have this odd shared animalistic vocabulary, but also because she recognized what she was doing and chose how she wanted to proceed. This was another step for her in her freedom journey.
_____________________________________________________________________
Reflection by Ronit Odom, Sari Bari Human Resources and Training Consultant based in Kolkata, India. Ronit joined Sari Bari USA in October 2018 and gives her sweet energy to the Sari Bari Private Limited Leadership team, supporting their journey to become better leaders. She also brings her joy and enthusiasm to weekly soft skills training for all the women of Sari Bari. Ronit supports making our Sari Bari community a better place to work and a better place to heal.
]]>Right now, Sari Bari needs financial partners to sustain holistic support for the women of Sari Bari in Kolkata.
I have walked alongside some of the bravest women I know. I have heard their stories and their dreams. We have soared high in celebration and we have mourned inexplicable loss. We have been present to one another in the face of unanswerable questions and unbearable disappointment. In the same way that I have been changed over the course of the journey, so too has Sari Bari. Sari Bari is a living entity, it is growing and changing, it is constantly becoming.As Sari Bari has changed, its needs have also changed.
]]>Right now, Sari Bari needs financial partners to sustain holistic support for the women of Sari Bari in Kolkata
I have walked alongside some of the bravest women I know. I have heard their stories and their dreams. We have soared high in celebration and we have mourned inexplicable loss. We have been present to one another in the face of unanswerable questions and unbearable disappointment. In the same way that I have been changed over the course of the journey, so too has Sari Bari. Sari Bari is a living entity, it is growing and changing, it is constantly becoming. As Sari Bari has changed, its needs have also changed. Over the past two years, we rejoice to report the following:
All of these changes are exciting, but change comes with challenges, including a shift in our funding model. While I lived in Kolkata for six years, all foreign workers were self-supported. We have realized this is not a sustainable way of growing a business. Ensuring organizational stability is key to sustained freedom. We cannot sustain these organizational changes without your support. Sari Bari needs a supporting network in the US in order to provide job security and holistic support to the women in Kolkata.
Over the years we have held fundraising campaigns for specific purposes: the purchase of a building, a building renovation, holistic support services. As Sari Bari has grown, we have realized that in order support the freedom journey for women in Kolkata, we need regular donations in addition to our product sales. Social business is an incredible model for development, however there are limits to what can be accomplished purely through a business. Yes, the women of Sari Bari need reliable employment. They also need leadership development, HIV care, literacy training, health screenings, counseling, and more, as well as a healthy organization to advocate for them and the issue of human trafficking in the US.
Sales alone are not enough. To honor our commitment to the women in Kolkata, Sari Bari needs regular, monthly supporters in the US. Every dollar is important to us to sustain the work of Freedom.
For all of us on the freedom journey,
Melissa Hayward Desai
Former Director of Aftercare
Melissa lived in Kolkata from 2010-2016, serving in various roles at Sari Bari. During her tenure she was the Shipping Coordinator, Training Coordinator, and the Aftercare Director. Melissa's favorite memories from her time at Sari Bari include countless cups of tea, dance parties, and training graduation parties. These celebrations set the stage for the transformative conversations that come along with moments set aside for community. Melissa counts her days at Sari Bari as some of the most sacred of her life. She is forever marked by love in the form of generous home cooked meals, and by the depth of community at Sari Bari.
Melissa currently lives in Washington DC, and serves at the Secretary of the board of Sari Bari USA.
]]>In ten minutes, I witness the cycles of the red-light district unfold before me. Young women forced into the commercial sex trade become older women who have no other job opportunities and are therefore forced to continue to practice the trade that they never wanted to learn. Men come when they want and leave when they want. The women remain.
It is taking my eyes time to adjust to seeing these realities. It is taking my ears time to adjust to understanding the stories that these women share with me. Being a part of the journey with women who are finding freedom is an honor. This journey also takes time and is an investment. It is an investment in stopping the cycles of the red-light areas. It is an investment in a future that I might not get to fully witness. It is a wholly worthwhile investment.
Reflection by Ronit Odom, Sari Bari Human Resources and Training Consultant based in Kolkata, India. Ronit joined Sari Bari USA in October 2018 and gives her sweet energy to the Sari Bari Private Limited Leadership team, supporting their journey to become better leaders. She also brings her joy and enthusiasm to weekly soft skills trainings for all the women of Sari Bari. Ronit supports making our Sari Bari community a better place to work and a better place to heal.
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We are SUPER excited about our membership in the Fair Trade Federation! It is an important step for us, not because it reflects changes to what we do or how we work, but because we are able to share more about our values and commitments to FREEDOM through a recognized platform that promotes those values. It demonstrates our ongoing efforts to support a structure on which the women of Sari Bari can choose, and it reflects our hope to participate together in a world we believe we can become.
In thinking about what this announcement means for Sari Bari, here are a few thoughts I wanted to share about the importance of our membership in the Fair Trade Federation and why purchasing with organizations who hold to these same commitments is important.
Fair trade seeks to introduce products and services from environments that aren’t as available to the marketplace. I know the way I used to think about Fair Trade was that it was just a kindness to create an alternative to the brands I already buy — just from a new producer. That’s not what fair trade is about. Instead, it recognizes that coffee tastes unique coming from a different environment. Styles vary depending on their design origin. If our opportunity to purchase is closed and limited from other contributors, we miss out on beauty, variety, competition, and experience — and there is a world of experiences for us.
Fair Trade is for YOU — the consumer who cares about product stories.
Studies show there is a growing interest in understanding where our products come from and how people are served during the production of the products we buy (*See reference below). Being Fair Trade Certified joins with your passion, recognizing and celebrating that commitment you have, and opens up our market to conscientious shoppers like you who value the importance of the due diligence of Fair Trade products to ensure ethical treatment for all.
Fair Trade is for US — You and me! It’s another step in our freedom journey.
Our membership in the Fair Trade Federation is our alignment with you —together — to commit to better accountability, high-quality products, a global market, and more freedom for all. While Sari Bari is still striving for the same excellence it always has, our membership demonstrates our ongoing commitment to what is good for the women of Sari Bari, and what is good for each of us. Our shared love for Fair Trade is a commitment to the world we want to live in.
Celebrate our Fair Trade Certification with us!
Let's build the economy of abundance.
Let's find excess capacity and unleash it.
Let's open assets, data, and minds.
Let's address climate change and income inequality.
Let's create the world we want to live in.
-Robin Chase
*Shoppers Are Demanding Sustainable Options. Are Companies Getting On Board? — fairtrade.net
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There is a palpable shift in the world when November comes around. 'Tis the season of joy, hope, and celebration where families and friends everywhere reunite to celebrate.
This holiday season, we put together a Sari Bari Ethical Gift Guide that will help you discover a wonderful gift for the special people you love in your life. Cozy up with a warm throw, a cup of coffee, + dive into the 2019 Gift Guide with us!
Did you know an estimated 35 million children between 6-14 years old do not attend school in India? More than 50 percent of girls fail to enroll in school; those that do are likely to drop out by the age of 12 (Smile Foundation India) Girls' educations are of little concern. Many women at Sari Bari only learn to write their names when they come here and sign their first paycheck.
There’s an ancient African proverb that says, “If we educate a boy, we educate one person. If we educate a girl, we educate a family- and a whole nation.” This is because by sending a GIRL to school, she is far more likely to ensure that her children are educated; that her family will succeed and educate and support the next generation. Aratan, like many mothers at Sari Bari, demonstrates this sentiment with her children.
“I am educating my children well. If I didn’t have this benefit, then I couldn’t educate my daughter. I have so many dreams for her. I want her to study more. I want to send her to higher education. I will put her in an English medium school so that she can have a better future. She’s in 7th grade. She plays basketball and is a very good player. She’s happy, she is studying well.”
The women of Sari Bari have big dreams for their children, and we are fiercely passionate about partnering with the women of Sari Bari so their children have every opportunity for a brighter future. Each woman contributes about 24% of their child’s annual expenses, while Sari Bari contributes the remaining 76% through donations and monthly supporters. Sending one child to school costs $12 per month. You can sign up for a monthly donation, or make a donation for one child for six months for $72, or one year for $144. Your donation allows children access to needed supplies like boarding fees, textbook fees, uniforms, shoes, and much more.Currently, 54 children receive a quality education thanks to their mothers and partners like you! Aratan has participated in the School Support Program for 12 years. She says, “I couldn’t have educated my daughter. When my son wanted to study more, I sent him to higher education. He finished college. There are more women and sisters in our community who joined this work. They also received this school benefit for their children’s education. They can support their futures.”
We need partners that want to see women sending their children to school so that they can not only write their own name but write their own story. We need supporters that believe in the magic of books and want to partner with moms at Sari Bari so their children get to experience that wonder. We need advocates to help spread the word. Educate a child, and you can educate a nation. Become a part of changing a generation through education.
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Members of the Fair Trade Federation make the deepest commitment to 360° fair trade. Each applicant undergoes rigorous screening to demonstrate a commitment to create positive change through each aspect of the organizations work: socially, economically, and environmentally. Sari Bari has demonstrated it works with artisans in holistic partnerships built on trust. These relationships go beyond ensuring fair wages and safe working conditions — they empower producers to strengthen their communities and grow their businesses sustainably.
“We are deeply grateful to be associated with the Fair Trade Federation.” Says Sarah Lance, Founder and Director of Brand and Strategy for Sari Bari. “It is an affirmation of our central commitments to the artisans of Sari Bari and their ongoing pursuit of freedom and living an empowered life.”
Fort Wayne and any others interested in Sari Bari products is invited to shop Fair Trade products on Sari Bari’s website – saribari.com, or visit their location and shop the storefront at 1008 North Wells Street in Fort Wayne.
Location hours are Monday through Thursday from 9:00am to 4:00pm.
More information about the Fair Trade Federation is available here: www.fairtradefederation.org
Connect with Sari Bari at saribari.com
About Sari Bari USA, Inc.
Sari Bari USA, Inc. is a A 501(c)(3) organization located at 1008 North Wells Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46808. Sari Bari is an ethical fashion business that employs women who have been exploited in the sex trade or who are vulnerable to human trafficking. Women are trained as artisans to create handmade kantha products from recycled saris. For more information, call 260-420-8518 or visit saribari.com.
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]]>It is finally the time of year many of us anticipate with child-like excitement: FALL.
We're loving the changing leaves, hot tea, + cozy clothes that the cooler temperatures bring with them. This fall is ESPECIALLY exciting as we have officially launched our 2019 Limited Edition Collection! We can't wait to tell you all about it. We hope your next few months provide growth, love, and the strength to continue supporting and speaking out for freedom.
But for now, cozy up with a warm blanket + a hot cup of coffee to see what our new 2019 Limited Edition collection has to offer!
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We are now featuring handmade quilts for Auction and Raffle from more than 13 quilters around the world! These amazing, skilled quilters donated their time to create these stunning pieces of art. We will be running two back to back auctions with 6-7 quilts in each auction. Note: Only auction ONE quilts are live. Auction two quilts go live Monday, October 14th!
All the quilts were created from recycled Sari's and the proceeds from the auction directly benefit the women of Sari Bari and the programs that support their freedom journey. Click here to bid on a quilt, or here to enter the raffle for the Sari Bari quilt.
"Christel, Casey, and Maddie live in Minnesota. Christel, mother of Casey and Maddie, and her sewing machine were integral in teaching her daughters sewing skills as kids. Clothes (even the bridesmaids dresses for Casey's wedding) were mostly their specialty but a few quilts have been in the mix of creations. All three women have a heart for fair trade and ethical products and are honored to be able to partner with Sari Bari to serve in this way." This quilt is up for LIVE auction in Fort Wayne, Indiana on October 18th, 2019.
"My name is Melissa Burkhardt. I am from a small town in Wisconsin. I just recently started quilting as a therapy for myself. Having been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia years ago I have tried to find my own way to deal. Crafting takes my mind off of the pain. I do all of my work on a single stitch sewing machine, no fancy quilting machine yet! The quilt I made for this auction has hand-tied knots on each of the 4 corners of the pattern. With every hand-tied stitch, I was reminded that women, kids, men, humans are "knot" for sale. I am hopeful that this quilt finds a home with a little baby and a grateful family."
"Patchwork and quilting are my way of expressing thanks for good things that have happened in my life. Making a quilt gives me the opportunity to think about the person or organization I am making it for. I have been quilting for over 25 years and during that journey, I have met women who are always willing to help others. Making a quilt for Sari Bari was an easy decision as women working together to help other women make perfect sense. The quilting community is always sharing information so I heard about making quilts using recycled saris from a fellow Irish quilter and was delighted to get involved. - Co. Limerick, Ireland"
"I started my quilting life about 17 years ago on a hand-cranked antique Singer sewing machine. In the beginning, I didn't have a clue how to do it but gradually, by teaching myself through books and magazines, I became a confident quilter. I have now been teaching quilt making for about 10 years, both locally and nationally, in Ireland. I have set up a dedicated quilt studio where I can make quilts and teach quilt making, which also serves as a quilt shop, stocking a large range of modern cotton fabric, threads, and quilt-making supplies. The concept of Sari Bari is absolutely brilliant and, from the moment I heard about it, I wanted to support it. So when I heard about quilt auction this year, I quickly volunteered. I like quilt making especially with challenges; working with those beautiful Sari fabrics was definitely the toughest one!"
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“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”and“What they need is a ‘hand-up’ not a ‘hand-out.’”
Both phrases have been instructive in many ways, and come from a progression of our understanding of how to enact change in our world. Some thoughtful folks have used these terms to encourage a more beneficial strategy in addressing need beyond creating dependency. Certainly, there is a need to address issues in our world with sustainable solutions rather than a 1-time gift that just delays suffering.
I believe we’ve come a long way in creating sustainable solutions. Accountability and expectations have grown for nonprofit organizations and program, and there is much better research and understanding of foundational challenges that need addressing. What is also true is that we have gained a greater grasp of the realities we face, and we now recognize things aren’t quite as simple as giving money or teaching skills.
For Sari Bari, I want to encourage an understanding that takes our actions a step beyond simply giving or teaching. If all Sari Bari does is provide job skills/employment, the reality is that it is not enough. Why? While the need is financial and there a need for training and sustainable employment, there is something beneath that is more critical to address.
The reasons women are prostituted and trafficked are complex. Economic insecurity is not the only root of slavery. Lack of skills is not the only factor for vulnerability. The world’s most vulnerable exist in environments which do not offer them choices or afford them the opportunity to live with dignity. They may not have access to the basic resources that would allow them to choose work or make a change in their situation.
Imagine teaching someone to snow ski while in the middle of the desert. You’ve given them the tools — the skis and poles. You’ve even instructed them in the star, “snow-plow” position to safely make it to the bottom of a mountain. None of this does any good without actually being on a snowy decline. It would even be cruel to then accuse your student of failing to try or taking advantage of your generosity because they do not dart away on their skis with their new skill. In the same way, the women of Sari Bari continue to make brave choices to develop the skills they need on their journey to freedom, but what is needed is a sustainable foundation and environment for them to choose, work, and live. We all can, if only given the opportunity and right environment, find freedom.
We at Sari Bari would like to encourage the next step in our thinking. It’s time to move past the idea of the “hand-up” and move toward collaborative partnerships and community (much like the image for this campaign imagines). We must recognize a greater need to build a world where freedom and opportunity can be sustained and replicable. We can expand our understanding and acknowledge it isn’t enough to give once or even to teach a skill. We have the opportunity to participate in supporting a life-changing structure like Sari Bari that enables the possibility of future healthy sustainable structures. In all of it, we recognize our connected nature, and through our participation, we are ready to join with the women of Sari Bari as we step more fully into freedom ourselves.
THAT is the invitation to journey with us. It is more than a gift. It is a recognition of an ongoing process to realize a world of freedom for you, for me, and for the women of Sari Bari. It is a commitment to that world. It requires all of us — joining in our shared journey to freedom.
Will you journey with us?
David Grant
Executive Director, Sari Bari USA
Beth, former Director of Aftercare for Sari Bari in India, was helping to clean at the start of the day, filing a gap when a woman of Sari Bari had not come to work. When the other women arrived, they jumped in to help as well. Beth says, "... I passed one women smiling as she descended down the stairs disposing of a large bucket’s worth of yesterday’s trash…when I said to her, ‘you don’t have to do that’ she shrugged me off, saying ‘What is it to me, we’re all the same, I can do this work.’” In India, this is an important value to note, because the remnants of the caste system still cling to everything. She was saying nothing is beneath me, we are in this together.
Two things struck me. First, “We’re all the same.” We share value. What a simple truth about what it is to be human, we share our humanness and our unique value as human beings. A truth I can easily forget even unintentionally. It’s not a conscious thought, but in my approach to my world, I can focus on my own existence so much and forget about the world of value and connection all around me — extending around the globe. In our same-ness, we journey together. And in our difference and uniqueness, we journey together. We survive, each depending on the other. We struggle. We fall. We rise. Together. We are intimately connected by our shared humanity.
Second. She chooses this work. In fact, she chooses to go above and beyond. She can choose. She can push. She can heal. She can grow. In my inability to see how we are the same, it is easy to elevate my impact and my role in all of this. Just as I can, so can she! Just as I try, so she tries. Just as I succeed, SHE is victorious.
When I understand what this wise woman already knew, I see my greater opportunity, not to save someone or become a hero, but to participate in our greater, shared work of freedom. This is why I partner with Sari Bari. This is why I give. This is why I care. I believe in the value of WE. I recognize our united efforts for what is right and good. That is who WE are, and whom I will participate in efforts to become, TOGETHER.
We invite you into this journey — not because of what you can do for the women of Sari Bari, but because of what we become together through our shared journey of freedom.
Will you journey with us?
David Grant
Executive Director, Sari Bari USA
]]>At Sari Bari, we have been building and putting those pieces into place for hundreds of women over the years. We did the math. It costs about $5 a day per woman that we support on their freedom journey to sustain the infrastructure she needs to continue on her journey. And that cost does not count what she herself contributes through her own labors as an artisan producer. When you buy her bag, you support her employment, and that is a critical piece. There are also many other pieces that have to be sustained through profits from the goods sold . But the rest, and it is a big rest, has to be sustained through partnerships. Sometimes that’s a grant or an individual gift or lots of individual gifts.
Basically, we need to find ways to sustain the infrastructure that supports the women who have freedom now, and the women who will work with us in the future, on their freedom journey. And we do this through donations. I had hope many years ago that we could just survive on sales. And sales are good, but they are not good enough to sustain all the critical pieces that make it possible for us to support and sustain freedom for so many women and their families.
So, $5 a day per women covers it. Or $35 a week. Or $140 a month or $1680 per a year per woman. We are in a critical space and we are asking you to join us, to journey with us. Would you consider journeying with the women of Sari Bari at one of these levels on a monthly or yearly basis?
The journey is long and no one walks the freedom journey alone. Do you think your freedom journey may be tied up with ours? Will you join us as we seek to sustain the possibilities of freedom long term.
One of my favorite quotes is from Lila Watson, Australian Aboriginal leader,
“If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
We invite you to consider that your liberation may be bound up with ours, and we can journey together toward sustainable freedom. Think about it. $5 a month changes the story for one woman for today, it makes her journey possible. It’s a good place to start. Will you journey with us?
For Freedom,
Sarah Lance
Founder, Managing Director
]]>When I think of all the strength we need to get through the day, all the resilience needed for the women to pick themselves up and make a new life, I am both inspired and very tired! I have had the privilege to journey with the many of the women of Sari Bari into the crises of their everyday life. One story that holds me, because the woman herself holds my heart, is Rina.
Rina was one for the first women at Sari Bari. She joined in our second year and became a centerpiece of joy. She was absolutely hilarious, self-deprecating and sarcastic. She was also sick a lot. Later we came to find out, because of what was the beginnings of the Well-woman check-up at that time, that she was HIV positive. A challenging diagnosis anywhere but certainly she faces additional challenges being in India and in a community that because of a lack of understanding, made her potentially even more isolated. I sat with her in our small office and told her the news, reassuring her that she didn’t have to be afraid, there was medicine, there was hope.
That was the beginning of an intimate journey in friendship. I held her secret and walked with her, along with several others in our community, through doctor visits and negotiating the very specific places where she could get the treatment she needed. One toward the end of the workday, it was clear that Rina was very sick and needed emergency care. So we moved into action and took her to a private hospital, one whose Christian mission was for the poor. We were promptly turned away when we revealed her diagnosis. And so she came to my house that day, and I bathed her and put her in dry clothes and put her bed, hoping that hydration and the meds we had were enough.
And she never left, not until the end when hospital beds were the norm. She lived with me for almost a year, at first in my tiny space and then in an empty room downstairs. She told me her stories, the really hard ones. And I told her my stories, the hard ones. And she shared the burden of my hard days as I shared hers. She liked when I made pasta with mushroom ( a definitively non-Indian dish). She made my occasional clove cigarette at the end of a long day and open secret to all of the ladies at Sari Bari.
She was my journey partner for a long season. A sister and a friend. Her journey was especially hard and it took our whole community to walk with her. I was apart of it and there was Beth and so many others. It was almost everyone at Sari Bari and my landlady and so many of you who came alongside us.
We need journey partners. We need a whole community and infrastructure and the facilities that support our journey to wholeness.
It’s been a year since I began journeying with Sari Bari. Like many of you who have known and journeyed with Sari Bari for a much longer time, we’ve moved beyond the surface-level conversations. We’ve heard and seen the strength of the women of Sari Bari as they share their stories and invite us into a deeper commitment for shared freedom. I’ve learned and felt that mutual invitation into something more. SHE, each woman at Sari Bari, has already given me so much. Here’s just one example:
Supriya shares her story in a video interview (You can watch it here: https://vimeo.com/144463093). One phrase, in particular, has stuck with me and has impacted me deeply. She says, “I believe in joy… Today I am happy. I leave behind what has happened in my old life and look to the future.”
Now, “How can I help HER?” The biggest thing I have learned this past year is this: She is not asking me for anything. She is strong and capable. I will not save her. I will not prop her up. She can do that for herself. Instead, we have an invitation to join in something greater. We have an invitation to participate with her in the freedom journey. We too can believe in JOY. We can embody HOPE. We can recognize how we are each connected and choose to engage in ways that make it possible for us all to thrive.
What do we need to thrive? We need a structure — a foundation on which to stand. How do we sustain a foundation for women like Supriya? The women of Sari Bari invite your collaboration to support and sustain the infrastructure on which they now stand, ensuring freedom now, and for women who will work with us in the future.
Product purchases ensure the sustainability of business and the employment of women in Kolkata, but the journey of freedom requires more than a job offer. We can work together to support a foundation that facilitates employment opportunities and services available to the women of Sari Bari.
The structure to support the foundation for one woman's freedom is $5 per day. That’s an opportunity to choose freedom this week for $35. $140 for a month. $1,680 means SHE can choose to work for an entire year.
Think about it. $5 a day changes the story for one woman — today. It makes her journey possible, and it’s a good place to start
We invite you into this journey — not because of what you can do for the women of Sari Bari, but because of what we become together through our shared journey of freedom.
David Grant
Executive Director, Sari Bari USA
]]>In this final video in our five-part Meet the Founder series, Sarah Lance, founder of Sari Bari, talks about her hopes for the future of the now 13-year-old freedom business.
If you haven't seen the previous four videos in the series, be sure to check them out here.
]]>"..it was...freedom embodied. It was hope made tangible. There were legs to freedom. It was a job and an opportunity. Not just to find physical freedom, but emotional and spiritual freedom as well." -Sarah Lance
]]>"..it was...freedom embodied. It was hope made tangible. There were legs to freedom. It was a job and an opportunity. Not just to find physical freedom, but emotional and spiritual freedom as well." -Sarah Lance
In part four of our Meet the Founder series, listen to Sari Bari founder, Sarah Lance, talk about hope made tangible throughout the last 13 years of providing freedom and opportunity to women vulnerable to human trafficking in West Bengal.
Check out the other four videos in the series here.
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