By Pervez Saleem
Sudara Freedom Fund
EMPOWERING WOMEN SINCE 2006
OUR STORY
A trip to India in 2005 inspired founder Shannon Keith to begin an innovative business venture to create lasting impact for survivors and those at high risk of sex trafficking.
The previous year, Shannon had returned from a trip to India where she heard story after story of women who were sold into sex slavery. She also heard stories of women who were at high risk of being forced into the sex trade by their families or picked up off the streets by local pimps. The reasons they were at a high risk? Because they lacked an education or the resources or the skills to have a choice.
Shannon returned home from that trip and formed a small team of family and friends. Together, they looked for groups in India that were compelled to have a positive impact and help women looking for a way out of the Red Light Districts. The team knew that safe, steady and living-wage employment would be a pathway to freedom and offer choices for women and their families.
FOUNDER
A trip to India, in 2005, inspired Shannon to take action and begin an innovative business venture. Her drive to disrupt the social enterprise space and create lasting impact for survivors and those at high risk of sex trafficking led her to found and cultivate Sudara – a certified Benefit Corporation.
Shannon created Sudara with a mission rooted in job creation and freedom-filled choice for women who want to escape sex slavery. Over the past fifteen years, Shannon has taken the organization far and wide. On its current trajectory, Shanon leads Sudara’s vision from the position of founder and chairwoman. Her responsibilities include analyzing systemic issues, evaluating and forming strategic partnerships, and positioning Sudara as a leader in the social innovation space.
THERE IS NO GREATER GIFT THAN A LIFE OF FREEDOM
Make a donation today to help provide safety, independence, and hope for women and children in India who are high risk survivors of sex trafficking.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING = MODERN-DAY SLAVERY
OUR MISSION IS TO END
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
The majority of women enter slavery in one of three ways:
1- They were sold into it. 2- They were born into it. 3- They had no other options for survival.
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What We Do?
A New Path To Freedom
1- Safe Housing
Freedom to be what you choose starts in the safety of your own home. For some women shifting away from sex work, housing funded by Sudara Freedom Fund gives their children the opportunity to live away from the industry and start a new path to freedom.
Restoration, Transformation and Window of Hope Homes
These homes were started out of our learning that employable skills training by itself – especially in the midst of difficult and dangerous circumstances – is less productive. For many years, with our partners we provided employable skills to girls and women coming from backgrounds of extreme poverty, abuse, sex trafficking, HIV/AIDS and temple prostitution. While the girls were often able to pick up their new skills, they needed extra help to overcome their pasts and truly use these new skills to their full potential.
The Restoration, Transformation and Window of Hope homes were started with the desire to provide women a safe place for 11 months where they would receive loving care, trained counseling and healthy food in addition to their skill training courses. This support creates an environment that allows them to truly escape their circumstances, and bring hope and the opportunity to be self-sufficient.
THERE IS NO GREATER GIFT THAN A LIFE OF FREEDOM
Make a donation today to help provide safety, independence and hope for women and children in India who are high risk or survivors of sex trafficking.
ESCAPING CYCLES OF POVERTY & HUMAN TRAFFICKING
CHILDCARE & EDUCATION
We believe that equipping vulnerable children with good quality education gives them a strong foundation that not only sets them up for success in their future but also enables entire families and communities to escape cycles of poverty and human trafficking.
Children’s Homes
Children Homes were started to provide a safe space, loving care, healthy food and good quality English medium education for children at-risk. Today, we support 21 homes catering to children from various difficult backgrounds including – orphans, semi orphans, children from backgrounds of commercial sex trade, and children from families affected by HIV/AIDS.
Tuition Center
Tuition Centers were set up to help children of parents who couldn’t help their kids with after school homework. Hyderabad is a city with a large migrant population – many working long hours and often illiterate. Research indicated that children who did not receive after-school help from their parents were more likely to drop out of school.
The Centers were set up to provide an alternative, encouraging students to stay in school and successfully graduate. We support 23 Tuition Centers with 25-30 students each. Each center has a well qualified teacher who spends two hours every day after class hours to help students with homework and any other course related doubts and questions.
Back to School Program
Children are often pulled out of school when fathers die due to work-related accidents, terminal illnesses, suicides due to mounting debt and extreme poverty. The mothers left behind are often unable to earn enough to keep the kids in school, ultimately leading to school dropout. The Back to School Program identifies such children and helps them pay the school fee required to keep them in school until the mother is able to support her children. Often, mothers of children in the Back to School Program also go through employable skill training courses and are eventually able to support their kids themselves.