By Baitali Ganguly | Executive Director
"I was very happy when my boyfriend told me that we were going to elope and get married! But, little did I know what was going to happen in the near future. I always had trouble adjusting with my parents and I felt that they never understood my problems as a teenager. I had to also help my mother with the household work and I did not like that at all. So, when I was sixteen years old, I fell in love with a twenty-two-year-old boy who used to work as a helper in a furniture shop nearby. I was always deprived of care and affection but he really took care of me. It seemed like an end to all my troubles and unnecessary brawls at home.
We started meeting frequently but my parents did not support this relationship. So, my boyfriend made the suggestion that we must elope to some other place far away from here. Initially, I was hesitant but then I decided to run away with him. We eloped to Pune and started living there, but after a few days, he started behaving very differently and often would be gone for the entire day. One fine day he suddenly started behaving extremely nicely and that made me very happy. The next day when I woke up, I was shocked to see that I was in a red light area of Pune and it was filled with other commercial-sex workers. It felt like my life ended there, and I was forced into sex work and had a painful tenure of one and a half year in that red light area.
Later, I was rescued by Police and transferred to a shelter home which was coordinated by Jabala Action Research Organisation. Those eighteen months had completely ruined my life and I felt mentally crushed and disturbed. I did not know how to overcome that situation. Jabala seemed to show me a ray of hope and their extensive counselling sessions helped me to recover a lot. Initially, I didn’t open up to the counsellor and felt very traumatising to talk about it. But, after a few sessions, I could finally talk comfortably with the counsellor and it was quite a relief. Jabala also provided me with life skills training in catering management and it helped me to re-build my confidence and overcome all my fear.
After my training was complete I started working in a reputed canteen and I started developing a passion for cooking. I earned a salary of 6,500 in that canteen. Gradually, my employers started liking my work and I got promoted. Currently, I am running my own canteen in collaboration with a reputed organisation”
“I am very confident now and living a life with dignity. Jabala not only encouraged me but also helped me to overcome my mental trauma and come out of stress. I am an independent and confident woman now”
“My life is completely my choice and I can take my own decisions without any support. I thank you all and am grateful to you for helping me out on this journey.”
Sathi Mondal (A girl from Barasat, West Bengal)
All details of the survivor are changed to keep their identities protected.
Support is always crucial and 'You' deserve all the credits—there are many more miles to be covered and Jabala knows she is not alone.
Jabala believes in assessing the needs of the survivors and then provides them with the required counselling and training. Rehabilitation of the survivors means to restore them to a useful life or a better condition, through quality care, counselling cultural & sports inputs, education, health support, income opportunities and social security. Jabala through its Economic Empowerment (EE) program incorporates building sustainable livelihoods, improving financial and household decision-making strengthening household assets and increasing household economic resilience.
Status Update
No. of Survivors Trained- 50
Placement-32
Types Of Training:
- House Keeping-15
- Bag and Jewellery making- 15
- Herbal Gardening-05
- Motor Driving- 10
-Soil testing-05
Links:
By Baitali Ganguly | Executive Director
By BAITALI GANGULY | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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