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Rehabilitation of the victims of human trafficking 

The initiative of Dr. H.P Kanoria, Chairman SREI Foundation

Avijit Kumar and Bikramjit Sen met B. V. Chandrasekhar, DC DD Special, Kolkata Police, at his residence on November 9, 2017 to discuss the progress made on rehabilitating the rescued girls /women (funded by the SREI Foundation) who were trafficked from the district of South 24 Parganas. On November 11, 2017, Avijit Kumar and Bikramjit Sen also visited the office of Goranbose Gram Bikas Kendra (GGBK) in Canning to evaluate the impact of the Swayangsiddha project under which the rehabilitation aid had been given.

During the meeting, 15 rescued girls/women (out of the rescued 22) were present. From the discussions with the GGBK officials, it was found that the work done was satisfactory and all these girls are now financially independent. Some of them have done well and expanded their business with was initiated with the seed money provided by the SREI Foundation. Most of them have become self-confident and are leading local women’s groups in spreading awareness against trafficking and child marriages. Most of the 22 rescued girls earn around `3500 per month. Two have them have already being married and are continuing their businesses. The rescued girls/women are motivated to make their own decisions, be resilient and are empowered. This has reduced their vulnerability and made them self-dependent. The different businesses initiated by them include rearing of goats, sewing and dealing in readymade garments. Many of them have also initiated beauty parlours, kirana shops and have also bought cycle vans and rent them. The team visited two such businesses during their visit to Canning. It is planning to help another 30 such victims in the next phase of the project.