Empower 100 Girls in Asia's Largest Red Light Area

Recently, during a career guidance session conducted by an influential chef and a textile designer about professional opportunities in the hospitality and designing sector, led the girls to ponder about their ambitions for the future. When asked about it, many conveyed that they would like to pursue science, teaching and also join the police force. Few girls, inspired by their recent progress in art classes, mentioned that they would like to follow their passion in art and architecture.

Breaking the intergenerational cycle of prostitution can be tough, when girls, mostly due to lack of positive influence and aspiration, often head again into the cycle of poverty and trafficking. However, the determination and aspiration of our Udaan beneficiaries make us believe in and work harder to assist them in achieving their dreams.

AAWC not only works with the daughters of women in sex trade but also those women who have been trafficked into brothel-based prostitution and their toddlers through our Umeed and Umang Program respectively. We, at AAWC, are grateful for consistent support of donors such as yourself and would like to take this opportunity to present you with our Annual Report for F.Y. 14-15.

We hope that you enjoy reading the report and understanding in-depth about the issue of trafficking and our work in the red light districts of Falkland Road and Kamathipura in Mumbai, India.

Providing our Udaan beneficiaries with positive influence and an influential mentor is significant for their overall empowerment. Therefore, in the previous quarter, AAWC decided to give older Udaan girls the role of a mentor as each girl was allocated a younger Udaan beneficiary as a mentee. Consequently, in-house mentoring sessions were conducted once a week between them.

However, so motivated were the girls by the purpose of the session that they continued with their responsibility regularly by communicating with the younger girls’ mothers about their welfare and progress at AAWC. They also attempted to understand the broader issue of trafficking.

Organization Updates

Festival Celebrations: Navratri, Dusshera, Children’s Day, Diwali and Christmas were celebrated with all beneficiaries. The Udaan girls also attended Diwali party organized by Salaam Bombay Foundation.

Accolades: AAWC was awarded the Gulabrao Ganacharya Award for 2015 in November.

Capacity Building: Session on Team Building and Child Sexual Abuse was conducted with AAWC staff during the last quarter.

Medical Camp: An Eye camp and a General Medical Camp was conducted for the beneficiaries in the past quarter.

Fundraising: AAWC participated in HerVoice, a year-end fundraising campaign to raise awareness about violence against women and children in India.

Advocacy: AAWC Outreach Worker’s participated in a rally organized by Mumbai Aids Forum to protest against possible stoppage of government funding for treatment of HIV/ AIDS patients.

Udaan Updates

Career Guidance: Udaan beneficiaries were taken for an exposure visit to Thomson Reuters office where a session on importance of hard work, education, knowledge and how to overcome challenges were shared.

The girls in 10th grade were also exposed to career options that different educational streams can help them pursue.

Extra-curricular Workshops: The girls learnt Mosaic Art through a volunteer and were able to make beautiful jewellery boxes. They also attended a photography session by volunteer Jill and later went to the beach to test their photography skills. English speaking sessions were conducted by volunteers Johanna, Kari, Marjanna and Clemence with a special focus on different countries and their culture.

Weekly craft classes by Allie and Penny saw the girls create pompoms, collages and Christmas decor. The girls also made traditional Spanish piñatas in a session conducted by Clem.

Mentoring: The girls visited Parkinson’s Institute with The Lighthouse Project to understand the concept of volunteering as they spent few hours with Parkinson’s patients.

Regular mentoring sessions for the girls with Mentor Me India and Lighthouse Project mentors were conducted. The girls are developing confidence and self-awareness which is facilitated by one-on-one mentoring.

Recreational Excursions: The girls visited the Gateway of India to witness Navy Day’s Beating the Retreat performance, Golden circus, Chowpatty Beach and were also an audience to Bharat Natyam performance of their volunteer from St. Xavier’s College - Social Service League.

Counseling Sessions: Group counseling sessions by AAWC counselor and dog therapy sessions by Animal Angels Foundation were conducted regularly and addressed topics such as hygiene, sex education, behaviour modification and social skills. In-house mentoring sessions were also introduced during the past quarter!