Empower Nepali Survivors of Human Trafficking

Since 2008, Samrakshak Samuha Nepal’s paralegal training program, a complete grassroots effort, has changed the lives of women affected by human trafficking. Founded by survivors for survivors, the paralegal program has helped reintegrate women through giving them the tools they need to succeed and the confidence they need to stand on their own feet and raise their voices. In a society where the inhumane treatment they suffered through caused others to disrespect and outcast them, the paralegal training program has empowered these women through allowing them access to knowledge of the legal system, respectable jobs, and economic sustainability. The program provides training for 30 survivors in Kathmandu Valley and 15 survivors in Pokhara. The training includes 1 month of theoretical training, which includes computer skills and English language training, and then 6 months of practical training working alongside our paralegals in various police stations. Currently, SASANE’s paralegals work in 25 police stations throughout Kathamandu Valley and 6 police stations in Pokhara. Once becoming certified paralegals, survivors become assets to society, combating the cruel yet heavily prevalent industry of human trafficking, one of the most heinous human rights violations known to mankind.  

In February 2014, 27 out of 30 survivors sat for the Kathmandu paralegal exam, and 23 passed. In July 2014, 15 out of 15 survivors sat for the Pokhara paralegal exam, and 9 passed. These empowered girls, along with other paralegals at SASANE, are now teaching. Some teach basic education and awareness classes to women in rural mountain villages, the areas in which traffickers target girls because they tend to be less educated and more impoverished. They are there to offer support to vulnerable, at-risk women and girls, and have become quite close with the communities they work with. Others teach classes in government schools, the schools attended by the majority of Nepal’s impoverished children, to bring awareness of gender based violence and human trafficking dangers. These students are generally in grades 8-10, and they are very receptive to the classes. Our paralegals strive to make the classes more discussion-based so that each student can bring in his or her personal experiences rather than a lecture-style class.  This past year, our paralegals have educated and touched the lives of 210 women in mountain villages and, since the start of the school awareness program, 4,956 students.

Our work to empower and reintegrate survivors, and their work thereafter to fight human trafficking through the use of education and awareness, would not be possible without the support of our donors and partners, and for these contributions, we at SASANE are forever grateful. Though we only train 45 women to become paralegals annually, we receive a flood of applications from survivors, and we would love to train and thereby empower every single woman who wants to make a change in her situation and society. However, without the funding, we are limited in our scope. With your donations and support, we at SASANE hope to expand our program and bring an end to human trafficking, one survivor at a time.  

Links:

• Samrakshak Samuha Nepal