Empowering the Future - Kolkata, India

Dear Supporters,

Another year, and we continue to be grateful for your support of this project born from international solidarity: Empowering the Future, the result of a partnership between Aura Freedom International and New Light that continues to support girls at risk of violence and exploitation in Kolkata.

These last few months reflected our persisting consistency and care - ensuring that the girls living at Soma Home continue to experience stability, safety, and opportunities to grow, even amidst the broader challenges facing their communities.

A Safe and Nurturing Home

Over the past few months, Soma Home has continued to provide full-time, dignified residential care for girls from various red light districts in India, girls who face heightened risk of gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation, human trafficking, child marriage, and more. For these girls, Soma Home remains a consistent and safe space where they can sleep without fear, eat nutritious meals daily, and grow in an environment of stability.

Your support helps to sustain the basic needs of young girls, including:

• Safe housing and connection with peers 
• Nutritious meals and access to healthcare as needed
• A stable routine that prioritizes safety, rest, and well-being

This consistency is foundational, your contributions enable healing to begin, and learning to flourish.

Education, Skills & Confidence-Building

Education, we know, is a powerful protective factor against exploitation. These girls remain engaged in formal schooling, supported by tutoring, homework assistance, and mentorship from caregivers and older peers. Further, they are provided crucial awareness of human rights, human trafficking, child marriage, and other gorms of gender-based violence in order to prevent violence and exploitation. 

Beyond academics, Soma Home continues offering skills-building and creative activities, including:

• Art, dance, and movement-based expression
• Sports, boxing, and physical activity for confidence and strength
• Life skills such as cooking 

These activities are not just recreational - they build self-esteem, leadership, and a sense of possibility for girls who are often denied the chance to imagine a fulfilled future of wellness.

Mental Health, Healing & Belonging

Trauma-informed care remains at the heart of this project. As such, girls at Soma Home continued to receive emotional support and counselling, alongside additional healing supports such as music and dance therapy, and the opportunity to build positive, trusting relationships with caring adults. Together, these experiences support both immediate wellbeing and long-term healing.

Looking Ahead

As this project continues, and with your ongoing support, our focus remains on sustaining:

• Safe residential care at Soma Home
• Educational and skills-building opportunities
• Trauma-informed mental health and social support
• Long term healing and empowerment

Every donation helps ensure that girls at Soma Home are not just protected today, but supported to build futures rooted in dignity, safety, and hope.

Thank you for standing with these girls - and with the local community leaders who walk alongside them every day. Your generosity makes stability possible, healing achievable, and empowerment real.

With gratitude and solidarity,
Aura Freedom International