Rebuild 200 women's homes destroyed by Bihar flood

In August 2017, Bihar was hit by one its worst floods in recent times. Apne Aap works with women and children in the red-light areas of Forbesganj in the Araria district of Bihar. We work with girls and women who are often immersed in poverty, are low-caste, and often uneducated, making them disportionately vulnerable to being targeted by traffickers. The households headed by 200 women we work with were destroyed in the floods, and it has led to an uptick in recruitment and targeting by traffickers of women and girls in the area. Women and girls already prostituted have suffered through an increase in indebtedness which has made them even more vulnerable than they already were to exploitation.

1. Beneficiary 1

One of the households we work with in the outside red-light district of Araria is headed by beneficiary 1. This beneficiary is from the Dom  community, a small, marginalized Schedule Cast  community where women and girls are often uses as a cleaners and sweepers. However, ten years ago her husband died and she became helpless.She have three little children this time and no one comes to help her.  She then joined Apne Aap and began taking sewing classes at the Apne Aap Center. After learning how to sew, she applied for a loan with Apne Aap's help to start her own tailoring and sewing business.She managed to build a good life and a modest home for herself and her children. But in the flood her house was broken and the situation became very miserable.So she appealed to Apne Aap to help her rebuild her home. 

This woman is one of 55 women whose houses Apne Aap has rebuilt after the floods using funds raised around the world. 55 women like her have been protected from traffickers and their vulnerabilities to prostitution have been reduced- but there are still 145 more households to go. 145 more households have same stories, but many have it even worse. Traffickers and pimps have been more active in the community in the aftermath of the destruction, but Apne Aap aims to protect these households from them. We need more funds to rebuild the homes of the remaining 145 women, and we need the help of all of our friends and supporters at Global Giving to do so. 

 2. Beneficiary 2

One of the households we work with in the red-light district of Araria is headed by this beneficiary. She is from the Nat community, a small, marginalized muslim community where women and girls are often trapped in intergenerational prostitution. However, ten years ago she convinced both her family and her husband that prostitution was no dignified way to live. She then joined Apne Aap and began taking sewing classes at the Apne Aap Center. After learning how to sew, she applied for a loan with Apne Aap's help to start her own tailoring and sewing business. The woman managed to build a good life and a modest home for herself, her husband, and their family after combining her income with her husband’s. Her husband runs a small vegetable and fruit stand. When the floods devastated Bihar, her husband's vegetable and fruit stand, her home business and their home itself was swept away in the destruction. Their situation became dire, and they were afraid their daughter or she herself would be forced into prostitution, so she appealed to Apne Aap to help her rebuild her home.

This woman is one of 55 women whose houses Apne Aap has rebuilt after the floods using funds raised around the world. 55 women like her have been protected from traffickers and their vulnerabilities to prostitution have been reduced- but there are still 145 more households to go. 145 more households have similar stories, but many have it even worse. Traffickers and pimps have been more active in the community in the aftermath of the destruction, but Apne Aap aims to protect these households from them. We need more funds to rebuild the homes of the remaining 145 women, and we need the help of all of our friends and supporters at GlobalGiving to do so.

3. Beneficiary 3

One of the households we work with in the red-light district of Araria is headed by beneficiary 3. This woman is from the Nat community, a small, marginalized muslim community where women and girls are often trapped in intergenerational prostitution. However, ten years ago she convinced both her family and her husband that prostitution was no dignified way to live. She then joined Apne Aap and began taking sewing classes at the Apne Aap Center. After learning how to sew, she applied for a loan with Apne Aap's help to start her own tailoring and sewing business.She managed to build a good life and a modest home for herself, her husband, and their family after combining her income with her husband’s.Her husband is an auto driver and she also runs a small tea shop in front of her house. When the floods devastated Bihar, her husband's auto drowned in the flood water and got damaged and her own shop as well. Everything from home business and their home itself were swept away in the destruction. Their situation became dire, and they were afraid their daughter or she herself would be forced into prostitution, so she appealed to Apne Aap to help her rebuild her home.

This woman is one of the 55 women whose houses Apne Aap has rebuilt after the floods using funds raised around the world. 55 women like her have been protected from traffickers and and their vulnerabilities to prostitution have been reduced- but there are still 145 more households to go. 145 more households have stories just like her, but many have it even worse. Traffickers and pimps have been more active in the community in the aftermath of the destruction, but Apne Aap aims to protect these households from them. We need more funds to rebuild the homes of the remaining 145 women, and we need the help of all of our friends and supporters at GlobalGiving to do so.

4. Beneficiary 4

One of the households we work with in the red-light district of Araria is headed by beneficiary 4. This woman is from the Nat community, a small, marginalized muslim community where women and girls are often trapped in intergenerational prostitution. However, ten years ago she convinced both her family and her husband that prostitution was no dignified way to live. She then joined Apne Aap and began taking sewing classes at the Apne Aap Center. After learning how to sew, she applied for a loan with Apne Aap's help to start her own tailoring and sewing business.She managed to build a good life and a modest home for herself, her husband, and their family after combining her income with her husband’s.Her husband runs a small fruit stand. When the floods devastated Bihar, her husband's vegetable and fruit stand, her home business and their home itself was swept away in the destruction. Their situation became dire, and they were afraid their daughter or she herself would be forced into prostitution, so she appealed to Apne Aap to help her rebuild her home.

She is one of the 55 women whose houses Apne Aap has rebuilt after the floods using funds raised around the world. 55 women like her have been protected from traffickers and their vulnerabilities to prostitution have been reduced- but there are still 145 more households to go. 145 more households have stories just like her, but many have it even worse. Traffickers and pimps have been more active in the community in the aftermath of the destruction, but Apne Aap aims to protect these households from them. We need more funds to rebuild the homes of the remaining 145 women, and we need the help of all of our friends and supporters at Global Giving to do so. 

5. Beneficiary 5

Beneficiary 5 have her house next to Rampur red light area. She belong to a very poor marginalized Muslim community. Her husband is a driver and she has 8 children. Her husband earns a little and there is no other way to earn livelihoods for the family. They were very poor and were living a life of great difficulty. She then joined Apne Aap and began taking sewing classes at the Apne Aap Center. After learning how to sew, she applied for a loan with Apne Aap's help to start her own tailoring and sewing business and earn a little and support her husband to run the family. . But in the flood her house was broken and the situation became very miserable.So she appealed to Apne Aap to help her rebuild her home. 

She is one of the 55 women whose houses Apne Aap has rebuilt after the floods using funds raised around the world. 55 women like her have been protected from traffickers and their vulnerabilities to prostitution have been reduced- but there are still 145 more households to go. 145 more households have stories just like her, but many have it even worse. Traffickers and pimps have been more active in the community in the aftermath of the destruction, but Apne Aap aims to protect these households from them. We need more funds to rebuild the homes of the remaining 145 women, and we need help of all of our friends and supporters at Global Giving to do so.  

6. Beneficiary 6

Beneficiary 6 is a 35 year old woman, trafficked from Nepal to Forbesganj in Bihar had exited prostitution. With the help of Apne Aap she was running a tea stall and bringing up her four children aged 12, 8, 6 and 4 and looking after her old mother. Suddenly on 14th of August a flash flood swept away her home and tea stall. She and her childern were literally left without food, clothing and shelter. Even her source of livelihood-the tea stall was gone. Apne Aap has helped her rebuild her home and get a loan to restart her tea Business. In the interim Apne Aap provided her basic provisions.  In a few weeks, before the onset of the cold winter , her home will be ready and her tea stall will be open for business.

She is one among the 55 women whose homes Apne Aap is rebuilding on a priority basis. The needs of these women are the greatest among the 200 women affected by the floods in the red light areas. Apne Aap held a meeting with all its members and then decided to focus on rebuilding the homes of the 55 women whose needs were the greatest. 

Construction material like bricks, bamboo, ropes, steel sheets for roofs, cement, readymade pillars, straw, readymade doors and windows, sand etc has been provided with the help of Apne Aap to these women.

Another 145 women still don't have doors or windows. Floors in many houses have caved in and the first instance of rain will flood the houses.  Some houses are even missing a wall. Most households are in desperate need of day to day essentials like cooking utensils, clothes, blankets, mattresses, tin trunks etc.   

We will continue to build more houses and provide more day to day requirements as we raise more funds.

7. Beneficiary 7

Beneficiary 7 from De notified Muslim Dhuniya community living outside the Red Light area in a street and the member of Apne Aap Mahila Mandal. Her house was completely ruined in the flood and she was completely helpless. Her husband is a labor and she is a housewife. She has eight children.Her house was completely wasted in the flood and he had no place to stay. Now they were living below in the open sky with their children. Her husband was jobless too from a few months and her children were not even going to school and their studies were also completely abandoned. There was a risk of trafficking of the children.

So Apne Aap decided to support her to prepare the new house. We provided the materials to build a house like Cement, Bricks, Stone chips, Iron Rod, Cement, Bamboos, Tin Sheets, Rope Nails and Labor Charges also to build their Pucka house and the construction work is going on now

 Details about Vulnerability of Children

1. Child 1 is a resident of Red light area Uttri Rampur. She is the student of Uttri Rampur community center in the regular classes. After the flood her house was destroyed and she was dropped out from the center. The financial status of her parents is not good. They did not have a house to live in and neither had anything to eat and wear. They were living below the open sky. There was no way of employment. In this situation, the Apne Aap organization helped her. After the improvement in the situation by the support of Apne Aap, she is now coming to the center and continues her study after three months. She is now studying well. Her house is now being formed in collaboration with the organization. Her father has also got employment and now he earns wages. Now slowly their life is becoming normal. 

2. Child 2 and Child 3. These girls are the resident of Red light area Uttri Rampur. She is the student of Uttri Rampur community center in regular classes. After the flood her house was destroyed and she dropped out from the center. The financial status of her parents is not good. They did not have a house to live in and neither anything to eat and wear. They were living below the open sky. There was no way of employment. Apne Aap Women Worldwide helped her in this situation.The girls are now coming to the center and continues to study further after three months.They are now studying well. Their house is now being build in collaboration with the organization. Their father is also employed and earns wages now. Slowly their life is becoming normal.