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| Partners International and the Mahima Care Home |
Editor: Cleland, Paul
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Karen Naumann introduced Lucy Ryga and Daniel Litchty of Partners International and Smita Singh of the Mahima Care Home in Kolkata, India. Lucy recently visited India and witnessed first-hand the plight of adults and children that are caught up in devastating life situations involving the trafficking of young children into the sex trade and slavery. Her experiences with the needs of these people has led her to appreciating more deeply what we have here in terms of our lives.
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Daniel explained the role of Partners International in the programs and activity of The Mahima Care Home. The Partners organization is a registered charity in Canada whose mandate is to provide resources to locally led Christian agencies in order to holistically transform lives and communities around the globe. The Mahima Care Home is once of those vital projects of the organization and it is directed by Smita Singh.
There are over 2 million girls exploited by the global sex trade and nearly half of these are in South Asia and most prolifically in India. Every day about 200 girls aged 7 to 16 are forced into prostitution and robbed of their innocence. They are sold to the brothels for as low as $100 each and are abused and service up to 25 customers a day. Often they are also trafficked for their organs (such as kidneys) as an added revenue stream for the brothel owners. Most trafficked children come from poor rural villages where there are very few opportunities, especially for girls. Without education, children become easy prey for traffickers who kidnap them or lure them into the city with false promises of jobs. In some cases, starving families feel they have no choice but to sell their daughters for survival.
The Mahima Care Home ("Loving Staff for Hurting Children") is a Partners International girl rescue and rehabilitation home that addresses the grave injustice of sexual slavery by providing a safe haven for these girls under the age of 18. This government licensed and inspected home is staffed by professional counselors and accommodates up to 25 girls who have been traumatized by violent crime. The Home is a place of restoration where girls can receive physical, emotional, social, vocational and spiritual healing. Programs include group therapy and counseling, relaxation therapy, life skills to develop social skills, friendship, trust and how to handle conflict, etc, education opportunities for all girls, vocational training in such areas as catering, computer, tailoring, customer relations, etc., assistance finding jobs and many fun activities such as picnics, park and mall visits, etc.
At the Home, girls find shelter, nutritious food, counseling and the support of the caring staff. Staff create individualized treatment and recovery plans for each girl. Girls regain a sense of dignity and learn vocational skills that help them become self-sufficient and to reintegrate into society. When possible, girls are also re-united with their families. Staff work with various legal teams and local police to prosecute perpetrators, prevent re-trafficking and pursue justice for the exploited girls. It is very difficult to get the girls to testify against their oppressors for obvious reasons - fear of the men and court being a terrifying experience for them - but 5 girls have done so with the result that in 3 of the cases convictions were obtained with prison terms of 7 to 10 years.
Disease, and particularly HIV, is rampant in the sex trade and girls that arrive at the Home afflicted with this disease are often afraid that they will be thrown out on the street if they reveal their situation. This is not the case and these girls are given the best of medical care. The staff show all the girls great love and compassion. The Home accepted the first 8 girls in April 2010 and in the last year and a half have worked with 38 girls. There have been 3 babies born at the Home and 3 girls have married and left. They currently have 22 girls living there.
The challenges faced by the organization include funding, establishing meaningful reintegration options, vocational training to match skills, setting up permanent transition homes, setting up a second Mahima Care Home, and setting up a proper school for the girls. The Home's budget is $170,000/year. If you would like more information on this work go to www.partnersinternational.ca/MahimaCareHome. |
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Rotary Club of Kelowna Ogopogo
