Rani did not want to be there. For seven months, she was forced to work and was not paid even once. To cope, she began chewing tobacco and became irritable and withdrawn. She didn’t trust anyone and found it hard to focus or think clearly. She didn’t know the local language well, which made her feel even more lost. At this time, Sahaara’s team met her during their field visits. Rani was quiet and hesitant to speak at first. But with regular contact and kind conversations, she slowly began to open up.

The team offered her mentoring, counselling, and guidance on how to manage her finances. She also took part in a few training sessions where she learned to make cloth bags. Sahaara helped her with medical care during the pandemic and gave her support when she was unwell.

Rani underwent the micro-entrepreneurship training and this created an excitement within her to start a small business and take steps towards becoming free from the sex trade. She was given basic literacy classes as well which improved her confidence.  The Sahaara staff even spoke with her partner, who became a strong support. Together, they helped Rani move out of the red-light area and into a safer neighbourhood.

Her partner said, “We are thankful to Sahaara for helping us relocate. It gave Rani the chance to live a better life.” With her children back in her hometown—her sons working and her daughter continuing her education—Rani is now living with more peace and hope. She is no longer part of the trade and is looking forward to starting a small vegetable-selling business in her new area.

Rani says, “Sahaara stood with me during my darkest days. They helped me when I was sick, gave me confidence, and showed me that I can live a different life. I know I can count on them.”

Today, Rani is safe, hopeful, and making plans for her future. She is no longer stuck in a cycle of pain and fear. With encouragement and support, she is taking steps towards becoming self-reliant and bringing stability to her life once again.

(Names changed to protect identities.)

The post Out of the Shadows appeared first on Sahaara Charitable Society.

During her regular visits for work, Jagruti befriended another woman who, after some months, took her for a city tour, and on that pretext, led her to the red-light area in Ghatkopar. Since she was unfamiliar with travel in Mumbai and didn’t know how to return home, Jagruti got trapped in the sex trade. She was very young and did not want to do this work. She was beaten, forced, and had no one to turn to for help. Over time, she got into a relationship with a man and had five children. However, he never supported her or their children, and Jagruti had to raise them on her own.

Sahaara staff first met Jagruti during one of their field visits in Ghatkopar. They spoke to her and slowly built trust. Seeing her situation, they offered help with her children’s education and hostel admissions. With their support, her children moved into hostels where they could study safely and grow up in a healthy environment. Two of her children are now in aftercare and continue to stay connected with their mother.

Apart from helping her children, Sahaara also supported Jagruti directly. She joined programmes like adult literacy, mentoring, medical support, and awareness sessions. One of the biggest challenges Jagruti faced was when her son went missing. The Sahaara team helped her file an FIR, and they worked with the police to find him. This gave her strength and trust in herself.

Jagruti started attending regular mentoring sessions where she was encouraged to think about her future. Before this, she used to depend on others for every decision, often influenced by friends. But now, she feels more confident and takes decisions on her own. With Sahaara’s help, she found a job as a housekeeper and has now exited the sex trade. She goes to work regularly and does her job with dedication.

She says, “I was not able to think or take decisions for myself. But the Sahaara team helped me. They supported my children in getting good education and helped me find a good job and a better life.”

Jagruti’s dream is simple. She wants to live a peaceful and respectful life and be with her children as they grow.

(Names changed to protect identities.)

The post A New Beginning for Jagruti and Her Children* appeared first on Sahaara Charitable Society.

She was not willing to accept this life. For three months, she was beaten by the brothel keeper for refusing to work. Her heart was broken—betrayed by her husband and now by her brother. She stayed there for eight months until a customer took pity on her. He helped her escape and left her at her brother’s house in Nerul. But her brother refused to take her in. A friend then introduced her to Ashfaq, who convinced her family to let him marry her by promising to take care of her. But soon after the marriage, he too forced her into the trade—this time in the Turbhe red-light area. Two years later, Farida gave birth to a baby girl, her second child.

As years passed, Ashfaq became abusive, often beating her and even mistreating her son. That’s when Farida found Sahaara’s Project Parivartan during a field visit in Turbhe. She opened up to the team about her situation, and with their support, she filed a police complaint against her husband. This was a turning point.

Sahaara stepped in to support her in every way. Her daughter was admitted to a safe hostel for children. Farida completed Sahaara’s adult literacy programme and began attending life skills and social skills sessions. She received personal counselling that helped her express her pain and start healing. She then joined Sahaara’s vocational training centre and successfully completed a tailoring course. Seeing her dedication, Sahaara gifted her a sewing machine and supported her relocation by covering part of her housing deposit. She now lives outside the red-light area and is preparing to start her own nightgown business.

Sahaara also continues to counsel her husband Ashfaq, who has started working as a carpenter and is taking more responsibility for the family. Farida’s children are now safe, happy, and studying well.

“For years I wanted to leave the trade but didn’t know how. Sahaara didn’t just show me the way—they held my hand through it,” Farida shared. “I’ve learned to read, to sew, and most importantly, to believe in a better life.”

Her dream is to grow her business, educate her children well, and live a peaceful, independent life with her family.

(Names changed to protect identities.)

The post A New Chapter Beyond the Red-Light Area appeared first on Sahaara Charitable Society.

Rekha spent more than 16 years in various red-light areas, including Bhandup and finally Bhiwandi. Addiction, broken relationships, and hopelessness became her reality. It was during this time that Sahaara staff, through Project Parivartan at the Bhiwandi location, met Rekha during a field visit. They patiently built trust with Rekha through regular mentoring during their outreach visits. Even though she was initially reluctant and distracted due to addiction, they kept encouraging her to consider exiting the trade and building a new life.

During the lockdown, Sahaara provided regular ration support, ensuring her basic needs were met. This was a turning point. With a foundation of consistent care and encouragement, Rekha began attending individual counselling sessions and slowly opened up about her trauma. The staff identified her interest in learning something new and introduced her to a vocational course in soy wax cube making. Step by step, she learned the process, gained confidence, and started producing items herself.

Recognising her need for a steady income, Sahaara also helped her secure a job in a local food packaging company. To support her further, they continued providing mentoring, emotional support, and health guidance as she lives with HIV. When she struggled to pay the deposit to relocate out of the red-light area, Sahaara stepped in with financial support, helping her leave that environment once and for all.

With these multiple layers of support—counselling, vocational training, financial assistance, job placement, and relocation—Rekha began to rebuild her life. Today, she balances her full-time job and her part-time soy wax making work with dignity. She has stability, emotional peace, and the motivation to build a better life for herself and her family.

“I’m thankful to Sahaara for being there when I had nothing. They didn’t just help me learn a skill—they gave me the strength to dream again,” Rekha shared.

Rekha now dreams of opening a small shop and creating a life of dignity for herself and her loved ones.

(Names changed to protect identities.)

The post From Darkness to Direction appeared first on Sahaara Charitable Society.

During a field visit, staff members from Sahaara Charitable Society met Ashwini. They learned about her problems and invited her to their Vocational Training Centre (VTC). There, she received lessons on health and money management, along with counseling and tailoring skills. Sahaara staff also gave her emotional support. These steps helped Ashwini realize that she could leave the sex trade. When her partner stood by her, she moved to Surat to begin a new life.

In Surat, Sahaara provided her with a sewing machine so she could use her tailoring skills to earn a living. This allowed her to care for her husband, daughter, and herself without depending on anyone else. Later, her partner had an accident and could not work for some time. Ashwini became the main earner, making clothes and saving money to pay household bills. Sahaara stayed in touch, offering help and checking on her progress. They also looked for work opportunities for her partner as he healed.

Ashwini now hopes to grow her tailoring business and save enough money to give her family a brighter future. She is proud of the new path she has chosen and feels stronger every day.

*Names changed to protect identities.

The post Ashwini’s Journey to Independence appeared first on Sahaara Charitable Society.

During a field visit, staff from Sahaara Charitable Society met Heena and started talking with her. They invited her to their centre, where she attended sessions on health, money management, and vocational skills. Over time, Sahaara helped her start a small dosa business in the red-light area, giving her a safer way to earn money. They also provided rent and ration support when she faced financial difficulties. Through mentoring and counseling, Heena began thinking about leaving the sex trade. She joined a tailoring course at the centre and later found a part-time job at a sanitary pad manufacturing unit, giving her an alternate income source.

Heena’s family, except for her mother, does not know about her work in Mumbai. Her mother has been encouraging her to return home. With Sahaara’s help, Heena has new skills and safer ways to earn a living. She is now financially independent and feels hopeful about the future. She plans to leave the trade for good and return to her family. For now, she continues working at the sanitary pad unit while planning for her next step.

Heena says, “I learned a lot about the world through the staff at Sahaara. Their interventions have helped me learn to love myself again.”

Her partner also supports her and says, “I am encouraging her to exit the trade and am ready to help her in any way necessary.”

*Names changed to protect identities.

The post Heena’s Path to a New Life appeared first on Sahaara Charitable Society.

At 18, Isha decided to leave and moved to Mumbai with someone she trusted, hoping to find work. However, she was deceived and forced into sex work in Bhiwandi. She remained in the trade for many years, struggling with debt and uncertainty about her future. She felt hopeless and had no plan for a better life.

During a field visit, Sahaara staff met Isha and started speaking with her. Over time, they built trust and encouraged her to explore new opportunities. She joined the Vocational Training Centre in Bhiwandi to learn tailoring. At first, she was nervous, but with practice, she improved her skills and began enjoying her work. She worked hard, spending eight hours a day learning to make bags.

With Sahaara’s support, Isha received adult literacy training, work readiness skills, and vocational training. After completing her course, she secured a job in an export production company. She also moved into a group home in Vasai, where she plans to start a new life.

Isha’s partner has been supportive of her journey and plans to move to Vasai with her in the coming months. Sahaara staff are also helping him find a job so they can settle together.

Isha shares, “I always dreamed of working in a good company. This job is more than I expected.” With her hard work and support, she is moving towards a stable future.

* Names changed to protect identities.

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The post A Changed Life appeared first on Sahaara Charitable Society.

During this COVID -19 lockdown, many reports have shown an increase in the incidence of domestic violence across all spectrum of society. While for some staying at home has brought opportunities of bonding time with families, indulging in self-care, and cultivating new hobbies, for many women, this lockdown has brought in accelerated abuse – physical, verbal, and/or sexual. Many of them share tiny living spaces with their husbands or partners making it extremely difficult to find any escape route during aggravated episodes of abuse.

Sahaara’s initiative among empowering victims of trafficking have involved helping these women fight abuse faced from their live-in partners or husbands. They are made aware of their rights, given counselling and medical treatment when needed, and their male partners are counselled and made more aware of the consequences of domestic violence on women and children.

During this lockdown, we too had many cases of domestic violence reported from the red-light communities of Turbhe and Bhiwandi. Since we could not be present on site to help our beneficiaries who needed medical support, our on-ground Community Leaders came forward to help their sisters in distress.

*Laxmi has been living with her partner for the last 15 years. Though Laxmi would describe her partner as someone with a volatile temper, she would also confess alcohol could smooth out his aggressive outburst and turn him into a gentle giant. For this very reason, Laxmi had no issue with her partner’s drinking habits. But with the lockdown in place and no source of income, the money ran out in Laxmi’s household and her partner had no income to buy his daily dose of alcohol. Soon the fights would turn ugly with Laxmi sustaining some minor bruises.

One evening the fight turned worse and Laxmi ended up with a broken bone, bleeding mouth and swollen face. Laxmi could not even find strength to raise herself from the bed and ask for help from her neighbours. The next day during the noon time, some curious neighbours found her in bed in a battered state and called our community leader Shakti.

Shakti immediately took Laxmi to the nearest clinic and helped her get the right treatment for her injuries. Our counsellors helped Laxmi through counselling and Sahaara could pay for her medical expenses to ensure she gets fully treated for her injuries.

Through our Community leaders like Shakti we were able to help Laxmi during her darkest hour.

*Name changed to protect identity

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