We end this week at Free the Slaves on a bittersweet note, because yesterday was the final day on the job for one of the tireless activists who started this organization more than 15 years ago, Supriya Awasthi.
Actually, Supriya has been a part of our history and legacy since even before Day One. It was Supriya who conducted the groundbreaking field research on slavery and child labor in India that sounded the alarm and led to the creation of Free the Slaves. She launched our India and Nepal programs and has served as South Asia Director for many years.
Supriya has been a mentor to many of us as we began to understand Free the Slaves’ unique model of collaborating with grassroots partners to strengthen communities to the point that they themselves can end slavery in their midst. She also has such a fun personality that we all want her to be our best friend!
You can see Supriya’s influence in everything we do throughout the world today. Here are three FTS Blog posts which help tell that story: Running to Freedom, My Meeting with Hillary Clinton, A Champion for Freeing Women From Slavery. And here is a profile video that features Supriya’s tireless commitment to freedom and justice.
“Light is not moon. Light is not sun. Light is freedom. I want all the people who are in slavery to see this light of freedom” – Supriya Awasthi
The world is a better place for Supriya being in it, and since she still is very much in it, let us not feel too sad. Instead we can feel excited to see what she does next, with a spirit of gratitude and wonder in our hearts that we have had the good fortune to work with such an amazing abolitionist.
