Free the Slaves Community Liberation Initiative, in collaboration with local and international partners, is actively reducing the exploitation of migrant workers in target communities in India.
Currently, more than 50 million people are afflicted by modern slavery, and millions more are at risk. It is vital that effective community-based methods be brought to scale as rapidly as possible.
Junaid Ansari is a resident of Bhudki village Uttar Pradesh, India, a father of two children, and is 50 years old. Junaid used to work as a carpet weaver in his village but eventually found that this job could not support his family. Junaid searched for a new career...
“One child, one teacher, one pen, and one book can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai. Children are like clay. We can mold them into any shape and form just by our actions or our words. If we take the time to educate children, FTS and our partners believe that many...
Free the Slaves along with our partner organizations MSEMVS and Verite are running The Safe Migration to GCC program in the Mirzapur and Bhadohi districts of Uttar Pradesh. To learn more about the safe migration guide click here. If you’re interested in learning about...
The writing’s on the wall – literally. Free the Slaves partner MSEMVS has been painting messages in Indian communities to educate people about the risks of leaving home to find work. Thousands of Indian laborers migrate each year to the Middle East. For many, it’s a...
Anti-slavery movement leaders across Asia convened virtually via Zoom in August at the first-ever Freedom from Slavery Forum - Asia to discuss issues most pertinent to the continent and set priorities for next year around the theme of “Resilience and Resistance to...
International development and humanitarian relief programs frequently work in areas where modern slavery flourishes. This connection has deepened as the COVID-19 global pandemic increases social and economic vulnerabilities to human trafficking. But in India, a...
Migrating for work has always been a risk. Unscrupulous traffickers posing as legitimate labor recruiters trick millions of people into chasing a dream of well-paid jobs. But too often, what awaits them is exploitation and misery. As travel restrictions ease around...
Human traffickers target society’s most vulnerable individuals, and the global COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased vulnerability in northern India. To help community members through the crisis, Free the Slaves and our India partner MSEMVS have been...
The second wave of the deadly coronavirus is wreaking havoc in rural areas of India. The rural population is facing severe economic distress due to lockdowns and the pandemic. Free the Slaves and our partners in India are organizing several drives in affected rural...
Each year hundreds of thousands of workers from Uttar Pradesh, India, travel to jobs in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia, as well as to other countries in the Gulf region such as Jordan. These workers travel far from home for a foreign job in...
The Free the Slaves Community Liberation Toolkit is a key capacity-building tool to catalyse a civil society movement against slavery. Designed to train frontline field staff in anti-slavery strategies and integrate anti-slavery activities into the work of high-impact...
I have hope as we approach the year-end holidays, and I hope that you do, too. With the many challenges we face in promoting equality and universal freedom in the world today, what brings me hope is the optimism I hear from slavery survivors and their families around...
What happens when the promise of a better tomorrow suddenly becomes a nightmare? The transatlantic slave trade was the largest forced migration in history. For more than four centuries, Africans were kidnapped, sold to slave traders, and forced onto slave ships...
Are you aware of the caste system in India? If you’re unfamiliar, it is a social structure that divides different groups into ranked categories. A person’s caste determines their social status, their livelihood, who they can marry and where they can live. In the...
The COVID-19 global pandemic has disrupted anti-trafficking work around the world. But the Free the Saves India team has continued to press ahead with vital online advocacy training that builds bridges between communities and government officials. FTS work in India...
The liberation of workers from slavery is a critical part of building a world free from persecution and injustice. In India’s notorious “brick belt,” caste discrimination is a major reason the country is a global slavery hot spot. Free the Slaves is dedicated to...
Your generosity has changed lives around the world. The programs you support at Free the Slaves help people learn new skills and start microenterprises that build financial resiliency. Your contributions mean that slavery survivors are less likely to be re-enslaved,...
I hope that you and your family are healthy and safe during these difficult times. I am reaching out to you today to share about how the Covid-19 global pandemic is affecting communities where slavery makes people especially vulnerable to disasters and financial...
Dear Friends and Supporters, I write this letter as I shelter in place amidst the spreading of the coronavirus pandemic. The close tethering to our homes underscores the importance of communities even in today’s hyperconnected world. Likewise, eliminating slavery...
The countries where Free the Slaves works (Ghana, India, Haiti, Nepal and Dominican Republic) have not reached peak level in the COVID-19 pandemic. But it is affecting them all, directly or indirectly. And we know from experience that every crisis has an aftermath....
Visiting the front lines of modern slavery is a deeply emotional experience. As I write to you today from Northern India, my heart is filled with hope and joy. That’s because of the joy of freed bonded laborers I have met and the progress that has been made in their...
The year 2020 brings several important anniversaries. It’s the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Palermo Protocol, the landmark treaty to confront modern forms of slavery worldwide. It’s the 20th anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the...
Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt once observed that “the future belongs to those who believe in their dreams.” At Free the Slaves, we dream of a future where everyone is free from slavery. Roosevelt believed in that dream too. Freedom from slavery is near the top...
Free the Slaves is thrilled to announce that a courageous advocate for the rights of women and children has joined the organization as executive director. Bukeni Tete Waruzi has helped put a Congolese warlord behind bars, has helped women trafficked into domestic...
On this World Day Against Trafficking In Persons, you might be wondering if there's anything you can do to end modern slavery. Turns out, as a Free the Slaves supporter you're already doing a lot! The Free the Slaves rescue boat in Ghana liberates 15 children from...
A single piece of paper can change someone’s life. That’s why Free the Slaves provides vital legal support for people we liberate from bondage. This summer, you can double the number of survivors who receive official documentation to put slavery behind them and resume...
As chair of the Free the Slaves board of directors, I want to personally let you know that a generous foundation this summer is increasing its support of our work. They’ll match dollar-for-dollar your summertime contributions, up to $100,000. It’s a unique opportunity...
The Human Trafficking Legal Center in the U.S. has a saying: “When survivors have lawyers, survivors have rights.” That’s the key message that staff attorney Sarah Bessell brought to India for a workshop coordinated by her center, the Institute of Social Studies in...
What happened to Soni Vanvasi has happened to millions of others in India. Her entire family was enslaved because a child fell ill. Now that she’s free, Soni is determined to prevent human trafficking from ever touching another person’s life. “I want to educate my...
It doesn’t look like much, just a small wooden grocery stall beside a busy road. But this microenterprise has kept Sunil Kumar free from slavery, now six years after his rescue. Staying free is just as important as breaking free. That’s why the Free the Slaves...
Like millions enslaved at India’s notorious brick kilns, Raju Vanvasi endured dehumanizing mistreatment. All because he had borrowed 7,000 rupees, about $100. The money lender said paying off the debt would be simple, just make bricks at a friend’s factory. It would...
With tens of millions of individuals victimized by traffickers and slaveholders, the world urgently needs solutions that can be effectively and efficiently implemented at-scale in a wide variety of situations. I was happy to see that many of my colleagues in India’s...
Free the Slaves has begun the work of educating field workers at high-impact international development organizations how to liberate entire communities from slavery. This year, we have partnered with READ Nepal, a group that helps villagers improve their livelihoods,...
The U.S. State Department says many African governments are doing a better job combating modern slavery. More than a dozen African nations received upgrades in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP). The upgrades include Ghana, where Free the Slaves has helped...
On this International Women’s Day, I’d like to share a remarkable success story. More than 200 women and girls have now restarted their lives at our Punarnawa Ashram for sex slavery survivors in India. The ashram’s residents have endured unspeakable brutality before...
Every day, the staff of Free the Slaves works in solidarity with local partners and communities to help bring about a more just world. We do so in Haiti, in several countries in Africa, and in Asia. Every day, our staff manifests tremendous dedication and skill. Every...
People become enslaved for a reason. And if we don’t change those circumstances, a trafficking survivor is at extreme risk of being enslaved again. That’s why our India team provided Chhatanki with a way to support himself after liberation from a local brick kiln....
Our Fashion for Freedom Campaign is designed to benefit women, men, and children working to rebuild their lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and India. Recovering from slavery requires multidimensional healing - psychological, physical, social and...
Throughout July, our Fashion for Freedom Campaign has been in motion leading up to the United Nations World Day Against Trafficking in Persons at the end of the month. Our campaign supports vocational training programs, providing safe spaces for trafficking survivors...
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report illustrates “the commitment of our country that we have this joint effort underway across the entire United States government” to combat modern slavery. “Human trafficking is as old as...
Today is the World Day Against Child Labor, and we are proud to share with you a remarkable story of a girl freed from slavery in India. Pooja and her family live in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges in northern India. Her parents were trapped in slavery at a brick...
We receive dispatches throughout the year from our front-line partner groups around the globe. This report, from June, is one of the year’s most uplifting success stories. Nearly a dozen boys were freed, the trajectory of their lives put back on track. Shattered Hope...
Slavery is woven into the fabric of society in rural India. In Prem Bai’s village of Koya Gunjapur, people struggle to afford food and water. They borrow money from rich farmers. When they can’t pay the interest, they are forced into slavery. Generation after...
Sangita is just 15, but she’s seen a lot. Her parents needed to borrow money from a local brick factory owner, who forced Sangita’s entire family into slavery at the kiln to pay off the debt. Now she is free, and her story underscores how the FTS Community Model for...
How do you reach people enslaved in India to inform them that freedom is possible? Call them!Mobile phones are everywhere in India, with 220 million smartphone users throughout the country. Even in rural areas, where access to technology remains low, there is usually...
Like many children who fall into slavery, Mukhal’s story begins with tragedy. His father died three years ago, when he was 9, leaving his family in a precarious financial situation.Human traffickers are always on the lookout for this kind of vulnerability. One reached...
Indian weddings are legendary – they are large, loud, colorful, and can last for days. Because it is such a big cultural occasion, families plan the biggest event possible. That expense is how marriage ceremonies can lead to slavery. Helping newlyweds and their...
One of the major challenges in the fight against modern slavery is proving that a particular strategy successfully and sustainably liberates people from bondage, and that there's an improvement in socioeconomic conditions in places where slavery has been overcome. A...