Here is a heartwarming update from two 2010 Freedom Award winners! One of the most moving moments from the 2010 Freedom Awards occurred when Wilberforce Award winner Roger Plant announced from the stage that he was donating his cash prize to another award-winner,...
Free the Slaves partner in Nepal, WOSCC (The Women Skill Creation Centre) works to rehabilitate women returned from slavery. Many of the women who come to WOSCC are survivors of circus slavery in India. Life in the circus can be horrifying for these enslaved young...
Supriya Awasthi, FTS’ South Asia Director, and our local Indian partner, DDWS, have successfully secured the release of eleven bonded laborers, toiling, without pay, on the sugar cane fields of western Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), northern India. Whilst surveying the work of...
During the 2010 Freedom Awards events, Free the Slaves became acquainted with an energetic artist and traveler, Ben Swatez. Ben did live painting during the Freedom Rocks after party, and we were inspired by his passion, and ability to connect with the audience. Ben...
Sara Sidner of CNN is continuing covering of Free the Slaves' work in Uttar Pradesh, India. Just launched on Monday, CNN's Freedom Project covers modern-day slavery all over the world. New stories are going online and broadcast every single day—a truly unprecedented...
In the course of her work, there are times when Free the Slaves South Asia Director Supriya Awasthi feels that her safety is at risk. This was the case when she was with the CNN news crew as they documented the reality of modern-day slavery in India. At one point,...
Here's a news link about a part of the world that Free the Slaves is very active in: Uttar Pradesh, India. Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India, has high rates of generational slavery. Entire villages have been trapped in debt bondage for generations. With...
It was just over a year ago—January 2010—that Free the Slaves partners in India staged a raid and rescued 49 bonded laborers from a brick kiln near the village of Bahari. It turned out that 18 of the rescued laborers were originally from Bihar. They were able to...
Despite the fact that slavery is illegal, modern day slavery thrives in many parts of India. There are millions of bonded labor slaves in the sub-continent. Most of these are Dalits—people of the so-called "untouchable" caste—who are saddled with bogus debts they can...
In north India, Free the Slaves partner Diocesan Development and Welfare Society (DDWS) rescues men, women and children from slavery. Some of the rescued children need shelter and rehabilitation, which is provided through the Bal Vikas Ashram, where survivors are...
We received some exciting news today from India. 2010 Harriet Tubman award winning organization JEEVIKA works in Karnataka, a state in southern India where slavery in the form of bonded labor is prevalent. JEEVIKA's founder Kiran Prasad works largely with the Dalits—a...
Karnataka, India—September 15 was JEEVIKA Day, a celebration of anti-slavery activism. For the first time ever, activists and representatives from local government convened for a public dialogue on the extent of slavery—and the government’s role in combating it. Since...
Sarah Symons, founder of MadebySurvivors/The Emancipation Project (TEN) recently returned from a trip to Uttar Pradesh, India where she met with Free the Slaves partner MSEMVS (Human Resource and Women's Empowerment)—and saw, first hand, how whole villages are...
The annual Freedom Awards are right around the corner (pencil in November 7!) This year's Harriet Tubman winner goes to the Indian grassroots organization JEEVIKA. Slavery is outlawed in India, but millions are put into debt bondage—unaware of their rights. Operating...