KAMATHIPURA is an area of South Mumbai that is known for prostitution, which occurs day and night. It is one of the largest red light districts in India and perhaps in all of Asia. In the lanes and alleyways of this famous neighborhood, there are also people and families who are not a part of the sex trade. These families live in Kamathipura but work other jobs, go to college and get on with their daily lives in a place where girls and women have been trafficked from other parts of India and brought to Kamathipura to serve men, often against their will. One of these families included Deepali Vandana, who was raised in Kamathipura.
Deepali Vandana witnessed things that no child should see. Having seen criminals and drug addicts physically and sexually abuse the prostitutes in the area, who were mostly forced into the sex trade, she vowed to spend her life helping the girls who ended up in this infamous red light district. Urja Trust is the NGO she co-founded in 2011 along with Altaf Shaikh which has provided safe shelter, nutrition, medical assistance, counseling and rehabilitation for 1,500 girls. Based in Dadar in Mumbai, Urja Trust aims to free victims of abuse and trafficking and empower the girls and women to live in safety and freedom.
Deepali Vandana’s childhood in the Kamathipura red light area
In an area that spans 1.56 km² in size, Kamathipura has a population of more than 100,000 people. Deepali Vandana’s 8-member family lived in a small rat-infested room that they shared with five other families. Deepali and her siblings would see prostitutes and drug addicts on their way to school and she shares that she spent her childhood living in fear. In the early 1990s, Deepali accompanied her mother to parts of Mumbai she had never been to before. What she saw shocked her. Deepali saw mutilated bodies, blood flowing on the streets and wounded people begging for help. Deepali saw so much human suffering that she decided to spend her life helping the most vulnerable of them all – girls and women trafficked into prostitution in Kamathipura.
Deepali’s parents prioritized her education and made sure she went to school. Even though her father wasn’t educated, he would pack their lunches and sit with them after school to do his best to help with their homework. Deepali was just 18 years old when she started teaching children in the slums in Kamathipura and counseling girls who had run away from their homes. For this group of people – runaway girls – extra care was needed. Deepali found that many young girls would run away from their homes because they had been sexually abused, often by a male family member. However, instead of running to safety, they would fall into the dangerous clutches of traffickers who would abuse them and then sell them into prostitution in Kamathipura. To support Urja Trust, you can donate here.
How Deepali started Urja Trust in Mumbai
Urja Trust works with vulnerable girls and women who are victims of sexual abuse. When sexual abuse occurs and there is no support system – in the form of family, friends of services – the victims often run away from the abuse or the abuser seeking help and shelter. But criminals and traffickers lie in wait for unaccompanied girls and give them promises of jobs and assistance. But their real plans are to exploit these homeless and vulnerable girls and sell them to “brokers” in red light districts like Kamathipura. Urja Trust is on a mission to bring victims of abuse to safety and give them shelter, care and rehabilitation.
Urja Trust’s process
To help stranded and homeless girls who are fleeing or surviving sexual abuse, Urja Trust offers multiple services and care to help keep vulnerable girls safe from sexual abuse and trafficking:
Outreach
Urja Trust takes a proactive approach to locate girls who might be in danger of being further abused or trafficked. Since Dadar is considered a transit point for girls arriving in Mumbai from other parts of India, the NGO team monitors the area to identify girls in possible danger and bring them to the safety of the Urja Trust home.
Safe shelter
For victims of sexual abuse, finding a safe place is the immediate concern. Urja Trust’s shelter home in Dadar provides more than a roof over their heads; it is a place that acts as a place of refuge where the girls can overcome the shock of sexual abuse and begin their process of recovery and rehabilitation.
Physical & mental health
Once the girls are safe in the Urja Trust shelter home, the NGO provides regular and nutritious food, urgent medical care and regular medical check ups, physical fitness, recreation and vital counseling and therapies such as trauma care and confidence building to tend to the girls’ physical and psychological needs.
Education
Urja Trust’s team provides education to the girls and women based on their academic level, aptitude and interests. The education offered to the residents includes literacy, higher education and critical life skills that will enable the girls to participate in society and have an academic foundation to build strong futures.
Employment
To prepare the girls and women to be self-sufficient and financially independent, Urja Trust provides skills based training and employment preparation. Through entrepreneurship, mentorship and leadership programs, the women have the opportunity to grow and advance further in their lives.
Reuniting with families
For girls who need to be reunited with their families, Urja Trust tracks down their family members and begins the process of reconciliation or restoration. To ensure the girls are safe, constant follow ups and home visits are conducted to make sure they are making progress in their rehabilitation.
Awareness campaigns
Ending the sexual exploitation of girls and women is a collective effort that requires the participation of all sections of society. Toward this effort, Urja Trust conducts awareness campaigns among the general public to educate them on the truth of sexual abuse and how we can come together to protect victims and stop traffickers.
Support Urja Trust on Give.do
Deepali Vandana has come a long way from the helplessness she felt when looking at victims in Kamathipura. “I have seen bite marks and cigarette burns on girls who have been beaten. While the physical injuries are visible, the emotional wounds are hard to see but are often more severe.” Deepali shares that when she looks at these girls from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds, she sees herself, her friends and her mother. Deepali needs your help to keep the Urja Trust shelter home open and protect girls from sexual abuse and trafficking. To support Urja Trust:
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Shirley has been in the development sector for over 10 years and is passionate about making a change in the world around her, including adopting dogs and writing to make a difference.
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