Make 50 Survivors Of Violence Work Ready

“I was trapped! It had been more than a year and I had lost count of the number of days that I hadn’t slept well. finally, someone had come to my rescue and I could start living again.

Initially, I belonged to a poverty-stricken family and since I had a lot of siblings my father had to get me married at a very young age while I was just fifteen years old. My husband was a construction worker and he was 22-years old. Although my in-laws were quite supportive initially, later on, they started abusing me physically and mentally for trivial reasons. I had to give up on my dream of pursuing my education and one by one I had to forget all my aspirations as well.

My father had taken a loan from various people to manage the expenses for my marriage so there was no chance that I could tell him about the problems so I kept mum and kept tolerating. The beating started increasing with every passing day and after one and a half years I gave birth to a baby boy; I felt a little happy that now I might get the respect and love of a family member but to my shock, my mother in law started trying to separate my child from me by various manipulations. After 8 months my husband died in an accident and my life was a living hell post that. My in-laws wanted to throw me out of the house and keep my son with them but I couldn’t bear any more pain and my son was my only hope. A few days later I took my son and ran away the early morning before anybody woke up. I was clueless where to go so I started looking for work in small roadside shops. After two days I got work in a small tea shop and started working there. After fifteen days I was trafficked from there in the name of the better job opportunity. I was stuck in the flesh trade for 1 year and then rescued by Jabala Action Research Organisation in a raid. The organisation came to me like a ray of hope and I could finally see some light.

I stayed in their shelter home for quite some time. I was provided thorough counselling sessions and the organisation also took proper care of my son. They helped to unify with my family by contacting my parents who were more than willing to take me back. But, I wanted to become self-dependent so that I can look after my family and also plan a good future for my son. Jabala Action Research Organisation provided me with training in housekeeping management and helped me get a hold on my life. It was a very challenging role for me to forget the past pain and accept the present but with a lot of help, I could finally believe in myself.

After six months of training, counselling, and therapy I was able to get a job in a reputed mall with a salary of INR 10000."

“I am a proud and independent single mother and I am glad that I got a second chance to live life on new terms. I am confident about the choices that I make and Jabala Action Research Organisation helped me to remain motivated and overcome my trauma. I have no regrets and am ready to face newer challenges in life as well. I am extremely grateful to all of you for the immense support and care; it has helped me to gain back my self-confidence as well.”

Supriya  (A girl from Midnapore, West Bengal)

All details of the survivor are changed to keep their identities protected. All the constituent names have been changed to maintain privacy of community members as well and to respect their journey.

Support is always crucial and 'You' deserve all the credits—there are many more miles to be covered and Jabala Action Research Organisation knows it is not alone.

The organisation believes in assessing the needs of the survivors and then provides them with the required counselling and training. Rehabilitation of the survivors means to restore them to a useful life or a better condition, through quality care, counselling cultural & sports inputs, education, health support, income opportunities and social security. Jabala Action Research Organisation through its Economic Empowerment (EE) program incorporates building sustainable livelihoods, improving financial and household decision-making strengthening household assets and increasing household economic resilience. 

“Getting married to the love of my life was my dream come true. I was extremely happy and my husband cared a lot for me in the first two years of marriage. Although I had little regret that I eloped away since my family did not support the marriage but his affection made me forget everything. Things were perfect till he started verbally abusing me gradually and then one thing led to the other. He used to come home drunk every day and beat me up. I was tired of the brawls and the unnecessary violence and wanted to leave him. But I realised that I was pregnant and I found a ray of hope that it might be a positive point in my life.

I told my husband about it but he wasn’t happy at all and disclosed that he has been having an affair for the past eight months and that he wishes to stay with the other woman. I felt like the end of the world but I had to fight so I tried my level best to convince him and to establish an understanding. There was no way he would listen to me instead he started with the physical and mental torture and kept violently attacking me every day. I had nowhere to go and thinking about my child I used to tolerate the violence regularly.

After four months he brought the other woman and she started staying in our house. It was just a matter of one week post that, and they both threw my out of the house. I sat there crying the whole day and they let me enter and stay the night but I had to witness a lot of miserable words and harsh behaviour. The next day I managed to contact one of my neighbourhood friends and she helped me move out of the house but how long could I be a burden to her? I could not return to my family as well. After a month I was in depression and the health of my child was deteriorating. My friend was very worried about me and she finally contacted the NGO Jabala  for help and counselling.

The organisation took me under their care and protection where I was provided thorough counselling sessions along with proper career guidance since I wanted to be a dependable single mother. When I gave birth to my child it was the happiest day of my life and I knew I had to survive. The organisation fully supported me and provided me with exclusive catering management training. I also got a lot of counselling sessions from them and it helped me to release my stress and get rid of the anxiety. I completed my catering management training and could finally get a job in a reputed canteen where I was paid 8000 INR monthly. Initially it was a little difficult for me to take care of the needs of my child but I worked very hard and the Organisation always stood beside me to support me emotionally and motivated me to become self-dependent. After six months I changed my job and currently am getting 12000 INR in another reputed restaurant.”

“I can finally take good care of my son and I don’t have to depend on anyone for my needs. I am a self-made and confident woman now. Jabala Action Research Organisation not only provided my training and counselling but also helped me groom myself and enhance my personality so that I can lead a happy life.”

Mehula Khatun (A girl from Gobindpur, North 24 Parganas)

ALL DETAILS OF THE SURVIVOR ARE CHANGED TO KEEP THEIR IDENTITIES PROTECTED.

Support is always crucial and 'You' deserve all the credits—there are many more miles to be covered and Jabala knows she is not alone. Thank you for being there with us and we hope to nurture every survivor possible together with you.

Jabala believes in assessing the needs of the survivors and then provides them with the required counselling and training. Rehabilitation of the survivors means to restore them to a useful life or a better condition, through quality care, counselling cultural & sports inputs, education, health support, income opportunities and social security. Jabala through its Economic Empowerment (EE) program incorporates building sustainable livelihoods, improving financial and household decision-making strengthening household assets and increasing household economic resilience.