Odanadi works to help trafficked women and children in India. Since we gave them a grant in October 2008, they have been working hard on two projects, Open Library to Increase Educational Access and Fostering Community Exchange by Raising Environmental Awareness.
Open Library to Increase Educational Access
Five computers have been purchased and volunteers have begun teaching the Odanadi girls and women on how to use them. Many of the girls and women have never used a computer before, so the lessons are basic. The mere presence of the computers, which are accessible to the Odanadi family, is empowering and encouraging. The girls and women are excited to learn and are very serious about mastering computer skills.
For the task of building the library, Odanadi has teamed up with two youth centres near London. These charities work with young people aged 8-25 and are based in areas of deprivation with high levels of unemployment, long term illness, teenage pregnancy, and drug and alcohol abuse. On 27 June 2009, Odanadi will welcome a group of eight young people from these youth centres who will be travelling for the first time to India to furnish, equip and decorate the Lush-funded library.
The young people from the UK will also become peer educators and on their return, they will visit schools, youth clubs, community and youth groups as well as businesses to raise awareness around the issues of child trafficking and poverty. In addition to building international ties between Odanadi and youth organizations, the building of the library will increase self-esteem, and will help the young people gain a sense of global citizenship and community.
The girls and women of Odanadi are looking forward to this project and to gain access to a fully resourced library which represents opportunity, education and empowerment.
Fostering Community Exchange by Raising Environmental Awareness
To implement the funded programmes to raise environmental awareness, 35 Odanadi survivors, staff and volunteers will bicycle ride for 30 days to 60 villages in Karnataka, India. In each village, the Odanadi women will make presentations about human trafficking and environmental justice. The girls and volunteers will plant a tree, purchased with the Lush funds, in each village as a gift from Odanadi and as a reminder about the issues discussed. The cycle will take place from May 22 to June 25, 2009 and is intended to raise awareness, build confidence, and strengthen communities.
Because Odanadi seeks to raise awareness locally and globally, they have accepted volunteers from all over the world to participate in the cycle. Through this project, the Odanadi women and volunteers will have the opportunity to connect with surrounding communities and discuss the challenges and ramifications of human trafficking and environmental issues in South India. They have volunteers who will be keeping a blog during the cycle and writing for newspapers from their home countries to raise the awareness on an international level.
With less than one month before the cycle, Odanadi is vigilantly preparing by researching which plants are the most sustainable and fruitful to bring to each village and determining how best to raise awareness about environmental issues. In addition, the Odanadi women are developing drama productions and presentations on human trafficking and the importance of environmentally-friendly communities.
Christina of Odanadi said “We are very grateful to Lush for giving Odanadi the possibility to implement these necessary and creative social justice programs to address the global issues of education, human trafficking and environmental justice. This has been an empowering and community-building opportunity and we look forward to future projects with Lush“.
For more information, visit www.odanadi.org.
