Delivering
hope and salvation to India’s forgotten daughters Slavery.
A word that delivers cringe worthy visuals of
bonded labour, sexual exploitation and even prostitution to most individuals.
For lakhs of Indian women from India however, this terms defines their
existence. Daughters are looked upon as unnecessary burdens (yes even today!)
Very often girls from economically disadvantaged
backgrounds will find themselves either as indentured labourers, sex slaves and
prostitutes. Sold into servitude by relatives, families and unscrupulous
elements, this abhorrent practice is a blot on our global human rights image,
and precious little is being done for the upliftment of these, our ‘forgotten
daughters’.
Image: Asset India Foundation/Facebook (image link: http://www.takepart.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_responsive_desktop/public/AssetIndiaFoundation.jpg?itok=kznjEGxV)
That is the picture you have until you meet Ray
and Nita Umashankar. A father-daughter duo, who over the past several years
have been working tirelessly in order to bring a ray of sunshine into the lives
of India’s marginalised sex slaves. Ray Umashankar is a retired NRI residing in
the United States, who believes in the amelioration of India’s oppressed lot,
through education. His bright and gifted daughter Nita, brought to him the idea
of setting up a foundation to train and upskill the daughters of women rescued
from sex slavery, in order for them to acquire higher paying jobs in the IT
sector.
Image: Asset India Foundation/Facebook (image link: http://www.takepart.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_responsive_desktop/public/AssetIndiaFoundation.jpg?itok=kznjEGxV)
Thus was born Achieving Sustainable Social
Equality through Technology (ASSET) India Foundation, an organisation that to
date has trained over 1,500 women & children who’ve been rescued from
slavery of different kinds. From indentured labourers, to children of sex
workers, from women who were once employed in sweatshops, to women who have at
some point in time been kidnapped from their homes and sold into slavery of one
kind or another… all these souls are welcome and trained here.
Image: afterfeed.com (imagelink: http://www.afterfeed.com/storyImage/piibde64e6ci7v6qnlfo.jpeg)
On his work with his daughter, Ray Umashankar has
this to say: “Nita gave me a purpose for my life.” When most of us pass off
news of slavery with a commiseratory nods, the father-daughter duo have been
instrumental in changing the lives of these women. Truly an effort worth
saluting. Our heads bow in humility and admiration to this inspirational duo.
#TrueDiamonds indeed. Wouldn’t you say?
0 comments