**Proceeds from the sale of this book will support the work of the Shanti Foundation**
“This book reflects the pain, sorrow, struggles, and little hope women living with HIV and trafficking survivors face daily. We aim to lead you to one small corridor of our lives to help you understand and support us to live a dignified life. The experiences and efforts of a few policymakers, researchers, educators, and development partners are not enough. We need more helping hands and reaching out through our stories is one way of achieving it.”
After the 2015 earthquake destroyed different areas of Nepal, a small group of women noticed a need for health-related services directed towards women and children, particularly in HIV and AIDS, and female sexual and reproductive health. These women were themselves survivors of sex trafficking and living with HIV. All of them were illiterate, with no prior knowledge of creating a non-profit organization.
Despite these hurdles, they were driven to address the safety, protection, and prevention of women and children arising from human trafficking and forced internal and external migration. They wanted to ensure that no one would face the same stigma and discrimination they had to go through themselves. After much perseverance, this small group of Nepali women built connections and networks with larger organizations that awarded their dedication and passion with funding for their projects.
Within six years of its establishment, the Shanti Foundation has supported over 60,000 women and children through awareness programs, rescue, rehabilitation, legal services, health services, education, reintegration, and advocacy programs. It has also helped strengthen the government of Nepal through contributions to policy development and reforms and capacity building to combat human trafficking and HIV in Nepal.
The following stories are the voices of people the Shanti Foundation has impacted. These are real-life accounts of their challenges, struggles, and their ability to overcome with resilience and strength. All of the names in these stories have been changed to protect these people’s privacy. Sadly, the stigma against HIV and human trafficking continues to be pervasive in Nepalese society.
