(WE) To The Ends Of The Earth

Approximately 12,000 - 15000 women are trafficked in Nepal each year. The Nepal/India border has been identified as one of the busiest trafficked areas in the world. The porous border and no visa requirement between the countries allows trafficking to be virtually unchallenged. As an example, sex trafficking women from Nepal to Kolkata is a common route. The Red light district of Sonagacchi in Kolkata has an estimated 20,000 sex workers.

One of our volunteers is an MMA professional fighter/black belt in Ju Jitsu and instructor/coach as well as a wife and mother of three. She suggested to the board that a team come over and teach confidence training/self defense to female minors and adults that have suffered sex trafficking and/or are at great risk. The team also taught female Nepali staff members at partner locations classes as well. She wants to use self confidence/self defense training as an entry point to marginalized female populations and help them realize their potential beyond what cultural, religious, and governments might limit them.

Nepal is one of the lowest GDP countries in the world and is rated the 17th poorest country in the world. The value of women in Nepal especially in rural areas is low. When we were providing aid after the Earthquake of 2015, a young girl could be 'purchased' for a 50 pound bag of rice.The scale of poverty, in rural villages, where we visit is pervasive. Our partners seek to empower trafficked women in a variety of ways including education, housing, safe environments, tutoring and so much more. 

Women Empowerment (WE) will help raise this marginalized class. Allowing these women to become confident, physically fit, and realize their abilities in a culture that exploits them. This is the problem we are addressing.

Our partners already use the internet for educational tutoring from around the globe with a number of partners (including one of our board members). We would like to continue that digital learning experience to the self confidence/self defense realm virtually as well as the ability to question/answer sessions with real time explanations and demonstrations.

The scale of poverty, in rural villages, where we visit is pervasive. Our partners seek to empower trafficked women in a variety of ways including education, housing, safe environments, tutoring and so much more. Our organization asked if self confidence/self defense training would be helpful as a means to women empowerment n multiple aspects. They welcomed us with open arms and asked us to return soon. we also were asked create and send videos and teaching materials digitally. The overall acceptance of our program was overwhelming. Our team trained approximately 425 adults and minors at 5 different locations. We have more locations in mind in Nepal and India and the ability to scale this to other communities worldwide.

Several road blocks make remote training difficult.  the ability to correctly answer questions about the material provided and the timing of teaching while being in different timezones. AI technology would assist with scheduling of virtual classes as well as the ability to filter and offer the best pre-filmed video choices from a database for the inquiries the beneficiaries might have. 

AI technologies would also be useful in identifying priority of care. Having a way to filter needs by urgency, importance, and financial resources. Often times non profit organizations put effort into matching their funding sources with the ways they'd best have an impact. AI could streamline this process from both ends categorizing the best matches between requests and resources. 

AI technology would also be used for language translation. Currently we interface in English as the common language but many of our beneficiaries do not count English as a primary language. Nepali, Tamang, Hindi, Bengali, and Marathi are spoken by the majority of those we serve. Some of our exploration and visits in other countries would include the need for Turkish, Arabic, Swahili, Kurmanji and other languages. 

Our solution is to provide access to resources through the lens of self confidence/self defense to further our beneficiaries lives.

The organization already has a number of controls in place to protect identities and confidential material of trafficked women. We work with a population that has a number of security concerns.  The use of the classroom resources is monitored on both ends by staff members since the population includes  minors and victims awaiting court actions. We are experienced at oversight in these matters when it comes to young women's protection. With developing technology, though, there is always a need for safety checks and protocol improvement. The organization will need guidance from an entity that can help with technology security. The use of AI as well as human monitoring will provide oversight.

We piloted this program with a population that is typically sex trafficked in the 11-12 year old range in rural Nepal. Some are sent internationally to nearby countries. The villages we primarily serve have seen a complete decimation of the young women in the village over the last 20-25 years. Besides trafficked women, we also identify at risk women in the target age ranges and provide opportunities before sex exploitation. The impact on empowerment is massive. Empowering women in the population group has led to a number of initiatives that we did not anticipate but are happy to see. 

Teaching young girls basic reading has led to a literacy program for their parents which fosters tighter familial bonds. The establishment of virtual tutoring from Western countries has led to enormous strides in conversational English which has led to college and advanced educational opportunities. Engaging parents in nearby villages that are not served by a government school has opened up boarding opportunities for young women with our partner schools thus lowering trafficking and opening contact in remote areas.

One of the schools in the area theoretically serves children up to 15 miles away. There are no roads to these villages. The reality of these young women receiving an education and opportunity is slim. By providing resources they can be served by school, worldwide access through the internet and other necessities like medical care. 

Our reach-out to partners on this matter was just in Nepal for testing its practicality and modeling it for other countries. We have other partners in other countries anxious to see this roll out.

Opportunity, education, and providing as level a playing field as possible has allowed women we work with to accomplish simple goals like finishing high school (Grade 10 by Nepali Standards), securing technical degrees such as IT, accounting and business management as well as a few who have started law school and one who is in medical school to become a doctor.

Many of these women are from low caste families. While discriminating by caste is technically illegal, the reality is that it happens. We can provide self advocacy training, legal advice and business guidance to these women as they chase their aspirations.

Members of our team have been involved in anti- human/anti sex trafficking  since 2010. We have a diverse skill set in the organization. Prosecutors, social workers, educators, former police officers, business executives are all part of our team. One of the roles of our non-profit is to develop long term personal relationships with partners to help develop long term goals and generational change. This allows us to partner in a long term capacity and learn from our partners what resources they need. We are welcomed in the communities, eat the local food, hire locals for work, stay in their houses and are often referred to as  Aunts/Uncles, Cousins, brothers and sisters. We provide resources to vetted partners. Here are a few recent examples of how we are positioned.  One of our board members attended the wedding of a school founder in a small village of 400 about 4 hours from Kathmandu, Nepal a few months ago. The bride and groom run a school that offers competition to the government school. 'Competition' in the sense that having choices allows the villagers more than one choice. The school we support has become so popular that they have opened a girl's home so parents from nearby villages (2-3 hours walking) can send their children there. 

We help harvest potatoes and rice in the fields that are used in the schools and houses. We partner with local Nepali doctors and dentists to provide wellness checks in partnership with the partners. All of these provide strong bonds. 

We have reached a level of trust with partners that we are sometimes consulted on resources we have to help in the anti trafficking of young girls through funding, other partnerships, and law enforcement/court connections.

None of our projects are forced on partners. We ask them what they need and offer suggestions from volunteers that might interest them. In May/June of 2024, we visited 3 different schools and a number of group homes in the Kathmandu and rural areas of Nepal. Approximately 400 young girls/women/staff were served. They are all anxious for us to continue this in person and virtually.

We are unique. We ask the partners what they think is best for their mission, evaluate it and then provide funding or feedback on the benefits/liabilities.

We were torn between pilot and growth, but pilot fits with where we are today. We have seen the positive benefits from recipients and the desire for more interaction, knowledge, and training. We helped over 400 individuals on this pilot empowerment journey in Nepal. Besides the schools, homes, staff and individuals we planned on seeing, we visited a remote village known for its trafficking issues, Gyangphedi. We had visited there before Covid. One of our connections runs a girl's home it allows for parents to send their daughters to the government school in the village. This group was not part of our program. Sadly we did not even know our friend had started this house during COVID. Our team members were asked to do an impromptu training with the women. Our female trainers said these women were the most attentive and interested in the program and were anxious for how we can partner with them moving forward. The majority were female minors and young adult women usually from fairly impoverished backgrounds. We are inspired and ignited to see the compounded impact this type of program could have with technological resources to bolster its impact. 

Our Team in the USA works and trains in MMA and is developing a series of digital teaching aids for deployment to our visited schools, villages and group homes. 

One of are members has led classes in Nepal at a local MMA gym and we continue developing a working relationship with them since that visit in 2019. We have collaborated on this program and will continue to do so.

We continue to make inroads intentionally with partner organizations.

Our Women Empowerment (WE) program started about a year ago. We validated this in the field in late May and June of 2024. The last last few weeks since our return from Nepal in June, 2024 has allowed us to receive feedback

Our biggest hurdle is financial sustainability and rapid technological growth. Preparing these videos, partnering with MMA groups in Nepal and then India, maintaining resources in partner schools, offices, group homes, etc will all cost money. All of these concerns can be overcome by financial investment and access to the most innovative technologies being developed. 

Culturally we deal with a group that we think is best served by women. We work tirelessly to identify partners in the USA and in partner countries to help bridge that gap.

We, of course, realize we do not know the answers to all these issues and would welcome feedback from others on the matter. We are always anxious to receive feedback and criticism.

Women empowerment, access to education, and supportive systems for trafficked people around the world are all laudable goals.

Our approach finds a mix between the developed nations and developing nations. 

The approach of connecting sex trafficked women through physical empowerment and then allowing them to function in traditional male roles is a powerful symbol and a project that we will continue to implement around the world. The ability to stay connected virtually from anywhere in the world is a huge support system.

In late 2018 on a trip to our target area in Nepal, one of our members witnessed a female helicopter fly in and transport an injured member (he suffered a pre-existing condition) of the group from a village we serve. The amount of shock and awe that he witnessed in the female (and male) villagers eye's when they saw a young confident Nepali women pilot a helicopter into the village, land in a river bed and take the injured man back to Kathmandu was inspiring. Clearly there is a need for strong female role models in a variety of areas. 

Our group started planning a visit to this area a few years ago and based on the skills of the members, a self confidence/self defense model was developed. 

The main instructor is a professional MMA fighter and black belt in Ju-Jitsu. She continues coaching, mentoring and instructing men, women and children through a gym in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Our partners agreed to help us pilot this program at 5 locations throughout our partners in Nepal. Two additional sites were added upon our arrival (one spontaneously when we described our mission to them). 

The class opens with an instructor showing easy to teach techniques on a much larger male figure who in this case was a retired police officer and former military officer. They quickly see that it is possible for a smaller person to offset mass, size and traditional male strength superiority. The male then leaves and the class has the opportunity to learn some basic techniques and ask questions in an all female environment. The class was scheduled to last for an hour. Frequently, it went much longer based on questions and interest of the participants.

This has brought greater questions to the team and recipients including discussions on repeat visits, internet training, training at gyms in local countries from female instructors and so much more. Even small activities like walking with the women home through dark and twisty roads was well received as a source of awareness of surrounding areas and safety discussions. 

The connection between Western woman and partner women was inspiring and progress was made on many fronts of empowering this population.

Our mix of women empowerment/physical activity/relationship building is a unique and successful.

The impact is immediate. All participants expressed an interest in continued classes as well as an immediate understanding that this is a possible skill they can learn. 

Participants were able to watch MMA matches (on the internet) that our primary instructor available.

Our goal is to provide ongoing training virtually through gyms in the USA as well as continued visits to local populations.

After reviewing the 'Theory of Change' document, a basic 'service' we provide is:

Access to Western partners---unique opportunities not found in most women empowerment programs---long term connection with women in developing nations---relational ability to show greater and greater chances for improving their lives and as well as generational change in their children.

We currently provide resources in education, housing, travel, infrastructure and other areas with partners. Since there was little to no opportunity in our target areas, almost any change is a benefit. The question of resources comes into play. Not all women will succeed. We face obstacles of cultural bias, PTSD, long term physical injuries, caste discrimination and so much more. At this time one of our metrics is to show success, in women, by a number of metrics. In no particular order but all are relevant, Grade 10 (high school) completion opens many jobs to the women such as teachers and government jobs. Completion of professional certification courses such as beautician, nurse, etc opens employment and self employment are great. As well as conversational English lessons, virtual tutoring, access to resources at Western based universities all further and improve their chances of fulfilling dreams.

Women we support are pursuing entrepreneurial businesses such as bakeries, salons and much more. One women we partner with (a trafficking survivor to India) has opened a school in the village she was trafficked from when she was 11-12 years old. We invest heavily in her school.

We want to lift more women and provide the same confidence across a broader population. Analyzing results from year to year and program to program will help us validate this program. We currently keep logs on certifications, graduation, self sustaining life styles on all beneficiaries.

A final story.

Asmeeta (not her real name) was trafficked from the area we work in Nepal. she spent many many years in Kolkata. Many agencies, NGOs, government officials were involved in her repatriation back to Nepal. We helped and help support her in a number of ways. She has actually asked to go back to the red light district in Kolkata and become an advocate for others there (specifically Nepalis) and help repatriate them back to Nepal. Investing in empowering women has ripple effects that are felt across the world. She currently resides in Kolkata fulfilling that goal.

Our impact goals are actually for two populations.

We seek to engage a female population in the USA that can be positive role models for our target audience in trafficked women. We want them to develop a community that continues to foster this international connection.

Our core international group is trafficked women. We will continue to invest in their future through this program and others we have developed.

The core technology will be the ability to connect women from one side of the world to the other side. This will be done through the internet.

Continued investment strengthening infrastructure in our partners will allow women access to resources that were unknown only 10-15 years ago. One of our partners had not seen a television until after she was trafficked. Up until 6 years ago, we had to use satellite phones for communication in a number of our village partners.

Other benefits that open with the internet are secondary but equally important. The development of videos, apps, and teaching models over the internet will be a long term empowerment tool of our partners.

Currently there are no paid employees.

All workers are volunteers.

This project has approximately eight people that are providing instruction, video/media development, trips planning, fundraising and project management.

Women Empowerment in the populations we serve has been a core focus for board members and some of the volunteers for over 15 years. A trip to the villages in 2018 that involved a female helicopter pilot's inspiration to the  women of the village as seen by board members was the impetus to start the non-profit. The non-profit was formed in late 2018/early 2019 and planning for this Women Empowerment program started 2 years ago with the execution of that program happening in May/June 2024. Continued development is being implemented as of this writing.

Upon review of the DEI statement above, our organization has no issues embracing this statement. As a volunteer organization, we welcome ANYONE with a passion, interest, skill set or financial means to help us on this mission. That being said...this is primarily a female run project. 

In general, there is fear and mistrust of men in our populations. Women in our organization developed this plan and executed it for women. There could be applications for men but the current target is women. We have identified target groups in a number of countries that suffer from blatant gender discrimination based on historical, cultural and legal bases.

Before there is interaction virtually and/or in person, we conduct a basic background check on volunteers for crimes involving children. This is in accordance with advice of counsel. 

Other advice is welcome.

We have identified populations around Nepal that are interested in our offer.

Our model is straight forward. 

Using our female MMA instructor, we have created a female group at her gym that will be in a training regimen up to three times a week. They will concentrate on basic self defense techniques and videos will be made. Some classes based on time zones will be streamed live to partners in Nepal. A portion of the fees that they pay will provide income to the non-profit. These funds can be used for programs in the villages, infrastructure (videos), education, and outreach. 

This is a unique method to empower and engage women who have been marginalized outside of the usual channels of law enforcement, courts, and social work.

We currently have donors. 

Some donors invest in individuals education, school supplies, tutoring and other supportive means monitored by our organization and partners.

We have some large individual donors who give unrestricted gifts annually. Those can be used for infrastructure improvements (schools, vehicle repairs), seed money for programs like parent literacy, and outreach programs like Kolkata-to-Kathmandu repatriation. 

We need to branch out to a donor base nationwide whether individuals or larger organizations. The model described in this proposal is one such way. We are constantly exploring other methods.