Bhubaneswar, March 3: The caravan of Swaraksha – a joint project of US Consulate General in Hyderabad and “Prajwala”, a Hyderabad-based anti-trafficking organization – will arrive here on March 18 in a bid to raise awareness on human trafficking.
Swaraksha was launched on January 9th 2016 to May 2016 from Hyderabad and will travel 53 districts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha targeting 132 million people.
The campaign aims to awaken the communities on the evils of human trafficking, motivating communities to protect themselves.
The caravan will also address men and boys to target the demand for commercial sexual exploitation.
The Caravan will travel through all the 30 districts of Odisha.
State Government, Catholic Relief Services and Kalinga Institute of Social Science are the lead partners to support this unique caravan said Sunitha Krishnan, founder, Prajwala at press meet here.
Prajwala activists, accompanied by survivors of trafficking, are travelling in the caravan.
A series of programs is being conducted every day, including screening of documentary films and debates, to alert communities on how the network of human smugglers operate, and the modus operandi they have adopted to trap boys and girls to lure them in the name of employment, marriage, love, film roles or for a better life.
During the campaign, the Prajwala teams has also established network of community vigilant groups and train them to spot and report trafficking across the three states, so communities are equipped to counter the attempts of trafficking, she added.
Speaking on the occasion, KIIT & KISS founder Achyut Samant said, KISS has been campaigning against human trafficking and sexual harassment against children through education imparted to 25 thousand tribal students.
The students of KISS also educated their community against human trafficking, when they go to their villages during vacations.
Deputy Director Women and Child Development Department Subhra Mohanty and Gender Advisor & Coordinator Amrita Patel also spoke about the activities of the ortganisations and the measures intitiated by the State government in this regard.
Consul General, U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad Michael Mullins said, “Even one woman, one man, or one child trafficked is one too many. The government of United States is deeply committed to combating all forms of human trafficking, which we regard as modern-day slavery. But no government, no NGO, no volunteer, no police officer, no judge can succeed in this fight unless we deeply collaborate together and with the public. Every man, woman, and child of goodwill should come together and cooperate to end this horrific crime.”
