YOGA MEDICINE SEVA FOUNDATION
“Person not possession; child not commodity” – Anonymous
Our mission is to fight human trafficking & sexual exploitation by empowering global, impoverished communities through efforts of education and entrepreneurship.
Mission
Yoga Medicine’s Seva Foundation works with Her Future Coalition & Rescue Foundation, two NGOs based on the ground in India. Our 2017 & 2018 volunteering opportunities & fundraising efforts will help establish a new shelter 45 miles outside of New Delhi. This shelter is due to open its doors to human trafficking survivors in late 2018 & will house over 100 women & children.
Here’s How You Can Help
We need your help to reach our fundraising goal of $100,000
HOW THE FUNDS WILL BE USED
10 K
Basic shelter needs for 1 year (food, toiletries, clothing & bedding!)
20 K
Medical care, counseling & legal aid provided to shelter for 1 year
30 K
Baseline education such as math & reading skills for all shelter survivors
40 K
Salaries of on-site social workers, housemothers, cooks & security staff
50 K
Full financial support for the shelter’s needs for 1 year
60 K
Implementation of a new vocational education program for 10 women
70 K
An additional 10 women join the on-site vocational education program
80 K
Purchase of large van for general transportation, emergency situations & rescue missions
90 K
Purchase of playground & other play-driven equipment for young survivors
100 K
EVERYTHING!
Everything the shelter & survivors need for 2 full years!
WHAT WE DO
The Yoga Medicine Seva Foundation works with local anti-trafficking organizations Her Future Coalition (formerly known as Made By Survivors) and the Rescue Foundation. Together we offer yoga volunteering opportunities to provide counseling, food, shelter, medical care and most importantly, traditional and vocational education to empower women and children to care for and support themselves.
We are passionate about providing and sustaining education that empowers survivors to rebuild their lives and support their families. These educational programs give survivors the tools they need to become leaders in their families and communities, uplifting others and passing on the virtue of self-worth. In a culture where women are thought to have little value, educating and empowering them ensures freedom forever.
Over the past two years we:
- Raised over $40,000 to support 15 shelters in the slums and Red Light Districts of Kolkata
- Contributed over 80+ volunteer hours at shelters in India
- Provided direct assistance to over 500 women and children
- Met with 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Kailash Satyarthi, to discuss his global activism fighting for children to be free
- Collaborated with founder of The Women’s Interlink Foundation, Aloka Mitra and Co-Founder & Director of Her Future Coalition, Sarah Symmons, to raise funds to support their shelters
- Met with founders, educators & rescue teams from Bal Ashram, a successful rehabilitation and training center for victims of child labor
OUR CORE BELIEF
Our belief is that no situation is beyond hope and India being the birthplace of yoga, we believe it is our duty to give back to a culture that has given us so much.
WHO WE ARE
The Yoga Medicine Seva Foundation was established to address the severity of India’s human trafficking crisis. We are funded by Yoga Medicine members and people like YOU. We are independent of any political ideology, economic interest or religion. Our belief is that no situation is beyond hope and India being the birthplace of yoga, we believe it is our duty to give back to a culture that has given us so much.
Why India?
- Everyday 400 women and children go missing in India – many remain untraced
- India has the highest number of people enslaved, with approximately 18 million people in modern slavery.
- Each year, millions of women and children are trafficked in India.
- 1 child goes missing somewhere in the country every 8 minutes.
- Almost 80 percent of all worldwide trafficking is for sexual exploitation, with an estimated 1.2 million children being bought and sold into sexual slavery every year.
2019 SEVA TRIP TO INDIA
Every other year the Seva Foundation travels to India. We have no middleman; giving us the yoga volunteering opportunity to hand-deliver funds ourselves. This ensures your donations get into the right hands and are spent on what matters most – food, shelter and education.
During our visits to the shelters, we spend time with the women and children. Our presence lets them know that someone, somewhere cares. By immersing into their culture our desire to help and their desire to dream, multiplies.
Team members who raise a minimum of $5000.00 will have the yoga volunteering opportunity to join us on our 2019 trip to New Delhi. If you are interested in more details, please email our Seva Coordinator, Amanda Bonfiglio Cunningham, at seva@yogamedicine.com.
Hear from our past participants…
“The greatest impact of my trip to Kolkata wasn’t what I expected it to be. I was focusing on the heartbreaking stories behind the project, but what I found was love and empowerment. The most important thing that I came away with after the trip is the visceral realisation that we can all make a difference and it isn’t as hard as one might think. It is only through empowering others and giving them opportunities that true sustainable change can be achieved.” – Katia Shulga
“When I heard about the Yoga Medicine Seva Foundation project and decided to take part, I thought that I would go there to help the women and children. However, in truth they have helped me. Their smiles, laughter and beaming sense of pride was contagious; and reminded me that the future is in our hands and does not need to be dictated by sadness from the past. Every woman or child I met taught me that wherever we live in the world and whatever trauma we have faced in our lives, we are able to grow and move on from it with love and support from the people who surround us.” – Alice Blunden
Purchase With Purpose
The Seva Foundation has joined forces with other globally conscious companies. A simple purchase from any of our partners below will increase our impact!
Kira Grace
Kira Grace
Created in partnership with Kira Grace, 100% of the net profits of the Grace High Waist Yoga Tight in Black Onyx legging will be donated to the Seva Foundation to fight human trafficking and sexual exploitation in India.
Nina Hillerstrom
Nina Hillerstrom
20% of every purchase of the beautiful handmade, silver jewelry from Nina Hillerström’s Seva Collection will be donated to our cause of supporting women and children in India.
For more information on the India Seva Project, please contact us.
