Reading Time: 2 min | Sep 2021

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Winner Success Stories

Milestone News from Rescue Foundation: 121 Girls returned home since iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE 2018

Gerard Mukhia, Fundraiser Rescue Foundation

Gerard Mukhia is fundraiser at Rescue Foundation. Rescue Foundation is involved in various activities for rescuing, rehabilitating, reintegrating and repatriating the unfortunate, underprivileged girls and children who were abducted in India, mainly Mumbai.

The Rescue Foundation in Mumbai, India, is a “supported by iF” social project. In 2018 the jury of the iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE 2018 decided to honor this terrific project. Now we are overwhelmed to hear what had happened (in the meantime) in the progress of the project. 

The Rescue Foundation works towards freeing victims of human trafficking, especially girls for sexual exploitation or forced labor, and has rescued more than 5,000 girls in the past 18 years. The abduction of girls is a major problem in the culture and everyday reality in India.

Now we are in contact with Gerard Mukhia, Fundraiser at Rescue Foundation: ‘Since receiving the iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE we have gone on to achieve various milestones for our project. We have rescued 52 girls from commercial sexual exploitation, 11 girls received certificates from the National Institute of Open Schooling upon completion of their courses’, Gerard says proudly.

Rescue Foundation Activities

After rescuing them, mostly accompanied by police, raiding places where alleged kidnapped girls are, they are then moved for rehabilitation in one of four shelter homes.  However, this never happens without asking every girl whether she even wants to be rescued.

‘Rehabilitation

begins with healthcare and psychological social counselling, followed by multiple forms of vocational training and education in multiple subjects. We have repatriated 121 girls to their homes and families’, continues Gerard. The Rescue Foundation aims to sustain and operate current projects, ‘which is vital to ensuring justice for hundreds of girls affected by this heinous crime. Receiving recognition and reward from iF has raised awareness of who we are and what we do, while prize money has contributed to the execution of our projects.’

There

are no secure numbers from India, yet many Foundations and NGOs estimate human trafficking affects 20 to 65 million Indians. Men, women and children are trafficked for diverse reasons. Many of them are trafficked into the neighbor countries and some even to Europe. The abduction of girls is a major problem in the culture and everyday reality in India.

The iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE aims to publish and support projects that contribute to society. We do not charge any fees. The best projects are honored with a prize money of EUR 50,000 in total.

Learn more about the prize and application here.