Testimonial

Below are first hand accounts from our participants about their experiences with us and participating in our programs.
 

Juhi, 10

I liked the dance classes with Khateja didi very much. I liked it because I like dancing. I was always told that dancing is bad. Only girls from bad families dance. I used to dance secretly. I used to copy the girls from TV. Khateja didi told us not to be ashamed about our body. She has also taught us not to get scared to tell the truth and not to be afraid of anybody, even the teachers. She also told us to be responsible and not to hurt anyone.
 

Najmin, 9

I like painting because I can show it to others. I had never painted before I came to the Apne Aap girls' hostel. I liked the exhibition of paintings we did. So many people had come, even our mothers came. I was very happy when my mother liked my painting. She could never believe that I could paint!
 

Shahana Khatoon, 12

I have always wanted to study, but there was no environment at home to study. All the time there were drunken brawls. My mother used to get beaten up by my father every day. The police used to come to extort money from my sisters and there were quarrels. When the buyers used to come, we had to play out on the streets. So, even if I wanted I could not finish my homework. Then my mother got me admitted in the Apne Aap school cum hostel. But my father used to take me and my sister out from the hostel at the slightest pretext. For the last four months we have been staying regularly in the school. My father does not pull us out of the hostel so often now. But I am afraid that my father will not allow me to come to the hostel again after the holiday for Bakrid. But this time I have decided to tell him that I don’t want to be left behind in my class because of him. I want to come back to the hostel after the two days of festival leave.
 

Gulshan, 14

I think if I did not come here I would have missed the golden period of my life.  I now study computer, learn dance therapy, yoga and leadership training and even give training to the others. I have also joined the Open school. The Yoga and meditation classes help me feel calm and stable.  Yoga gives me patience. After doing the meditation I feel relaxedl. It also gives me inner power and helps me concentrate.  It removes pain from our bodies and helps reduce extra fat from the body. We start our day at the centre with yoga and meditation.
 

Md. Anwar, 19

I have learnt carpentry at the Apne Aap centre in Kolkata. I have learnt how to design and make chairs, tables and almirahs. We are also studying. Our tutors come on Saturday evenings and Sundays. He asked us to apply for our passports as he planned to take us to France for learning machine carpentry. But then we had to go back to our village in Araria, Bihar, which was hit by floods. My father asked me not to go back to Kolkata again, instead find work in our locality. But the carpenters working here are all from Barhai caste and they wont have us as apprentices. Even if we start working somewhere, shop owners ask us about our sisters and whether they can visit them for free. We want to go back to Kolkata again and start working.
 

Qurban, 13

I study at the Apne Aap Uttari Rampur school. I would love to study and want to become a policeman. They have so much power. They can help the people most if they want to. I also wish for  a Boys’ hostel, like the one where the girls stay. I think if we stay at a hostel we can study with more concentration. Why don’t you open up a boys’ hostel?
 

Kalam, 14

I have been studying at the Apne Aap school for three years. Before that I used to go to the Harijan school. But the teachers used to beat us on the slightest pretext, call us names, and tell us that we would become pimps and use our sisters to earn money. I could not study there anymore. Then I started going to the Apne Aap School in our area. This year, my teachers told me that I have learnt enough and that I should go to a proper school now. They talked to my parents as well. Initially they did not agree but then they finally accepted. Ravi Sir took me to the Forbesganj Boys’ Middle School. The Principal took my test and got me admitted in class V. I now go to school every day and then come to Apne Aap School to finish my homework because I know I will not be able to study at home because of the quarrels in the house.
 

Md Amin, 12

We have got the respect that we have never gotten in our lives. Now we want to get properly trained to work and earn so that we can save our own sisters. We want to go back to our villages, and train other boys and girls like us so that they can also find meaningful ways of earning a living rather than being stuck in the cycle of prostitution and exploitation.
 

Iqbal, 15

Aside from these fun outings, we are also getting an extensive training on carpentry during out stay in this “outside world.” I think that this carpentry course may change my life and I may be able to plan my future differently, and make all my dreams come true. After I complete this course, I don’t want to get back to the village. Instead, I would be happy to work and earn to help bring my family into the mainstream of society.
 

Biwi Maisoon, 25

Last year when the Apne Aap tribunal took place in Khawaspur, we talked about how local criminals from the Kulhaiya caste threaten us, gang rape us and abduct our brothers. They have even killed one person as a punishment because we spoke out. They even ordered not to allow any Apne Aap person to enter into our community. They threatened to kill us and the Apne Aap staff members as well if we didn’t listen to them. But Apne Aap started its community centre despite all intimidation. Initially we were very scared and avoided all of the meetings organized by Apne Aap, but kept sending our children to the Apne Aap school. Why should the children be deprived of their education?
 

Rukhsar Khatoon, 21

I was born into a Nat family and I knew ever since my childhood that I have to be prostituted like my elder sisters. But I was very fond of studies and always wanted to do something meaningful with my life. So when I saw my brothers going to school, I started crying. I was the youngest one in the family at that time; my father loved me very much. So he said, let her go to school now. Then as I grew up, my father no longer allowed me to go to school. I understood what awaited me. Then my elder brother, Shaukat told my father that he would stop his sisters from being prostituted. But even when my family decided to put an end to this traditional practice, the outside people and the customers did not listen. They used to bang at our doors any time, day and night. And then a very violent incident took place in which my father was slashed with a knife. My cousin sister has been kidnapped and gang raped by outsiders. For months we were in constant threat and terror. Then when Apne Aap decided to start the school in our village, I found a support and an opportunity to continue my studies. (By the way, my two younger sisters are at the Apne Aap hostel. They are going to Middle School now). Then I was hired as a crèche supervisor. But I had no training. A two weeks’ training was organized at Forbesganj where I learnt how to work with children. I not only help bring little children from their home to the crèche,  but also take care of their health, hygiene and cleanliness. I feel very happy now.
 

Sonia, 33

I was able to admit my daughter at the Apne Aap night crèche and the Jyotir Moyee day school with the help of Apne Aap. The school environment is very pleasant. Since Apne Aap is open twenty four hours, I send my daughter to the creche after nine at night after which I take clients. She is 9 years of age now and I know problems will arise once she grows up.
 

Zarin, 20

I am confident now. Four years ago before coming to Apne Aap I knew nothing. By attending different workshops and trainings on our rights and trafficking, I now have confidence in my own abilities.
 

Mumtaz, 25

Life has changed for me. Before joining Apne Aap I was a rag picker and had a tough life. My husband was a drunkard and tortured me every day.  After joining Apne Aap I feel I have changed in many ways. Now I know that trafficking is an organized crime. I am aware of the problems that can be caused due to early marriages and I also know how to deal with family violence. I know how important it is to offer a proper life to my children. Now, I am trying to bring the same awareness among other women.
 

Savitri, 27

Earlier I used to live at my home engaged in my household chores. Then I heard about the organization and went to visit it. I saw many women and girls making jewellery and doing embroidery,  mehendi designing and stitching.   I started learning embroidery here, and then we formed a group.  Here all of us can come together and share each other’s sorrow and happiness.  

This group is of those girls and women who don’t have any particular job so they do ‘anything’ for daily wages.  And sometimes you feel so ashamed that you can’t even tell anybody about it and you want to commit suicide. But then you realize there is no other choice but to step out of the house. Our organization does not only support women like us, but help other poor women and children as well.
 

Reena, 55

A shelter home house mother:  I was having a lot of problems in handling my kids, but now after the Apne Aap art resilience workshop it has become much easier. It has really helped me understand and be sensitive to my kids as well.
 

Aparna, 32

Project coordinator of street children project: This training not only helped me understand the feeling of my kids (street children) but it gave me an exposure to deal with anger management.