Ever so often, we meet with children and adolescents, grassroots social workers and activists, who are not at the helm of social or political power but are the real change-makers. Not necessarily leaders of organizations, they are the crucial cogs in the wheel, silently making things happen. Or they are those in a group of adolescents, not necessarily the most vocal or conspicuous, but are those who internalize changes and act upon them. They inspire others, they offer courage through example.
Sanjog tells the stories of these quiet but inspired lives in various publications. Threaded within these stories is Sanjog’s own journey – our successes, our failures, our learnings and our dilemmas – all the experiences that have made us what we are and continue to shape us. Perhaps the best way to understand what we do, and why we do it, is to read the stories of the journeys that children and communities have taken in their quest for social change.
Everyday Heroes, a series of graphic novels, were based on stories of change elicited from the rural communities through the Most Significant Change story mEach story, by the girls, the communities and the NGOs, was accompanied by the storyteller’s interpretation …
Mixed Pickles was conceptualized to illustrate ‘what Sanjog does, ‘how Sanjog does it’, and to share the learnings – good practices and failures, successes and challenges – of our work. These experiences have been tested by evaluators who are technical experts …
“I am Roshonara, a member of Utthan. As a member of Utthan I fight against trafficking, but my fight against violence goes beyond that. Where I live in North 24 Parganas of West Bengal, incidents of domestic violence and abuse is an everyday phenomena. Women’s lives are controlled …
Suraiya* (name changed) is 19 now. Last year when she turned 18, she decided to go to Punjab and work at a cloth mill there. As the nature of this kind of work goes, she has to stay in Punjab for 5 months, and the rest of the year she spends at her home with her family in North 24 Parganas, …
Survivor Leaders of Utthan Collective often visits the community for prevention and sensitization of trafficking. Recently Utthan has taken up an exercise to map the vulnerability of children in their own villages. During one such interview, Leader Rexona had gone to a school.She was interacting…
community is not very open with the concept of women going to work. When Smita a survivor of human trafficking decided to work for the rights of survivors of human trafficking, her whole family stood against her. They were scared,did not want to face any more risk but Smita stood firm in her decision….
In 2012, Rejina’s mother approached one of the social workers of Shakti with a photograph of her daughter Rejina who was missing for nearly six years. At the time Rejina went missing she was about 12 years old. Shakti social worker got in touch with Jabala – a Kolkata based organisation to know the whereabouts of Rejina…
Ujjayini Self Help Group of the community based organization (CBO) MATE of Bagdah block of North 24 Parganas district has successfully overcome numerous impediments and finally managed to form the group to include 5 right holders who required social inclusion to ensure their financial empowerment. But the journey was quite demanding …
Anti-trafficking efforts tend to be spearheaded by law enforcement agencies at different levels like national, state, and local levels. These agencies often have macro approaches to eradicating human trafficking. Trafficking survivors, however, are also critical to anti-trafficking efforts at all levels given their experiences as trafficking victims…
Sanjog has firmly believed in the inclusive voices of the survivors of trafficking. It has been our experience that without hearing from the survivors, the essential stakeholders are missing important perspectives of the experience of the survivors. On a wider view, trauma informed approach identifies, acknowledges and responds to various needs of …
Humankind’s biggest lesson from 2020-2022 has been adaptability. We adapted, readjusted and took control of what life and survival meant to us. We lived through one of the worst pandemics in global history…