================================== Stanly and Parashu Odanadi, Mysore ================================== Parashu: Welcome to Odanadi. This is your organization. We started Odanadi in 1985 in an informal way - not as an organization - involving the cultural movements with five goals in mind: 1. To provide help and relief to people who are in difficulty and unpreviliged. 2. Working for communal harmony 3. To provide decent livelihood for underprivileged 4. To think about environment 5. To mobilize people against sexual exploitation In 1993 we started odanadi with the special focus on women and children in prostitution. Though we started thinking about rehabilitating women in prostitution, it was very difficult in those days to do that it in a successful manner due to continous involvement of pimps and gangsters, stigma attached to it and non-cooperation from the public. Rehabilitation was hampered due to stigma and non-cooperation of people. In fact the whole inspiration behind our work is a woman. [Stanly adds] We did not have any thought of starting work for women in prostitution. We have little knowledge or understanding. While working as a small time journalist, we came across a women who pricked the very ethics of the writers. She began to pose many fundamental questions: what are you going to give by writing our stories. You will get name and fame. But what are you going to give to the people. If you want to make a good story, you write on me. We were sensitive and whenever we sat for writing, those question used to come up. We thought why shouldnt we think of some remidies for her problems. We went back in search of her. After 15-20 days, we got her. WWe wanted to give some consolation to that particular girl. We gave some money. But it went in vain because of non-cooperation. Many people chased us - small time pimps and gangsters. Then we understood the severity of the problem. This is the condition of us - the educated people who can fight it out. But what would be the condition of women who are living on the street. Then we decided to take it up this issue. We spent more than 20 years in our education invarious schools and universities. Personally we did our masters degrees. But no professor taught us humanity, to think about these problems. They taught us to think about ourselves - to get a good life. The woman on the street englightened us. She taught us real life. The lady taught them compassion for others - how to treat women, destitutes and what we would like to see is a smile on the faces of those women. Initially we did not have any idea of starting a big institution. But when we saw a small girl who was dancing on the street to raise money for her mother who was a sex worker, we decided to do something. We took the little girl. Some days she stayed at Stanly's house and for some days she stayed at Parashu's house. Their family started disliking that. So they kept the girl is a separate room. People started suspecting them of misusing the girl. Based on that experience they tried different avenues and experiments. They started getting an idea, after which they started the organization. They tried different ways to rehabilitate and treat children and bring them up. We gained a lot of experience after working with these children. We have rehabilitated more than 450 girls - even those who are not sure they wanted a change. But even though we have experience, it is like we have no experience because every child psychology and experience is different. So far we have involved various groups, individuals, professionals, people's movements and so on. The main reason behind this we are maintaining transparency in this organization. We give responsibilities to the maximum extent and involve them in all day to day activities. What we feel is that because of this our organization are still surviving - not depending on any organization. Stanly: We can discuss about two models: 1. Social policing: specially in the area of rescue operations - not based on the mandates from the government. People have come out and started thinking about this issue, and whenever they come across trafficking issues, they follow our direction but they involve themselves and do the rescue operations themselves. This is fantastic. It happened in Mysore and elsewhere. Thats why it has been considered by NHRC also. So far we busted more than 26 criminal networks. 2. Education: we give lot of importance to education. We can discuss it. Hansa: Can you say about boys in your care? You do have a home for them. Stanly: When we started we focused on both boys and girls because both of them in the same situation. We found many girls to be sexually exploited before the age of puberty because they were shelterless. There were sexual imitations in these boys and girls. The vocabulary usually referred to sex. Boys were also involved in the sex trade which touched us. We wanted to take them out of there. This we did after one year of survey called Bodies for a Meal. But that time we did not have any experience, support. We used to cook for them and teach them in a small rented house. The boys are still here. They used to stay together. But now they are grown up, and stay in a different rented house. Girls stay here. Education-wise there are 22 children. They are going to high school. 5-6 are going to college. I can say 100% education is there and very quality one. Vocational training, plays, games, excursions - everything. The boy whom we met with his mother for the first time is in his final year LLB. He is all set to become a lawyer. He wants to become an administrator. One rescured girl is studying computers. Some girls are working outside as successful beauticians. We are trying to get them their own beauty parlors. Some are involved in production units under collective ownership. Parashu: We are getting a good market for the production unit. Anita: Does Odanadi have its own school? Parashu: They go to the government school. Under 7 are taught here itself. It is bridge course. There are therapies are also involved in that education. Julia: Do you take girls rescued elsewhere? Stanly: We are getting girls from everywhere. Everyone should be aware of trafficking in disguise and traffickers in disguise. We do not have the time right now. Ashis: Is there any problem faced by these boys in the formal school? Stanly: There were many problems in the early stage. There is lot of stigma attached to these boys. I was glad to hear from Anjali that there is almost no stigma in Pune in that area. The words we use in the schools to abuse the girls orally - teachers also use filthy words - that affected our children a lot. We dont realize it. Thats why children stopped going to school. They used to play until 4:30 and return. Then we understood. Living with the children, we understood a lot. Even now we are learning a lot. Now they are well settled because of continuous orientation about the issue. We also give orientation to the children about how to tackle the society. We are not only concentrating on particular issue [of exploitation] now [these days] because unless we talk about other issues market system, religious issues, caste system, globalization and so on, you cant address this issue [stigma]. This is quite connected to other issue. Now the children know. They are more enlightened and now they are proud to be the son of a sexually exploited. Nanjunda is proud of his mother. You cannot find any inferiority complex in him.