Donor/Partner Agency: The Asia Foundation

Combating Trafficking in Person (CTIP) Program

Shakti Samuha formed in 2000, is the world’s first anti-trafficking NGO created and run by 168 trafficking survivors themselves with the group’s founders working on the campaign against human trafficking in Nepal. Shakti Samuha has been working directly in 11 trafficking prone districts and focuses on five major program themes including prevention, protection, prosecution, capacity building and advocacy.

The efforts to effectively address trafficking in Nepal were recognized through the 2013 Ramon Magsaysay Award received by Shakti Samuha. The organization’s work has been critical to bring the voice of the survivors and connect the realities of the affected communities to support the work on anti-trafficking and safe labor migration at both the policy and community level. Shakti Samuha provides shelter homes for survivors, medical care, counseling, legal aid; and has set up workshop centers for educational support, skills trainings and start-up loans for income-generating activities to reduce vulnerabilities and seek economic opportunities.

The survivors groups formed by Shakti Samuha in various districts across the country form a critical intervention strategy to address different forms of human trafficking at the community level. In light of the recent partnership between Shakti Samuha and The Asia Foundation (TAF) under the Combating Trafficking in Person (CTIP) program, conducting few activities with following outcome in the selected survivor groups in Banke, Makwanpur, and Sindhupalchwok.

Outcome:

• Assess the existing capacity of the existing survivors’ groups and provide support to them accordingly.
• Enhance capacity of the survivors’ groups to act as local level information and resource pool
• Enhance the understanding of basic psychosocial concepts and importance of mental health well-being
• Facilitate stronger referral systems at the district level
• Facilitate a creative process to enhance psychosocial well-being

Activities:

• Assessment of the existing survivors’ groups formed by Shakti Samuha
• Three-day capacity building trainings on human rights, women’s rights and legal aspects of human trafficking and labor migration
• Orientation on the psychosocial concepts and issues for survivors’ groups
• Trainings on district level resource mobilization
• Art healing therapy for the survivors’ groups