projects

Odanadi has surmounted numerous hardships from various mainstream segments. Happily, most of its objectives have borne fruit and the organisation has emerged as a pioneering entity, setting standards for the welfare of the victims of this centuries-old vice.

Rescue and Rehabilitation:

• Rescued over 400 girls, most of them minors, from the clutches of the flesh traffickers in various parts of Karnataka.
• With a special focus on Mysore, Odanadi has gone a long way in eradicating the social stigma attached to the prostituted and in sensitising the mainstream society. As many as 22 women were married through widely publicised exercises in the presence of leading personalities.
• Organised the prostituted into a vocal and powerful group, the Vimochana Mahila Sangha, with the strongest being the Mysore group numbering 1020.
• As many as 350 women have been rehabilitated with alternative livelihood in the mainstream society.
• Established a very successful permanent residential school and rehabilitation centre ('Prayoga Patha') for the children of the exploited women in 1995 in partnership with CRY (Child Relief and You). As of this writing, the Prayoga Patha is providing shelter, education and vocational training to more than 75 children.
• Odanadi operates a counselling and trauma care centre for women of various strata afflicted by marital discord and social problems.

Development:
• In recognition of Odanadi's services, the Karnataka Government has allotted two plots of land in Mysore at nominal rates, one of 2 acres and another of 3/4 acre. As a result, the Samsthe now functions from an independent premises. The home `Prayoga Patha' and the counselling centre function from this premises.
• Many universities in the US, the UK and Germany have recognised Odanadi as a study and faculty centre for women's studies and social work.
• The Samsthe has developed infrastructure through mobilisation from the local communities for day-to-day functioning.
• Odanadi has introduced a novel education module for the children of the prostituted aimed at integrating them into the mainstream school curriculum. As an outcome of this, 30% of the children at Prayoga Patha who did not have even rudimentary education have successfully passed out of public examinations conducted by the Directorate of Public Instruction, Karnataka.
• For the first time in Karnataka, many of the rehabilitated women are in the process of leading an independent and self-reliant life utilising the training and guidance given by Odanadi over the past few years.

Success stories:
• Manjula and Padma are trained beauticians. More than 20 girls have acquired tailoring and weaving skills. Nanjunda, one of the oldest boys of Pryoga Patha, is all set to enter legal practice. Manjunath is geared up to establish a Video and Photo parlour.
• The Karnataka Government documented the activities of Odanadi and televised the same on the national channel (Doordarshan).

Advocacy:
• Extensive awareness programmes conducted for sensitising various wings of society.
• Various agitational programmes and lobby exercises were undertaken to secure basic constitutional rights to the prostituted both from the union and the state governments, with focus on voting rights, reservation, housing and social security cards.
• Pioneered the movement against legalisation of prostitution, both at the state and national levels. Legalisation would only favour the vested interests rather than stop the exploitation of the prostituted.
Extensive campus programmes and lecture series on HIV/AIDS conducted.
• An active participant in the national movement against child labour.

LOOKING AHEAD

Odanadi has a very clear perception of the unfinished tasks that lie ahead. Goals aim at strengthening the infrastructure and care systems needed to address this challenge both at the state and national levels.
• Establishing small-scale entrepreneurial units providing employment to the prostituted and the destitute, and utilising the income generated to sustain Odanadi's activities.
• Establishing a dairy farm to enable destitute migrants to follow a traditional means of economic empowerment.
• Establishing an HIV terminal-care centre exclusively for exploited women and children.
• Expanding the Prayoga Patha into a National Rehabilitation Centre for Children (NRCC).
• Networking with service organisations at the national level to secure reservation benefits for the prostituted women and children.
• Launching multi-pronged initiatives aimed at securing social security cards (SSCs) for the victims of prostitution.
• Creating a social awakening regarding the plight of the prostituted and enlisting the services of pillars of society in alleviating this human tragedy.