From red-light district to safe home, Muskan now has dreams for her future

More than 2.3 million girls and women in India are believed to be working in the sex industry against their will. Trapped in a life of severe physical and psychological pain, many women die young - broken and without hope.

Many women working the trade also become mothers, and today there are at least five million children of sex workers in India. Children in red-light areas are vulnerable to abuse, trauma and second-generation prostitution. During the day, children are often left alone while their mothers are sleeping. At night, some are drugged and put under the bed while their mothers work the trade. Languishing in lives filled with hunger, neglect, illiteracy and hopelessness, these children long for the day when their childhood will finally be theirs.

With the help of our partners at Sahaara Charitable Society, we are rescuing children like Muskan (above right) from the horrors of the red-light districts and relocating them to loving safe homes, well outside the red-light districts. Anandalay, a safe home for daughters of trafficked women, provides the rescued girls with quality education, wholesome food and excellent accommodation under the committed care of a houseparent couple. If the child’s mother is still living, she is granted supervised visits.

Here is the success story of one child named Muskan who has been rescued from the perilous environment of the red-light districts and released into a life of freedom and opportunity.

Five-year-old Muskan (whose name means “smile” in Hindi) was brought to Anandalay in March 2009. That same year, Muskan’s mother, who was a victim of the sex trade, exited the trade and began a new life in a separate rehabilitation home.

When Muskan initially came to Anandalay, she was a slow learner, withdrawn and very passive by nature. Over the years, there has been a turnaround in her social and academic skills. She has blossomed into an extrovert, is proactive in making friends and has shown significant improvement in her grades. Currently she is enrolled in one of the top schools in the area, where she is learning English and math, and particularly enjoys singing, dancing, crafts and drawing.

Muskan is tender, sensitive and honest about her mistakes. She is a child who yearns to receive and give out love, and she loves to welcome the new girls who come into the home. Anandalay has been a refuge for Muskan. She now enjoys the childhood she longed for and has dreams for her future!

You can help transform and restore the childhood of girls like Muskan today!

$3.62 per night will put children like Muskan in a safe home outside the red-light districts. How many nights of safety can you give a child?

$36.20 provides 10 nights in a safe house




$72.40 provides 20 nights in a safe house




$108.60 provides one month in a safe house

To give any amount, click donate now and select "Safe Houses" from the drop-down menu. Thank you.