India: New Light
New Light is a nonprofit organization that protects and educates young girls, children, and women 
who are at high risk in their community by providing safe shelters, educational opportunities, recreational facilities, healthcare, income-producing opportunities and legal aid. The founder of New Light, Urmi Basu, the founder and Director is a passionate advocate for women and their right to a violence-free life. Click here to read a blog written by Dina Bennete and click here to read about volunteering in New Light.
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New Light has evolved into a comprehensive community development project with a special focus on HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment. The demographic composition reflects India’s diversity, with Hindi-speaking and non-Indian women from Nepal and Bangladesh representing 30% of the community.
The Creche and Safe Shelter
What began as a Crèche (night shelter) for eight children in two rooms in a dark alley of Kalighat eight years ago, has evolved into a program that now runs 24 hours, seven days a week for more than 150 kids. The Crèche Shelter is the first to operate in the red light district and is now located in a permanent structure above a temple, situated deep in the Kalighat red light district. It offers comprehensive care and support to children ranging in age from three months to 16 years old.
The strength of the New Light Crèche is that it provides sex worker mothers with an opportunity to keep their children in the safe and loving custody of the caretakers. Most children from the neighboring areas use the shelter as a drop-in center, where they can rest, play, read, or learn computer skills. During the day, the shelter is abuzz with the continuous stream of children who attend the local schools and come to relax at the shelter after a hard day outside in their world.
For many of the kids whose mothers don’t have a permanent residence, the shelter is the only place they can call their own.
The programs offered at the shelter include:
- Nutrition
- Education
- Healthcare
- Recreational facility
- Art and creative therapy
- Computer training
- Dance and music therapy
- Sports
- Creative writing
- Theatre
The Dalit Shelter
In July 2003, New Light set up a multi-functional shelter for the children of the Dalit community, located behind the crematorium in Keoratala, Kolkata. The Dalits (meaning the oppressed in Hindi) are comprised mainly of Doms, a caste that has traditionally been marked as “untouchables” because they burn the dead bodies in the crematorium.
After five years of operation, the shelter now offers all the services that were originally offered at the Kalighat Shelter. Even though the constitution of India guarantees the Dalit people exactly the same rights as every other Indian citizen, their condition continues to be morbid. New Light aspires to change the lives of the young ones in this small population through education and healthcare support.
Soma Memorial Girls Home
In 2005, New Light started its first residential facility for young girls at risk. This was necessary to protect young adolescent girls in Kalighat, and other red light districts, from being abused and trafficked.
This three-story, licensed facility located in Kolkata is home to 32 girls who have been removed from the red light district of Kalighat for their protection with the consent and cooperation of their mothers. The home was named after an infant girl who died due to lack of proper medical attention by her family. It is hoped that because of this shelter, the lives of girl children will be protected and valued.
The girls of Soma Memorial Girls Home regularly attend school; learn Indian classical and modern dance, computer skills, boxing, tailoring, crafts, and cooking.
Khala Ghar
New Light Boys’ Home, Khela-Ghar, is a part of New Light’s efforts to provide young boys of women who are in prostitution, the opportunity to grow up in a safe and secure environment and realize their full potential. The boys’ home will help remove the male children from the violence filled environment of Kalighat, primarily, where they are exposed to crimes and other socially undesirable practices.
The Home’s aim is to bring and retain as many children and young adults as possible into the mainstream by providing formal education; job oriented training and different vocational activities so that they can choose a life with dignity.
More about New Light…
Education
Education has been a major focus area for New Light from its inception. From the moment funding was available; all the school age children were admitted to different local schools at different levels. Remedial support at pre-school, primary, secondary and higher secondary is provided to all the children. English and other foreign language training are available for children above the age of ten; kids are coached in blog writing; and eight experienced teachers help with their school work, with special emphasis on mathematics and the sciences.
Healthcare
New Light has been providing comprehensive healthcare to the entire sex worker community for the past few years. Healthcare support is also extended to the community outside the red light district. The New Light Clinic operates five days a week with visits by a general practitioner, a pediatrician, and a gynecologist. Six health workers/peer educators and a full- time trained nurse are available to provide emergency medical care to the mothers and the children around the clock. All medical treatment expenses for the children registered with the program are sponsored by New Light.
The areas covered by the healthcare services include:
- Neonatal and postnatal care
- Immunizations (primary vaccine, MMR, Hepatitis B vaccine)
- Treatment of burn injuries
- Critical surgery for young children done in specialized care centers in the city
- HIV/AIDS care and support
- Dental, ophthalmic and cardiac care for children
- ENT Care
- Minor injuries and ailments
Recreation
Before New Light, most of the young children of the community had never held a new or unbroken toy in their hands. The first service that was offered to the children and the mothers of the community was the possibility to enjoy play and creative activities that the mainstream children enjoy on a regular basis. Today the shelter operates as a playhouse where all the kids can take part in any recreational or creative activity they wish to.
Every Friday evening and Sunday morning the children are busy in their therapeutic art and clay modeling session under the guidance of an established artist from Kolkata. The shelter offers opportunities in art, music, therapeutic dance, creative writing, and sports. Many of the older children are members of a city rowing club, an activity that they immensely enjoy.
An annual excursion to the mountains or the ocean is a recurring feature of the New Light calendar, as well as the annual Carnival and Sports Day.
Legal Aid
New Light conducts a free legal aid clinic for women of the community twice a week. A lawyer provides workshops and discussion sessions to educate women of their legal rights as citizens and understanding the legal and law enforcement systems. Support is also provided to establish their property and tenancy rights. Mothers are also assisted in processing the birth certificates and ration cards for themselves and the children.
Anti-Trafficking
Any group that works with the vulnerable and marginalized population of sex workers eventually has to get involved in arresting trafficking of young girls and women. Traditionally young girls and women have fetched a higher price in the sex trade, which has resulted in the trafficking of this population from the rural and semi urban areas surrounding the big cities of India. Because of its geographical location and the shared porous borders with Nepal and Bangladesh, Kolkata has emerged as a source as well as a destination for trafficking. Most of the women engaged in sex work in Kolkata have arrived in its various red light areas via the violent routes of abduction, enticement, and exploitation.
In order to start its fight against trafficking, New Light set up the New Light Soma Memorial Girls Home. This ensured the security of young adolescent girls growing up in Kalighat and resulted in the reduction of a large number of young entrants into the sex trade.
Over the years New Light has established partnerships with other organizations working in the same field, including The Daywalka Foundation and Maiti Nepal.
The horrific stories of abuse and exploitation of the young rescued girls encourage every member of New Light to continue in their fight against trafficking (images not displayed for security reasons).
Micro Enterprise Development
New Light helps to uplift the standard of living of the sex workers of Kalighat. The nature of work for women in the Kalighat red light district is casual and irregular; the volume changes according to the seasons and festivals. The condition of the aged sex workers is even worse. They face disease, destitution, and daily suffering. In the last nine years, many older sex workers have been forced to move out of their rooms and live under plastic sheets.
To help the women have an alternative income source, New Light started its micro enterprise development program. To date, more than 35 women have benefitted from this program. A small interest-free fund is given to the women to either start their own enterprise or join other existing businesses. The most popular activities include flower and food vending, the sale of ready-made garments, trading fruits and vegetables, and selling sweet meat at the Kalighat Temple.
The Anchal Project
A training program has been started for the women of the Dalit (untouchable) community and the women engaged in sex work. Approximately three times per week these women get together and learn how to make quilts and blankets from old saris. Each blanket comprises of five or six layers of gorgeous old saris of different colors and patterns, resulting in a beautiful handmade and unique product. Part of the money earned from the sale of blankets goes back into the training programs and to purchase additional materials while the rest goes directly to the women as their income.
The women, for the first time in their lives, have an entirely independent and sustainable livelihood that is based on skills and dignified earning away from sex work and its associated stigma. This program has been designed and guided by a group of RISD students of textile design and sustainable development.
Please visit www.anchalproject.org For trade inquiry anchal.risd@gmail.com
Sanitary Pad Project – Empowering Women Period
Village Volunteers is launching a sanitary pad manufacturing project for the women of New Light. The women manufacture a biodegradable feminine hygiene product and earn an income making pads and distribute relevant public health information to women and girls, woman to woman. For more information please visit www.empoweringwomenperiod.org
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/empoweringwomenperiod
- Provides complete nutritional support to children and adults
- Offers holistic care and support
- Fights stigma and social discrimination attached with HIV /AIDS in the community
- Empowers affected families to take control of their lives
- Offers employment opportunities for total reintegration
- Documents various issues related to HIV/AIDS treatment, counseling, and support
- Networks with other CBOs /NGOs working in the same field
- Assists in getting access to anti-tubercular drugs and ART from government centers
- Offers legal aid to establish their civil and human rights
- Creates awareness and fights HIV / AIDS in the immediate community through information, education, and communication
- Offers marriage counseling
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AT NEW LIGHT
Education/Children:
- Teach children at pre-school, primary, secondary and higher secondary levels.
- Teach English, math, science, and foreign languages
- Teach kids in blog writing
- Coach kids in sports
New Light serves more than 250 children with 6 active project locations where we work with children. It depends on the skills of the volunteer on how many children they work with at a time. Usually, to begin with, a group of 12 to 15 children is good. The group can be increased later on depending on the situation. The volunteer can also conduct classes/workshops at the various centers/locations.
Medical:
- Provide general nursing care to patients at small clinic that operated three days a week in the red light district
- Skills training to other nurses
- Counseling services
Public Health:
- Public awareness programs on HIV/AIDS
- Awareness campaign for general health and hygiene
- Women’s health issues
Business/Women:
- Provide skills training and share knowledge regarding general business practices
- Help women learn about production and distribution of their products
General
- Teach cooking skills
About Your Experience… Being at Kalighat red light district has never been a problem for volunteers. The red light district is noisy and crowded and full of smells (not all pleasant), but you will never feel threatened. The kids are absolutely wonderful and its a joy to interact with them. New Light has many separate factions, so if working with young children is not exactly where you feel comfortable, you will also have the chance to work with the middle-school aged girls at Soma Home, the children at the Dalit center, the boys at Khala Ghar, or the young women at Sonar Tori. The volunteer experience can begin structured, but after a demonstrated understanding of the mission and culture at New Light, volunteers are encouraged to develop workshops in the arts, sports, or any area in which they have a particular interest.
BEING A VOLUNTEER AT NEW LIGHT
As a volunteer of Village Volunteers, you will be met at the airport, you will receive assistance in settling into your housing and you will be shown to the different shelters and introduced to the programs and staff. You will be given the phone numbers of multiple staff members and will find them to be incredibly friendly and accessible. However, due to the demanding nature of the work, the staff will not always be available to walk you into work (after you’ve learned the way) or take you on excursions after-hours. Though New Light cares for its volunteers, the primary focus of the staff is to provide quality care for the beneficiaries – women, and children affected by human trafficking (trafficking, domestic abuse, poverty, HIV +, etc.). As a volunteer, the impact of the work of one person’s actions dramatically impacts the lives of others. Yet you will learn just as much from your experience as you are contributing.
ACCOMMODATIONS AT NEW LIGHT
Housing
The volunteer apartment is a comfortable space situated on the top floor of a residential building. Sufficient provision is also made at the guest house to cook in case anyone is interested in making a meal for themselves.
The apartment is located in a very peaceful, safe and quiet neighborhood and also very near to New Light. You will find everything you need and more in these neighborhoods. The service apartment can accommodate 3 people at a time. It consists of 1 single and 1 double bedroom with AC, 2 bathrooms with running hot water, one kitchen with an induction plate to make your own food, necessary kitchen utensils, and fresh drinking water. The apartment is cleaned every day. There is free WIFI available at the guest house. How many children will we be teaching?
The guest house is New Lights property. It has easy accessibility to New Light and the provisions provided. The apartment is located in a very peaceful, safe and quiet neighborhood and also very near to New Light.
You will find everything you need and more in these neighborhoods. The dual occupancy apartment consists of 2 twin bed rooms that will have to be shared when there are more than 2 volunteers at a time, 2 bathrooms with running hot water and one kitchen with an induction plate to make your own food, necessary kitchen utensils, fresh drinking water, a washing machine, a microwave oven and Wifi connectivity. You will be supplied with basic items like toilet paper, soap, bed linen, and towels initially. There will be a cleaner coming in twice a week.
The apartment is on the ground floor is a beautiful family house, which is owned by an elderly Indian couple. They are always happy to help you in case of any problems. There are two bedrooms in the volunteer apartment that can house two people each, so depending upon the length of your stay and the time of year, you may or may not have a roommate. There are two bathrooms, each with a standard toilet (which can be a rarity in India). We have a kitchen area with a new refrigerator and wash machine (laundry), cutlery, plates, tea-maker, and fresh drinking water. Though the apartment is technically the bottom floor of a family residence, we have a separate entrance and it feels private. The landlady is lovely. She and her husband are both retired, he an ex-army general and she is a professor of literature. We will occasionally take tea with them, but generally, they keep to themselves.
Your neighborhood and safety…
The neighborhood is full of old Bengali houses – beautiful architecture that retains its elegance despite some decay from the humidity and monsoons. It is a 5-minute walk to the market, shopping center, and numerous restaurants. New Light main shelter is about a 20-minute walk, across one large boulevard. Traffic can be a bit chaotic, but use caution and you should be okay, the most consistent danger for tourists anywhere comes from transportation-related accidents. As far as the safety of the city itself, volunteers have not had any problems. Still, we always advise that one use caution and remain aware of their surroundings, but volunteers have found Kolkata to be warm, both in climate and in character. People stare wherever you go, but it’s merely curiosity and not ill-intended. However sometimes it can wear on you, so your apartment gives you privacy and relative quiet.
Meals
Meals are prepared by the Soma Home cook. Volunteers who have special dietary needs or food allergies should note their needs on their volunteer application so Village Volunteers can notify the New Light staff in advance.
Drinking Water
Bottled water is provided for volunteers.
Electricity
There is electricity in the Soma Home.
Internet Access
Volunteers can access the internet in Kolkata.
Laundry
Volunteers have the option of laundering their own clothing or paying a fee to have it done for them. All volunteers are asked to launder their own undergarments.
Born and raised in a family of professionals in Kolkata, India, Urmi Basu received her primary and secondary education in the same city. Both her parents were deeply involved in activities of urban and rural development which influenced and prompted Urmi to choose a career as a social worker.with a Masters in Social Work at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
During her career, she had the opportunity to work with issues related to urban and rural economic development, empowerment and protection of vulnerable groups like women engaged in sex work and subjected to extreme violence, street children, trafficked child laborers and young people in exploited situations. She has been a part of targeted intervention programs for victims of HIV / AIDS, transsexuals, and transgender people.
After fifteen years of professional work Urmi set up a small non –profit named New Light in Kolkata in 2000 with as little as Rs 10,000/- along with two other young people from the Kalighat red light district. The mission of the organization is to promote gender equality and fight violence and abuse of women, girl children, and young people. That small initiative today provides care and support to more than two thousand people. The organization also works to fight against child prostitution and trafficking for the purpose of sex- trade.
For the last many years Urmi has been a trainer and resource person for innumerable government and non-profit organizations. She regularly presents papers at various national and international seminars and conferences on.
In November 2011 Urmi received the Make a Change Award from Children`s Hope India, New York. In October 2012, a documentary named Half The Sky based on the novel by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wu Dunn was shown on PBS featuring Urmi and her work with the victims of trafficking. Following the documentary, Urmi received the Global Citizen Award at the Global Music Festival in Central Park, New York which was organized to mark zero tolerance for hunger, poverty, and abuse. Urmi was chosen as a recipient of a blessing from His Holiness The Dalai Lama under the title Unsung heroes of Compassion 2009 on the 26th of April 2009 in San Francisco for her work that promotes compassion and peace.
Reflections on Urmi’s childhood and family from “My Mother” as published at Amistad International
My earliest memory of my mothers courage floats back to the days of communal violence in the early sixties when she and our father long with some friends risked their lives and possessions to protect and save people whose lives and livelihood were snatched from them. Those were moments of great turmoil and fear but what I learned from her was to look at fear in its face. Those years were followed by the dark period of Bengal`s political situation and our family was subjected to untold loss and suffering by unknown assailants. Any other woman in my mother`s place would have left the ground and run for cover. Not our mother. She stood her ground, fought and saw to it that innocent lives were saved. It would take me another lifetime to recount all that happened in a short span of five years that followed. In a few years we were no longer parent and child but friends with a deep bonding and unconditional love. Much of my life today was shaped watching my mother go through the motions of everyday living. A life lived with courage and grace.
Of all the gifts that our mother, Sabita has left us the greatest is the gift of courage. We hope we have the courage to look at life squarely at its face and say that we are ready. We hope we are ready to shoulder our responsibility and take it one step further. We hope are ready to carry on in the legacy of justice and compassion.