Kalpana's Story
Kalpana vividly remembers the four painful years she and her family were trapped as slaves at a tree-cutting unit.
She remembers their exhaustion, as they were expected to cut one tonne of wood every day. She remembers their fear, as they were closely monitored at all times and could not leave the facility.
And she remembers her desperation—constantly worried for her young children’s fate—as the owner often left them without food for days.
And she remembers her worst tragedy: watching her oldest son Karthikeyan fall sick and pass away when medical care came just too late.
So it is with great relief and joy that Kalpana remembers the day rescue came, in November 2013, when IJM Chennai worked with district government officials to rescue her and 23 other people from the facility—and when a whole new life could begin.
Rebuilding a life to be proud of
“Life wasn’t so easy for Kalpana when she first came out of the tree-cutting facility,” says her IJM aftercare manager. “She faced many significant challenges yet demonstrated incredible perseverance and persistence…She is an incredibly focused person, in everything from her son’s education to building a house.”
Kalpana, her husband Anand, and her younger son Abhu participated in IJM’s two-year aftercare program for rescued slaves. As they settled into their home village, IJM helped them meet their immediate needs and start learning new skills to keep them safe and help them thrive.
Since their rescue, Kalpana and Anand have been happily living with the freedom and dignity they so longed for in bondage. Their relationship is strong, and Abhu is now enrolled in a local school.
IJM helped enroll Kalpana in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), which ensured she receives daily wage labour opportunities for at least 100 days per year. It was good, steady income, but the couple began dreaming of an even better future after attending an IJM-organized livelihood training program.
Anand had always wanted to become an entrepreneur, so he used his rehabilitation money to buy a motorbike that helps him travel long distances to earn and save for the future.
He also started his own tree-cutting business that employs other families from his community.
Kalpana, too, wanted to achieve her dreams. She said, “I knew that to sustain my freedom I had to be financially secure. I needed to equip myself with a skill.”
She found and enrolled herself in a tailoring class. After she finished in January 2016, an IJM partner NGO helped Kalpana buy a sewing machine to kick-start her tailoring business, and she now receives many orders from people in her village.
“The biggest privilege in my life is freedom from bondage,” she says. “The second is my tailoring business. I say this because, so far, I have been able to save Rs. 2,500 rupees (about $47). This is the first time I’ve been able to save money. I’m currently building my house and fixing my roof. I can save for my family.”
Giving back to her community
Because of her strong leadership qualities, determination and caring spirit, Kalpana was elected as a community leader by the other slaves rescued from the tree-cutting unit. She gives motivational speeches to other rescued bonded labourers at IJM’s meetings with survivors.
“I am still in the process of trying to figure out how I can best help my people,” she says thoughtfully. “The people who elected me as a leader had already started to share their concerns with me about their livelihood. It is challenging because my village is a long way away from their village, so I want to connect them with the appropriate people who can help them.”
Despite the challenges, she’s excited for this new role—and the trajectory her life is taking in freedom. She beams, “I feel really happy about being elected as a community leader. I like to brag about it! I have a dream of working to help my people. I want to help them meet their needs.”
*Kalpana is a pseudonym to protect the identity of the survivor
