By Kritika Chopra | Administration & Fund Development Lead
Dear Supporters,
As we move into a new year, we are grateful to share continued progress from Empowering the Future — a partnership between Aura Freedom International and New Light supporting girls at risk of violence and exploitation in Kolkata.
This quarter was centred on consistency and care — ensuring that the girls living at Soma Home continued to experience stability, safety, and opportunities to grow, even amidst the broader challenges facing their communities.
A Safe and Nurturing Home
Over the past few months, Soma Home has continued to provide full-time, dignified residential care for girls aged 8–18 who are at heightened risk of gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation, human trafficking, child marriage, and more. For many, Soma Home remains a consistent and safe space where they can sleep without fear, eat nutritious meals daily, and feel emotionally secure.
Your support helps to sustain the basic needs of young girls, including:
This consistency is foundational — it allows healing to begin and learning to flourish.
Education, Skills & Confidence-Building
Education, we know, is a powerful protective factor against exploitation. These girls remain engaged in formal schooling, supported by tutoring, homework assistance, and mentorship from caregivers and older peers. Further, they are provided crucial awareness of human rights, human trafficking, child marriage, and other gorms of gender-based violence in order to prevent violence and exploitation.
Beyond academics, Soma Home continues offering skills-building and creative activities, including:
These activities are not just recreational — they build self-esteem, leadership, and a sense of possibility for girls who are often denied the chance to imagine a fulfilled future of wellness.
Mental Health, Healing & Belonging
Trauma-informed care remains at the heart of this project. As such, girls at Soma Home continued to receive emotional support and counselling, alongside complementary healing supports such as music and dance therapy, self-defence classes, and the opportunity to build positive, trusting relationships with caring adults. Together, these experiences support both immediate wellbeing and long-term healing.
Subtle yet meaningful moments — friendships forming through group activities, laughter during shared meals, pride after learning a new skill, and growing confidence in group settings — are quiet but powerful indicators of healing in action.
Looking Ahead
In the coming months, our focus remains on sustaining and deepening:
Every donation helps ensure that girls at Soma Home are not just protected today, but supported to build futures rooted in dignity, safety, and hope.
Thank you for standing with these girls — and with the local leaders who walk alongside them every day. Your generosity makes stability possible, healing achievable, and empowerment real.
With gratitude and solidarity,
Aura Freedom International
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