Dignity Freedom Network

At Dignity Freedom Network, our mission is dignity and freedom for the poor, marginalized and outcasts from society, and we provide education, healthcare, and economic development programs to achieve this vision. We enter the lives of the most vulnerable people in India at their invitation, standing alongside them as they work to change their communities and their nation.

Dignity Freedom Network has a four-pronged approach to bringing holistic transformation to the poor and oppressed people of India.

Schools: Education is at the heart of transformation. Dignity Freedom Network transforms communities through equal access to English education. Our first school opened in 1998 and today we serve more than 26,000 primary and secondary school children in 100+ schools. Though these schools provide a high standard of English education for all, priority is given to the most vulnerable who would otherwise remain illiterate, stigmatized and trapped in extreme poverty.

Healthcare: Our health program serves an immense need. At the grass-roots level, our Community Health Workers meet basic health needs within villages. Medical care and health testing is offered through clinics and medical camps. A purpose-built Women and Children's Hospital provides affordable surgeries and specialist healthcare for the most vulnerable.

Trafficking Prevention and Rescue: we believe that education, healthcare, and economic empowerment are the very best ways to prevent trafficking. However, there are still young girls and women that need our help. We have three shelters to raise up girls who are in vulnerable situations and are on the thresh hold of being trafficked. We also work in communities all over India to help women who want out. We provide a safe home, counseling services, and skills training.

Economic Empowerment: Skill development and economic empowerment are fundamental targets of our endeavors. The generating of sustainable livelihoods has direct impact on the health, welfare, and education of a community and contributes to the eradication of trafficking. We provide vocational training programs, government training opportunities, and business ventures operated by at-risk women and their dependents.

Dignity Freedom Network has India-based partners who implement the transformational programming in India. Our on-the-field programming has a track record for success and it is estimated that the work of more than 50 years has a reach to approximately 20 million people nationwide. DFN seeks to support the work in India through raising the needed resources, financial and otherwise, from American partners to support the Indian leadership. These donors are spread across a number of platforms and include individuals, churches, aid organizations, and charitable foundations.

DFN has a positive track record in achieving its key objectives. Since 2002, we have 107 schools with 26,000+ children, 100 Community Health Workers, thousands of economic empowerment programs and three shelters. Through the work of our Indian partners and their expanded programming reach to more than 1 million people a year.

We seek to increase enrollment in all our schools, add additional healthcare programming including a purpose-built full-service hospital, and create macro-business opportunities that create sustainability in India.

Because of COVID-19, we were able to expand our health clinics from three to nine. We have also opened 50 new virtual health clinics in remote villages. We expect to open several more of these in the coming year to serve those with no access to healthcare.

In addition, we distributed almost 2.5 million meals in 2021.

In 2021, we will open a brand new 150-bed shelter for girls at risk of trafficking and for survivors. We continue our efforts to eliminate the horrific practice of ritualized prostitution where girls are dedicated at a young age to a life of sexual slavery.