SARI BARI USA INC
Creating Freedom and Opportunity
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
India is a hub for sex trafficking, with an estimated three million females in forced prostitution throughout the country. Kolkata is at once a trafficking destination, a transit area for women being trafficked from Bangladesh and Nepal to the rest of India, and a source area. Girls living in poverty in rural India face significant risk factors for being trafficked for labor or for sex.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Aftercare and Economic Opportunity for Trafficked Women
DRIVEN BY A MISSION
Sari Bari’s social business model is facilitated by both a for-profit business in India and 501(3)c nonprofit in the U.S. Together, the two entities work hand-in-hand for the benefit of the artisans.When a customer purchases a Sari Bari product, a woman receives fair wages, health insurance and retirement benefits for her work. Individuals may also choose to donate to the nonprofit through tax-deductible gifts which expand Sari Bari's capacity to offer economic, social, and educational opportunities to the employees of Sari Bari and their children. Through this partnership, the women of Sari Bari make their own life choices and achieve sustainable freedom.
Where we work
Awards
Opus Prize for Social Entreprenuership 2016
Opus Prize Foundation
Videos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
What restoration means to us
Sari Bari does not rescue women, but rather seeks restoration for those who have been trafficked or held in the sex trade by poverty and lack of empowerment. Approximately 65 percent of women in the red light areas no longer qualify for legal action in the form of rescue. While they were likely first trafficked in their teen years, many are now middle-aged and are trapped by circumstances that have bound them since childhood.
What prevention means to us
Helping to prevent new girls from being trafficked into the sex trade is the most effective way to combat sexual slavery. We hope to offer high-risk girls an opportunity to life-giving education and work that will protect them from ever entering the sex trade. To meet this goal, Sari Bari has located its third production site in a village that is a high trafficking area of India. Young women ages 17-25 and living in poverty are offered jobs at this site.
Additionally, up to 20 percent of Sari Bari jobs at our locations within the city are given to at-risk women who live in the red-light districts. These are usually daughters of women currently in the sex trade, who are uneducated and at a high-risk of being lured or forced into prostitution.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Many around the world are working for the cause of freedom and employment is the tool. Creating well paid jobs for those who have been exploited and marketing ethically made products to the west, asking the minority world to consumer better, and give women freedom from the sex trade with their purchase. The vehicle for freedom from commercial sex work, is the unique power of a job, to empower and give dignity in a way that a hand out just will never do.
Sari Bari, a social enterprise, in Kolkata, India was birthed out of the desire to give holistic freedom to women trapped in prostitution by poverty, cultural dynamics, and in so many cases blatant slavery. Sari Bari functions as a vehicle for transformation. Each woman who comes through our doors looking for freedom can find it. She finds it, step by step, first through literacy, math, nutrition, budgeting, a mental health support and sewing but eventually it becomes genuine a pursuit of not only the alteration of physical circumstances but a deep transformation of the heart.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Sari Bari currently employs 109 women through Sari Bari Private Limited in Kolkata, India. Sari Bari USA as acts as an advocate for the anti-trafficking cause and as the distributor of the goods created in freedom businesses including Sari Bari, Sudara and Purpose Jewelry. Sari Bari USA acts as a critical link to provide support to the non profit services needed to support women exiting the commercial sex trade or vulnerable to human trafficking.
Sari Bari USA ensures the women have an opportunity to benefit from the programs of Sari Bari in India:At the heart of Sari Bari is partnership with the women themselves — a commitment to holistic freedom, and empowerment-focused programs. We’d like to invite you to journey with the women of Sari Bari as they take ownership and actively participate in their own restoration and empowerment.
Whole life care: Though the aftercare programs at Sari Bari the women are supported through training and beyond with mental health services, well woman check-ups, school support for their kids, home loan matching, and ongoing literacy classes. We also are committed to celebrate the women at step on the journey with yearly “freedom” birthdays, our annual retreat and picnic and graduations ceremonies!
Leadership Development: We value our leaders and are committed to ongoing development of the women of Sari Bari as leaders. The entire middle management of Sari is from production mangers to trainers and team leads are women who have found freedom at Sari Bari. We believe a leader can be born out of every story.
Logistical and Staff support: It takes a team to support the journey to freedom, no one does it alone. Sari Bari provides an amazing team to partner with the women of Sari Bari from social workers and a nurse to a Project Manager who works on the ground in India to champion, encourage and strengthen the work through systems building.
At Sari Bari, taking a job is the first step of freedom for women exiting the commercial sex trade or who are vulnerable to exploitation or trafficking. However, we believe that’s not where the freedom journey ends. Holistic care is a high value at Sari Bari, which is why we journey with women as partners in their social support needs as they continue to take courageous steps towards restoration and wholeness.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We, at Sari Bari, are extremely grateful and deeply honored by the Award of the Opus Prize. We see it as not only an honor for Sarah Lance, but truly an honor for and recognition of the work of the entirety of the Sari Bari community for freedom; women whose own choice for freedom makes it possible, staff and interns who gave their time and talents and our community of customers and cheerleaders who have contributed with their belief that freedom was and is possible!
The Opus Prize is allowing Sari Bari to dream for a longer future. Many years ago we committed to building something that would last not 5 years or 10 years but more than 50 years, we dreamed for a future that we ourselves may never see become reality. Still we intentionally held the long view that we wanted to provide long-term options for employment for women who needed a way out of the commercial sex trade and women who were vulnerable to being trafficked. We dreamed for a day when Sonagacchi, a red light area of more than 10,000 would no longer be a red light but a place restored. The dream is still the same and capacity to continue to pursue that dream in all its impossibility is expanded with the opportunity that the receipt of the Opus Prize presents.
Sari Bari has been around for more than 12 years and with the help of the Opus Prize we will expand employment opportunities and support to 100-150 women in the next 5 years. Additionally we are committed to continuing to build a sustainable infrastructure through capacity building, evaluation, Fair Trade certification, staff development, and education for the women and staff, and building the support infrastructure and capacity of SBUSA to increase sales of goods and awareness and action around the issues related to commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Sari Bari will engage in strategic partnerships to broaden and deepen opportunities for freedom through and with parallel organizations, this is a “give back, Pay forward” commitment to freedom for women.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
SARI BARI USA INC
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Biju Mathew
International Justice Mission
Jeff Swart
Melissa Desai
Todd Blecha
Rachel Yoder
Sarah Lance
Kathy Bruce
Nanette Yard
Biju Matthew
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Not applicable -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data