Running water is valuable in rural India, especially when it must be shared among victims of human exploitation. The girls — who have been prostituted or are children of prostitutes — are obsessed with cleanliness. "Shampoo, wash and rinse, three times, Sister. One hour," says Sindu Raju, who was prostituted by her father when she was a child.

Bathing time is non-negotiable on this gruelling Cycle "Jatha" (rally) to Stop Human Trafficking. Later, deeper issues emerge. Obsessive washing is just one symptom of a past of suffering; a past where these children were made to feel unclean or were told repeatedly: You are dirty.

Odanadi Seva Trust is an Indian non-governmental organization that raids brothels, rescues children from the slums, rehabilitates victims and works to eradicate exploitation. Its facility is located in Hootagally village, outside of the enchanting but chaotic city of Mysore. Incessant honking and congested streets are left behind as a dirt road leads volunteers to a modern facility towering above the village's mud huts. The fresh scent of wild jasmine and gardenia replaces Mysore's choking diesel fumes. Odanadi feels more like a spiritual retreat than an institution that houses an orphanage, schools and shelters.

Small children run to greet visitors, calling "Sister" to strangers. One nine-year-old has lived here since she was two-days-old and rescued from a dustbin. She wants to play. It's hardly all fun and games, however, as laughter gives way to sobs from a nearby dorm. I look in and meet a newly arrived sex trade worker, who was among 12 women rescued a day earlier from a Mysore brothel. She's scared and traumatized, yet warmly reaches out to strangers. She hugs me goodbye and asks if I will return in the morning. How easy it would be to exploit someone so trusting and vulnerable.

This is a very interesting article of how women are working to rescue women and girls from exploitation and how they are trying to help them recover and go back into society stronger and more equipped to take care of themselves.

The article is here.