Victims of human trafficking often suffer severe physical and mental trauma.  Many are forced into prostitution, and as a coping mechanism, mentally separate themselves their bodies.  In 2004, Ashoka Fellow Sohini Chakraborty founded Kolkata Sanved (www.kolkatasanved.org), an organization that has pioneered the concept of dance-based therapy as a viable means of counseling, rehabilitation,and empowerment.  The organization now runs programs for patients living in mental institutions, homeless children, children suffering from HIV/AIDS, and other victims of violence and abuse.  In this post, Nicola Pollock, Journey participant and Director of Grant Making at Esmee Fairbairn Foundation (www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk), reflects on her visit to Kolkata Sanved and how the organization can move forward, sustainably achieving its mission.

Body movement as a tool for rehabilitation

I am not a dancer, so I approached this visit with mixed emotions.  On the one hand, I was keen to explore the power of dance-based therapy, of which I knew so little.  On the other, I was terrified that I’d be made to dance.

We met Sohini Chakraborty, the inspirational founder of Kolkata Sanved, along with some of her founding colleagues.  We were also introduced to several young women who have gone through the programme as participants and are now Kolkata Sanved trainers themselves.  In a nutshell, Sohini has combined her expertise as a dancer with her passion to work with victims of trafficking and sexual abuse.  In doing so, she created a new dance therapy movement in South Asia, using body movement as a tool for rehabilitation and empowerment. Many victims of violence and trafficking cut themselves off and become withdrawn; participating in dance can enable them to express themselves, to reclaim their bodies as their own.  We were privileged to experience this first hand – we watched and then participated in a dance workshop, getting a moving glimpse of the transformational process.

In this warm and positive environment, we heard some traumatic stories from the women and girls who had been through the programme, from living in red light areas to abduction, violence and unwanted pregnancies - many of them either have no families or have been abandoned by them, the ultimate betrayal. And talking to them I was surprised and shocked by the widespread and systematic nature of trafficking and how embedded it is.  But the women and girls we met were strong, a real life illustration of the power of the programme – while the trauma must still run deep, they have positive plans for their futures.  Two are soon to be married and the confidence of the younger ones was remarkable.

Impact and growth so far

I was especially impressed by how Kolkata Sanved demonstrates their values through their work – the belief that women can become stronger as a result of their experience and dance is reflected in the fact that all the trainers are women who have been through the programme. They are now employed and run classes for other women and outside agencies, providing both meaningful work and status. Thus the transformation and empowerment created by dance is internalised in and strengthens the organisation’s culture and activities in a meaningful way. While not everyone they work with will become a dancer, the therapeutic process enables all participants to grow in confidence and move on.  They were all amazingly welcoming and the warmth, smiles and hugs when we left will linger in my memory long after the detail of the visit has faded.

There was many positives here – not just the number of individuals they have reached, but in their ambition to go beyond simply running workshops, however powerful they may be. They have extended dance therapy to other disadvantaged groups such as people with mental health problems, work with 30 partner organisations in India, Bangladesh and Nepal and are in the process of codifying what they do through a curriculum which will lead to an accredited qualification for the trainers. They also work in two mainstream schools. They have just moved to pleasant new premises which are so much better than those of many NGOs have in Calcutta and can accommodate a growing team. All this makes sense and fits with their mission.

So, they have done well to develop their model, and early philanthropic funding also enabled them undertake some evaluation. They have a systematic approach to working with partners which bodes well for the wider replication of the programme. They also generate income from some activities.  Strong leadership and the integration of survivors in the organisation makes them extra special. They now seem to have come through the first phase of development and the time is ripe to consolidate their experience and embark on the next phase of their development, with a strategy and funding model which will enable them to fulfill their aspirations. 

At a strategic crossroads

These are exciting times for Kolkata Sanved, who are at a crossroads in their development – should they carry on organically or should they take stock and plan more strategically?

The power of our visit was in the experience of the programme and meeting with the women, and we did not have enough time to discuss their plans in detail – from snatches of conversation they were aware of the need to think carefully at this time, and have some ideas going forward. So some of my reflections below may well be already in hand – but I offer them as they are common to many NGOs, particularly in India where funding can be complicated and hard to come by.

The need for sustainability, income generation, and communication
 
Having developed the product, their key challenge is long term sustainability. They require funds, but this service will always need grants or cross-subsidy from other activities. Going forward, they need to think about a fundraising plan targeting a range of philanthropic sources - from foundation-type support to individual donors. Is it possible to build an individual donor base among women who are interested in dance and/or trafficking and other women’s issues (for example, building on their relationships in South Asia and links with the American Dance Association)? Would it be feasible to implement this both technically and in getting the numbers they would need? Can they work with partners to leverage this?

On income generation, they already earn funds from consultancy, from mainstream schools and through partners, and the work on the curriculum may have potential; they could drill down into how they can maximise each of these, identify other options and develop financial projections. There may also be scope for more international work, though doing this will require careful scoping and a critique of their niche in relation to other practice.

Last but not least, some serious work to understand and communicate their impact will be crucial in ‘telling their story’ and so increasing their chances of raising funds, as well as enhancing their profile and securing new partners. However, this work is not susceptible to easy metric measurement - which makes it even more important for them to develop their marketing, website and so on to help with the brand and message.

Kolkata Sanved is still relatively small and much rests on the shoulders of the founding team, and developing a strategic plan is a lot to take on while continuing to run a busy project. Some external help from could provide capacity, perspective, facilitate their own thinking and add expertise to the process, and make it happen – though it would have to be right person or organisation. A sympathetic funder may be willing to support this. 

Moving forward

So, the ingredients are here – inspirational leadership and vision, the programme and ambition - but they need to think through their long term options, articulate more clearly where the real potential for earning income lies and consider the balance between this and continuing to provide their direct services. This may involve some tough decisions. But they are justly proud of what they have achieved.  Their impact enables them to convince even more people of the truth of Sohini’s belief that everyone is a dancer, and that as dancers, we are all capable of self-transformation.