11 years of freedom.

Mid-September, Freeset celebrated its eleventh birthday, which is truly an amazing thing - for 11 years, this business has been working for the freedom of women who have been trafficked, exploited, and sold into the sex trade.

11 years of community.

11 years of providing women with a choice.

11 years of returning dignity to those who have been abused.

11 years of working towards breaking the cycle of the roles passing from grandmother, to mother, to daughter.

11 years of a reason to smile.

Daily I remind myself just how lucky I am, that I have been given this opportunity to work alongside the most incredible people, both the women Freeset hires, and the close-knit group of international staff.

To be around a group of people who have been called from the corners of the earth by God, who have sacrificed years of their time, money, and skills, is really quite inspirational.

Not only am I blessed to be here, but when I have lived in an environment that is an assault to the senses, I really begin to be thankful for the privileges I have back home in New Zealand... I could list the differences in the quality of life back home in comparison to here, but each is on a completely separate scale. It is easier to just acknowledge these differences, and understand that the society of the life we all live today is the way it is, and there is no immediate 'fix'... which is why we are working towards freedom, for a greater quality and equality of life, and for His love to enter the homes of the oppressed and voiceless.

This is why Freeset is still 11 years young, and will continue to fight for the freedom of the women our hearts have been captured by.

Here are some photos of the celebrations that took place at Freeset - colours, sarees, music, dancing, and plenty of food! Initially the music + dancing side of things wasn't going to happen as we felt that it might be too soon after Shanti's sudden death (two weeks), but in the end it was decided that the women needed something to enjoy and be happy about - a chance to celebrate their freedom.

x

Going's on.

Here are a few photos to keep you updated with a few goings-on here in Kolkata!

Howrah Bridge + Hoogli River

Looking at Hoogli from the bridge.

Displaying my rebellious side - and quickly walked away with the police shouting at us..

Judy and I walking home from Howrah Bridge in the late afternoon :)

Girls Night feast! French toast, pikelets, and an array of fresh fruit.

Judy, Rachel, Heather, and Esme.

Finished embroidery!

Morten being sneaky.

Watching and re-watching the hilarious security footage of Justin crawling out of Erika's office, turning to pout at her, and continuing his way out... haha.

Watching ice melt... such an exciting life I live!

A giant ant about to invade Brazil... It is actually about 1.5cm long! Creepy.

One of the ladies at Freeset grabbed my hand after work, took me aside, and proceeded to paint my nails. Love it.

Lunch with Erika, Anna, and Judy at Baristas - please note that the cake wasn't all mine!

Fabric shopping at Pinku's shop in Newmarket.

How synthetic is this strawberry jam?! It actually looks radioactive...

One of the gorgeous scarves I purchased.

My gift I made for Judy's birthday!

My first ever attempt at calzones... I must say I am pretty stoked with them! Except for the gimpy one on the right...

Roasting coconut-covered Lindale marshmallows mummy sent me for my birthday - with the flat mates after watching Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Yummy lychees!

And I decided to have my go at making cinnamon scrolls.

I am hoping to make a photo series of a few different things such as Bengali street-art, bumper stickers of auto-rickshaws, and textures/patterns around the place.

x

This is why I am here.

Every morning that I wake up, there is hesitation in my will to walk to work through the streets of staring eyes, past tired souls slumped against the dirty pavement, and feeling as much of an outsider as I look.

And every time that homesickness blurs my vision, or when the sounds, smells, and sights gnaw their way into my senses, the women that I see every day at Freeset make every cultural and personal struggle worth every moment.

These women are much stronger than I could ever hope to be.

This is why I am here. And this is where I am called to be. I wouldn't wish to be anywhere else but here at this moment in time.

x

Tickled pink.

Anna's hair! I think it looks so cool.

Pink Justin tailoring - not sewing- his hat back together. Respect.

This is Morten.

Mmm... cold watermelon on a warm Kolkata spring day is the best. 

The Holi aftermath...

One night, we spent a good half hour studying the path of the default DVD screen-saver. Here we have Erika explaining the angles. We were attempting to guess-timate whether we would see it hit the corner so that it touches two sides at the same time. That is how awesome we are.

Holi-Hand.

Our Bangla teacher took us all to visit a couple of art exhibitions that were being held to commemorate the International Women's Day. So interesting! Was a bit over the artists trying to get us to buy their work though.

I really wish we had rubbish bins like this in New Zealand. That really would make me happy.

And Australia can have these cute ones. In Pune they have penguins.

We happened upon some traditional Bengali song and dance celebrations going on in celebration of Holi - so much yellow and orange! And the girls were so beautiful.

This kid had some attitude. He was having a good go at his mother for some time.

Their costumes are so pretty and colourful!

What a life, huh?

Anna and Erika. Love these girls!

Cha cups!

So gorgeous!

I love bad translations. Not as much as I love 'sand-wishes'.

Again, a reminder to always look up.

The boys (and girls) were so stoked to enjoy a big piece of beef steak.

This week has been so good, I have had the entire week off as I was in Pune for the first half, and then we had Holi, and we were able to welcome two amazing girls to our flat, and to Kolkata! But to be honest, I cannot wait to get back to work, I long for the structure and routine. Sometimes it just gets too claustrophobic in the flat.

I am still a worrying shade of pink, the dye is so difficult to remove, but it is all completely worth it, for a day where we were attacked by kids with water-pistols and handfuls of metallic green powder, that magically changes to blood-red with water.

x