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

An update.

Hello everyone! Again I have taken my time to get around to supplying you with an update of the times spent here in Kolkata!

Unfortunately part of the reason there has been a delay this time around, is that we have all suffered a loss of a friend and collegue, and I didn't think I could summon the energy to really accept it.

It has been just past 2 weeks since the beautiful Shanti, a friend to so many, and the owner of the most incredible smile, ended her life due to circumstances we can only guess and wonder about.

Many questions have crept into all of our minds of, "Why?", and the initial devastation and shock completely consumed us for the first few days. Yet Freeset is such an incredibly supportive and strong community, and it is truly one of the most heart-touching experiences I have had, to really be able to see those support systems that only death can make visible to the eye.

The day after Shanti's passing was her funeral, and was the first (and hopefully last) Hindu-style funeral I have attended. It felt very strange and numbing to be attending a funeral for a 22 year old friend, when I was unable to be at home for my Grandmother's just a few weeks before-hand. Very sobering.

The way that funerals operate here are very overwhelming, and I found it easier to numb myself to it, and just watch - it almost felt like I wasn't there in myself - as the wailing, sobbing, fainting, and intense incense smoke around me really hit the senses. Back home, grieving seems to be more of a private affair, and here open grieving is expected... it is all very raw.

What made it all seem very surreal was that when we were down at one of the ghats for the funeral to take place, is that it is a public funeral site, so we were in a large room with about 4 other deceased people. It was all just too much to even begin to take in, really.

We continue to grieve for Shanti, still question why, but we will always think of her as being one of the kindest, most sweet people we have known.

~

Despite all of this, we have still managed to smile through other occasions, such as a final girls-night-out before Maire and Dan welcome a little baby to the world!

Anna, Annie, Judy, and Deborah.

Our delicious Italian food!

Sarah, Pip, Maire, and myself.


The following photos are from before Shanti's death:

A lovely lunch date with Judy - reminds me of this time... here.

We even swapped half-sandwiches! Yumbo!

And then it was Kerry's 50th birthday, so we celebrated by smearing everyone with cake!

Lovely Annie!! I adore this woman.

Justin. What more can I say, huh? :)

Erika, moi, and the old-fella in the background.

The second cake, that was 70% used as face 'paint'.

A week or so before this, we had Mai's baby shower! This here is Sasha, she is awesome and lives in Thailand!

A slightly creepy looking baby...

This is inside the Freeset creche - I love this wall so much!

Sari-wrapped gifts.

Before the 'feeding'.

Beautiful Esme about to be spoon-fed...

...by Anna!

One of the games was to draw on a plate, and mine was one of the two winners! Yay! (I won henna - yussss).

Maire opening her gifts, aided by Mikayla.

The yummy cupcakes that Sarah baked!

This was the weekend following our return from Sri Lanka, and we had Monday off, so Justin, Anna, and I decided to venture to Science City, where many stations you could play around and experiment on were broken or poorly functioning, but overall the park exceeded my expectations, and I loved it so much! I especially loved going into the dome and watching a caving doco whilst nearly lying flat in reclining chairs.

Another night we decided we needed a night out for dinner at Macambo's, so we whisked Sasha off with us and enjoyed a great meal together! (I especially loved being in the company of a Kiwi around the dinner table!).

Judy and Erika.

Anna and Justin.

Nate and myself.

Using all the toothpicks for their REAL use - beard decorations.