In 2005, Sudara* founder Shannon Keith took a trip to India and saw the expanse of forced prostitution in the country's red light areas.
Shannon returned home and gathered friends to help do something about it. The team knew that without safe, steady employment, these women stood little chance of surviving outside of the brothels. They identified a group of like-minded partners in India who were compelled to work together with any women looking for a way out of the Red Light Districts. Together, the team created a simple pattern that could be used to teach anyone wanting to learn how to sew.
In 2006, Sudara hired the first six employees in their first-ever sewing center partnership and began teaching each woman the skills needed to become seamstresses, and our first pair of PUNJAMMIES™ loungewear was produced. Stitch by stitch, the women gained confidence not only in their newly found trade, but also in their renewed hope and freedom. Since that time, our relationships have grown into multiple sewing center partnerships and hundreds of women gaining new communities and safe places to work and heal.
*prior to 2015, known as International Princess™ Project
December is Universal Month for Human Rights. Appropriately enough this month contains International Human Rights Day (Dec. 10th). Honor this time of year by reading and sharing the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, created over 70 years ago this month.
Why would anyone, let alone a man, do something nice like this for us? That was their question.
