The making of the Sisterhood of Survivors
A story of how one woman’s travel & volunteer experience lead to something much larger than individual growth… photos and stories from the road.
When Lee-Ann Gibbs set out on her 11-month travel adventure back in 2012, she had no idea that it would lead to her submitting a proposal to the largest privately-owned, adventure travel company in the world – for a chance to win $25,000 to fund the implementation of a world-changing idea… and winning.
Our Do Good As You Go (DGYG) Small Business Associate in Nepal, SASANE, was founded in 2008 by survivors of human trafficking with the vision to combat the exploitation and enslavement of Nepali women and girls. Operated by survivors themselves, they work to provide legal counseling, paralegal and media training, educational scholarships, and crucial support to survivors and women trapped in sexual exploitation.
Sounds like just the place for a traveling corporate lawyer from Toronto to volunteer her time! As an independent traveler, Lee-Ann Gibbs spent six weeks volunteering with the women of SASANE. While in Nepal, she came across a e-newsletter from G Adventures and Planeterra Foundation, advertising for a campaign called The G Project.
“It was an online contest soliciting world-changing ideas where the prize was $25,000 in funding to make your idea come true. It was fate. I had been searching for ways to make SASANE’s paralegal training program sustainable without relying on grants and donations. I knew this was it. My idea, entitled the Sisterhood of Survivors, was to empower women human trafficking survivors by training them to become tour guides and hospitality staff. This new program would support women who aren’t qualified to become certified paralegals in Nepal because they don’t have the equivalent of a high school diploma. These survivors are among the most vulnerable to re-trafficking and abuse. The profits from the tourism program would support these survivors by offering them education and job skills and would also be used to provide additional funds for SASANE’s paralegal training program.”
Lee-Ann’s idea won the 2013 G Project campaign, and the Sisterhood of Survivors (SOS) program at SASANE has continued since. The SOS program provides training to the girls in the hospitality industry through training in conversational English, culinary skills, customer engagement, accounting, and food and beverage management. The organization continues to change and grow, as the women of SASANE continue to work hard to make the program more sustainable.
SASANE is now offering guided tours and treks in and around Kathmandu, which are all led by survivors. The women are being taught the skills needed to work in the tourism sector, thus becoming financially independent and reducing the risk of being trafficked.
Lee-Ann volunteered independently of DGYG, but her dedication to supporting grassroots organizations around the world aligns with our vision of creating a network of responsible and purposeful travelers. We consider her story and impact to be a great inspiration. Read more from Lee-Ann Gibbs’s blog, Sisterhood of Survivors, here.
To find out more about how to support and volunteer at this amazing small business, as well as other volunteer opportunities at DGYG locations in Asia, visit our website and Sign up today!
Do Good as You Go 