50 stories, five cities, and one cause: putting a face to the injustices of human trafficking and exploitation.

Why we care: Every year, 12,000 Nepali children become sex workers in India. Today, 40,000 girls are working in the industry in Kathmandu alone. The exploitation and trafficking of girls and women in Nepal is increasing despite efforts to stop this practice.

How we’re solving this: By creating a photo exhibition that tells the stories of trafficked girls and women in Nepal. Exhibition from the perspective of survivors will help the survivors themselves escape from their isolation and encourage others in the community to realize the impacts of human trafficking on society.

Your support will allow us to cover the costs of five exhibitions, secure the materials to produce and edit the collection of stories and photos, and to recruit a project manager. We’ll select and produce the images and stories of these women taken by photographer and human rights activist, Natalie de Oliveira. The photos will be displayed at exhibitions travelling through Nepal, from Kathmandu to other districts that are most affected by trafficking.

The project portrays the stories of 50 girls and women, the majority of whom are victims of human trafficking. Others are activists involved in Nepali organizations for the defense and protection of human trafficking victims and exploitation.

Through this photographic journey, taking place in five cities in Nepal, we’ll share the lives and stories of young women exploited by the human trafficking trade. Nepal is widely affected by human trafficking but little information is given on schemes and tricks to lure the vulnerable people. At Planète Enfants, we believe that exposing the truths about human sex trafficking through sharing stories helps to create awareness and reform.

We plan to stop the abuses and exploitation of girls and women by combining the power of photography and the vivid accounts of victims. This campaign targets the people who can make a difference through actions in their everyday lives – fathers, brothers, uncles, officials, and community members. By making them aware of the stories of victims and how it could impact them and their family, we hope that instead of pushing their daughters and sisters to leave and earn money, they will choose to reinforce protection against potential traffickers.

Three groups of people will be directly affected: the visitors of the exhibitions, our NGO partners, and the social workers and stakeholders. The NGO partners are amongst the four most prominent organizations involved in human trafficking in Nepal – Planète Enfants, Saathi, Shakti Samuha, and Cap Nepal.

Together, let’s enlarge the conversations about the causes of trafficking and possible solutions, which will forge dialogues with others in the victims’ communities.