The Telegraph article: Journey of discovery for donors
Gloria Steinem (left) with a member of the delegation and Ruchira Gupta, whose organisation Apne Aap is driving the movement against human trafficking. (Rashbehari Das)
Two years ago, [Gloria Steinem] had ideated a “learning tour” funded by Peter and Jennifer Buffett’s NoVo Foundation and led a team of 11 “partners and thought leaders” from the US and Canada into Calcutta’s dark lanes.
This time, the feminist icon and convener of the Donor Direct Action steering committee has drawn eight of its members to spend two whole days in the city learning about the “last girl”.
At a lunch hosted by industrialist Harsh Neotia and wife Madhu at their Queen’s Park home, Jamie Schaefer eloquently described her Calcutta experience as someone eager to make a difference.
“This is my first time here and we have come to see the full cycle of sexual trafficking,” Jamie, who co-owns Westglow Resort & Spa in the US, told Metro.
“We visited Sonagachhi and some of the Apne Aap girls in Kidderpore. We sat with women in the park to hear their stories of being trafficked and imported or exported from Nepal and bordering countries. We went with the children into their villages and into their homes. It was a remarkable experience, to come here as donors and see the difference we can make with a donation,” she said.
Jamie isn’t new to charity and the cause of women’s rights. She is the founding member of the Appalachian Women’s Fund that focuses on improving the lives of girls and women through grants and advocacy.
Steinem’s Donor Direct Action works on non-traditional infrastructure to “function with the least bureaucracy and greatest effectiveness, raising and regranting money to groups while keeping our overhead minimal, our offices virtual, and our work organised”.
The organisation supports partners working on a range of issues pertaining to the promotion of equality for women and the global effort to end violence and discrimination against them. Organisations in Nepal, Zambia, Afghanistan, Congo, Pakistan and Latvia, among other countries, have received donations for their work over the years.
The donors believe in strengthening women’s rights organisations around the world. In India, their focus is on helping Apne Aap Women Worldwide by increasing access to funds, advocacy and visibility. Read the full article.